Building In-house Evaluation Competence: A Strategic Collaboration with a Not-for-profit Organisation
Are you a part of one of the many not-for-profit (NFP) organisations out there with the capacity to review and evaluate your own programs and services but lack the capability?
What if we could teach you?
Beacon Strategies is committed to creating a more impactful social purpose sector. We believe that by empowering NFPs with the knowledge and training to review and evaluate their own programs and services, we can create far more impact than we could by evaluating them ourselves.
In a fast-evolving NFP landscape, being adaptable and evidence-driven is essential. Beacon Strategies recently partnered with a not-for-profit organisation with the goal to empower their in-house capabilities for program design and evaluation. The journey was both collaborative and enlightening. Let's step through it.
Phase 1: Laying the Foundation - Upskilling the Team
From the outset, it was crucial to ensure every team member had the foundational skills to appreciate and understand the nuances of program evaluation. Our 'Evaluation Ready' workshop served as an initial springboard, offering core knowledge about program design and evaluation. The project team members recognised the need to grasp these foundational skills to contribute meaningfully to the process.
Phase 2: The Blueprint - Defining the Program
The next stage of our journey was to collaboratively develop the program's structure and objectives. In a half-day workshop, we guided the team through a structured program design process. This co-creation led to a comprehensive program logic model, allowing the team to thoroughly comprehend the service model and its elements.
Phase 3: Crafting a Roadmap - Developing the Evaluation Framework
With the program's structure clarified, we turned our focus to creating a robust evaluation framework. In another workshop, we joined hands with the project team to identify key success indicators, data collection methods, and anticipated program impact. This collaboration underscored the team's eagerness to actively participate in shaping an evaluation framework they could replicate in future initiatives.
Phase 4: Action in Motion - Operationalising Evaluation Activities
With a well-defined program and evaluation framework in place, the next step was its implementation. We dissected the evaluation framework with the project team, identifying every task required for effective data collection and monitoring. This translated the evaluation framework into actionable steps, providing a pathway for efficient, consistent evaluation activities to ensure their timely and smooth execution.
A self-reliant not-for-profit
Through this collaborative and structured approach, we facilitated the transformation of a not-for-profit organisation into an entity proficient in program design and evaluation. This journey not only showcases a replicable model for other organisations aiming for self-reliance but also underscores Beacon Strategies' commitment to equipping partners with the tools and knowledge they need to keep making an impact. After all, doing good should always be paired with doing better.
Are you interested in building your organisations capability in program evaluation? Get in touch with us for a chat or email us about what you are looking for!
