EVALUATION WORKSHOPS AND SEMINAR SERIES
Townsville: 24-26 November 2014
Venue: Townsville Sports House Conference Rooms 3–9 Redpath Street, North Ward
Choose from:
Seminar and discussion*: Evaluation: Need to do it but don’t know where to start?
Evaluation Showcase*:What evaluation are we doing in NQ
Mini-workshop*:Measuring outcomes: How do I know my intervention was responsible for change?
Informal meeting*:How can we build the capacity of evaluation in NQ?
Workshop A:Developing an Evaluation Framework and evaluation plan - the basics
Workshop B:Using Evaluation Frameworks: Avoiding and managing problems of implementation
Workshop C: Evaluation in practice: Complex evaluations, challenging environments – problem solving
Events marked* are FREE. See dates and times below
Marion has over 20 years experience in designing and delivering complex evaluations and organisational reviews, mostly in the human services sector. Marion has worked in senior roles in state government and has undertaken varied roles with not-for-profit organisations. Marion teaches evaluation in the School of Public Health and Social Work at the Queensland University of Technology and social policy in the School of Social Work and Human Sciences at the University of Queensland.
Alastair Buchan, Natural Resource Management Planning Coordinator,NQ Dry Tropics
Dr Sue Devine, A/ Head of Academic Group, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, JCU
Elise Howard, Social Science Masters student at James Cook University
Renee Madsen, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, NQ Dry Tropics
Robyn Preston, PhD student and lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University
(Other presenters to be confirmed)
Workshop Fees:Half dayOne day1.5 daysTwo days
AES members$231$440$660$770
Non-members$396$605$775.50$935
**To get member’s discount, inquire about individual and organisational membership here.
For more information contact
Marion Norton M: 0419657306 E: / Register onlineby 18 November 2014
Workshops Monday events
Workshop and Seminar Program
Monday 24 November
9.30 – 11.30 / Seminar and discussion* / Evaluation: Need to do it, but don’t know where to start?
12.00 – 2.00 / Evaluation Showcase*: Short presentations and questions / What evaluation are we doing in NQ in the
a. natural resources context
b. community services context
c. Indigenous community context
d. health context (and others to be confirmed)
3.00 – 5.30 / Mini-workshop* / Measuring outcomes: How do I know (and show) that my intervention was responsible for the observed change?
6.00 – 7.30 / Informal meeting* of AES members and supporters / How can we build the capacity of evaluation in NQ? Let’s plan for the International Year of Evaluation
Conversation over wine and cheese
Tuesday 25 November
9.00 – 12.30 / Workshop A: Beginner / Developing an Evaluation Framework and evaluation plan - the basics
1.30 – 5.00 / Workshop B: Some experience / Using Evaluation Frameworks – routine to complicated: Avoiding and managing problems of implementation
Wednesday 26 November
9.00 – 5.00 / Workshop C: Advanced / Evaluation in practice: Complex evaluations, challenging environments – problem solving
About the workshops
An evaluation framework provides a rock solid foundation to an evaluation plan. It takes you through a process to methodically separate the inputs, outputs and outcomes and work out what you need to measure, how and when. It helps you work out your evaluation questions and leads you to identify the data you will need. Hence it is an essential starting point for evaluation. Workshops A and B will build these underlying concepts of evaluation. However, many environments of public policy and service delivery have competing priorities, numerous players, lots of unknowns, and long term unanswered problems. The advanced workshop will look at approaches to evaluation that consider difficult situations familiar to participants. All workshops will reflect on the skills and practices needed to carry out a “good” evaluation – particularly the relationship between the evaluator and the stakeholders of the evaluation
The workshops will explore:
- Program logic and theory of change as the basis of the evaluation framework (A, B)
- Quantitative and qualitative performance measures and suitable tools (A, B)
- Timing and focus of evaluations (A,B,C)
- Involvement of stakeholders in framing and carrying out the evaluation (A,B,C)
- Ethical dilemmas for evaluators (A,B,C)
- Hard to measure behavioural change outcomes (B,C)
- Developmental evaluation, Realist evaluation (C)
Workshop A: Beginning evaluators and program managers wanting to show how effective their services are.
Workshop B: Those who have completed the introductory level and evaluators with some experience and competence, wanting confirmation they are on the right track and looking for more ideas about how to meet the challenges of evaluation practice. Managers with responsibility for outsourcing or overseeing evaluation will also benefit.
Workshop C: Evaluators and program leaders taking on large or longer term evaluations eg in difficult environments, major policy changes, organisational direction change.
Workshop A will show you where to start an evaluation. It will develop your skills to create an evaluation framework to design and plan an evaluation. Bring along an example of a program or policy you want to evaluate and we will work on it together. The workshop will be aimed at beginners and those who have not had much experience with evaluations. / Workshop B is the next level up and the basic knowledge of evaluation frameworks is a prerequisite. The workshop will look at implementing routine to complicated evaluations and will explore common issues – especially in measuring elusive outcomes. There will be time to trouble shoot your own examples and discuss evaluation methodology and tools. / The real world is often not as linear and rational as our evaluation framework suggests. Workshop C will delve into complex evaluations. For example, how do we use evaluation to help decide which way to go when the pathway is uncertain? Or how can we design a multi-tiered evaluation encompassing a comprehensive strategic organisational or policy change without getting lost? The workshop will touch on recent evaluation methodologies and will respond to the interests and needs of participants and use the group’s collective knowledge and expertise.
Seminar, showcase and mini-workshop program
Seminar and Discussion
Evaluation: Need to do it – but don’t know where to start?
There’s lots of talk about the need to evaluate and to measure outcomes – and we all know it is valuable. But how do you fit it into a crowded work day with already stretched resources? How do you prioritise what to evaluate? How do you make best use of the data you have got to hand? What data are you missing?
This session will respond to your agenda. What are the barriers to evaluation? What would it take to build your evaluation capacity so that your staff see it as a valued ally rather than a threat and something more to do? What are your evaluation needs in the short and medium term?
Who is the seminar for?
Program managers, Board members, senior executives, executive officers, section managers / Mini-Workshop
Measuring outcomes: How do I know (and show that my intervention was responsible for the observed change?
There is growing expectation that we will measure outcomes – particularly when a funder or investor wants to see value for money. But it is easier said than done. What if the outcomes won’t be know for years after the program (eg rate of recidivism) –or if there are many variables you cannot control that could mitigate against positive outcomes (eg weather events).
Bring along your teasers – the evaluation questions that are stumping you – to debate and resolve. We will look at different measurement tools and ways to manage the multiple variables that affect the impact of a program. What can we really expect our evaluations to tell us?
The Mini-Workshop will explore:
Complex program logic and theories of change
Creating outcome chains. What do we value? Whose values?
Attribution theory and proof. Do we know the truth? Whose truth?
Using proxy measures. What we can and can’t measure.
Setting quantitative and qualitative performance measures for outcomes
Tools for measuring and describing outcomes
Who is the seminar for?
Evaluators with intermediate to advanced experience, program managers and program designers, staff responsible for performance measurement, monitoring and reporting.
The Evaluation Showcase
There actually is a lot of evaluation going on in North Queensland. What can we learn from each other? Local evaluators will give short presentations (15 minutes) and will join a panel for questions. This is an interactive session which will invite the audience to participate in discussion and maybe even offer advice to the experts!
Alistair Buchan, Natural Resource Management Planning Coordinator, NQ Dry Tropics
Dr Sue Devine, A/Head of Academic Group, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, JCU
Elise Howard, Social Science Masters student at James Cook University
Renee Madsen, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, NQ Dry Tropics
Robyn Preston, Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University
For more information contact
Marion Norton M: 0419657306 E: / Register onlineby 18 November 2014