In the real world of service delivery, economic principles are problem-solving tools that use data and modelling to support both strategic and programmatic decisions. They should bring about ‘aha moments’ with insights that managers and program staff can put into practice to achieve their intended vision and goals.

For the real world of commissioning services in the middle of imperfect data and evidence, there is much more to economics than cost-effectiveness and trial evaluations: From understanding where the greatest needs are and how they align (or not) with patterns of resource allocation, through to examining the major cost drivers and frequent users of services.

In this final post of our Evaluation Ready series, we explore a few helpful tips to make evaluation a priority within your organisation. Once you know how to put together a basic framework to guide how to do a program evaluation, the next challenge can often be making evaluation a consistent part of the work you and your colleagues do.

This simple yet structured process to evaluation can be scaled up or down depending on the size of your program or service. We specialise in supporting both funders, service providers and NGOs to evaluate their programs, whether that be planning and designing an approach, setting up data collection systems and protocols, or undertaking how program reviews lead to impactful results.

A three-part blog post to support organisations plan and undertake an effective evaluation of any program that aims to create positive health, social or environmental change. This initial post introduces basic concepts in evaluation, drivers and benefits, critical evaluation skills and ethical issues when evaluating.

Establishing age-friendly communities which are good for all residents across the lifespan, puts local government at the forefront of being able to design and deliver services that allow residents to participate at their level of choosing within the community. 

There is a huge opportunity to make our communities more conducive to maintaining and improving mental health, with a huge role local governments can play in achieving this. Where some councils may not have an appetite for supporting such a cause, progressive councils see mental health as very much part of their responsibility and remit.

The Suicide Prevention Care Pathway provides a huge opportunity to bring the local sector together and guide engagement and development activities into the future that build the capacity and capability of the ‘system’ to better respond to people at risk of suicide.

We recently finished up some work with a client partner to refresh their clinical governance framework. Along the way, we learnt a few things that we think are worth sharing with other health and social service providers about how to make governance better serve the important work they do.