PROJECT EVALUATION TEMPLATE

The Centre gratefully acknowledges New Perimeter, DLA Piper’s Global Pro Bono Initiative for contributing the following precedent.

GUIDANCE NOTE
This is a precedent for an evaluation report, summarising the feedback received from internal and external stakeholders. It also provides scope to summarise the challenges and lessons learned from the project.
The precedent also provides sample questions to use to obtain the feedback. As with any precedent, it should be tailored as necessary to suit the circumstances of the project or program.
Precedents in the Australian Pro Bono Manual are provided with the generous assistance of leading Australian law firms, and have been developed to reflect best practice in pro bono.
There are two or more examples of each type of precedent to accommodate the various ways in which firms coordinate their pro bono programs. Use the precedent that best reflects the firm’s size, structure, systems, organisational culture and policies. Precedents should also be adapted as necessary to comply with the firm’s house style and terminology.
The Centre welcomes feedback on the usefulness and ease of use of these precedents, especially from firms in the early stages of developing a formal pro bono program.

MEMORANDUM

TO:

FROM: [Project Evaluator]

DATE:

RE:FINAL PROJECT EVALUATION [PROJECT NAME]

______

1Project Description

[Insert description]

2Basis of Evaluation

[Summarise methodology and procedure. Include the materials reviewed, persons interviewed, timetable, etc]

3Project Background

[Briefly describe how and when project originated and how long it lasted. Describe the project structure and organization. Summarise the client and the Firm’s contributions, including any trips made and work product produced.]

4Project Goals

[Summarise goals set at outset. If the project goals changed over the course of the project explain how and why.]

5Project Statistics

[Summarise the number of lawyers participating in the project.]

Number of Participating [Firm] lawyers and theirseniority
Number of [Firm] offices and countries involved
Number of Lawyers Traveling for Project
Number of [students taught/persons impacted, etc.]
Number of countries where students taught/persons impacted, etc. are from
Total Hours Donated

6Team Member/Project Manager Feedback

[Summarise internal feedback from the [Firm] lawyers, including the project manager, on the project.

Issues can include the following:

(a)the goals of the project;

(b)the skills of the lawyers involved in the project;

(c)the quality of the work product;

(d)the most effective aspect of the project;

(e)the least effective aspect of the project;

(f)the desire to work with [Firm] again;

(g)whether [Firm] should continue to work on similar projects;

(h)overall lawyer satisfaction with participation in the project; and

(i)any other consistent or significant feedback received.]

[Summarise internal feedback from team members on satisfaction with various project elements and features.

Issues can include the following:

(a) adequacy of the preliminary training and supervision;

(b)willingness of the team and its members to work collaboratively;

(c)amount of work assigned;

(d)value of the project to career development and to the client;

(e)opportunity to advance one’s legal and client relation skills;

(f)Firm/Practice Group support regarding project involvement; and

(g)any other consistent or significant feedback received.]

7Client Evaluation

[Summarise external feedback from client on the project. Issues can include the following:

(a)the goals of the project;

(b)the skills of the [Firm] lawyers involved in the project;

(c) the quality of the work product;

(d)the accessibility of the [Firm] lawyers;

(e)the most effective aspect of the project;

(f)the least effective aspect of the project;

(g)the desire to work with [Firm] again; and

(h)any other consistent or significant feedback received.]

8Challenges

[List the challenges identified by the project participants and the client.]

[Set out any [Firm] recommendations.]

[Set out any project recommendations.]

9Lessons Learned

[Itemise main takeaways and lessons learned for future projects.]

10Conclusion (including Specific Recommendations)

[Set out overall comments on the project, including whether it was a worthy undertaking.]

QUESTIONS FOR THE EVALUATOR TO KEEP IN MIND IN PREPARING THIS MEMO:

1Did the project have clear goals and were those goals met?

2What were the project goals?

3Was the client satisfied with the assistance provided?

4What would the client suggest could have been improved or done differently?

5Was the experience a positive one for [Firm] team members?

6What lessons learned should help inform future projects? What are the major takeaways?

7Is this type of project something that could/should be replicated in the future?

8Should [Firm] consider partnering with this client again in the future?

9What impact does the evaluator think this work will have? How long does the evaluator think it will take for the impact to be realised?

SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR TEAM MEMBERS

1How would you describe your experience overall with this project?

2What aspects of the project did you work on?

3Were you satisfied with:

(a)The adequacy of background materials provided to you?

(b)The adequacy of the training you received overall?

(c)The nature and scope of assignments?

(d)The amount of work assigned? Did you meet/exceed your estimated hours for the project?

(e)The way the project was managed?

(f)The willingness and abilities of the [Firm] team and its individual members to work collaboratively? The interaction with other project team members?

(g)The frequency and effectiveness of communication between the project organisers and the team members?

(h)The value of the project to your career development?

4What (if any) challenges did you or the team as a whole face on this project?

5How were those challenges resolved?

6Did you think the project had clear goals? What do you think those goals were? In your opinion, were those goals achieved?

7Do you have any recommendations for how the project could have been improved?

8What were the best aspects of the project? The worst?

9Would you recommend to other lawyers to apply to work on a similar project?

10What impact do you think your work (and the work of the other lawyers in the project) will have? How long do you think it will take for that impact to be realised?

11Has the project influenced your views about lawyers and the role they can — or should — play in society? If so, in what way?

CLIENT QUESTIONNAIRE GUIDE

1What was your individual role in this project?

2What were the overall goals and objectives of the project?

3In your opinion, what were the goals of your collaboration with [Firm]?

4Were the goals met?

5Were you satisfied with the quality of the work?

(a)Did the team members demonstrate the appropriate technical and legal skills and knowledge to implement the project?

(b)If not, what additional skills or expertise would have been valuable?

6Were you satisfied with the accessibility of the [Firm] team and its responsiveness to your requests and concerns?

7In your opinion, what was the most effective aspect of the collaboration?

8In your opinion, what was the least effective aspect of the collaboration?

9Was the overall project a success from your organisation’s perspective?

10Would you work with [Firm] again?

11Are there any lessons learned for future collaborations?

12What, if any, improvements or changes would you suggest for this project?

13What short-term impact (6-12 months) do you think will result from [Firm’s] work?

14What long-term impact (12-36 + months) do you think will result?

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