Title: Project Networking Event, Leeds
1Reaching Communities Programme Evaluation
- Project Networking Event, Leeds
- Tuesday 1st July 2008
2Welcome
- Dipali ChandraECOTEC Research Consulting
3Introductions
- Peter Bailey , Big Lottery Evaluation Team
- Casey Morrison, Big Lottery Policy Partnerships
YH - Joanne Liddle, RC Programme Manager
- Zoe Edmonds, RC Programme Manager
- Dipali Chandra, ECOTEC
- Nicola Hall, ECOTEC, Project Manager
- Zoey Breuer, ECOTEC, Project Researcher
- Kate McPhillips, ECOTEC, Project Researcher
- Alison Murray, ECOTEC, Project Researcher
4Todays event
- 11.00 Welcome and Overview of the
Evaluation Findings - 11.35 Overview of the Evaluation Toolkit
- 11.40 Project presentations and discussions
- 12.30 Lunch and networking
- 13.35 Parallel breakout sessions (back to back)
and evaluation clinic - 15.20 Afternoon break and networking
- 15.45 Final session Round up
- 16.00 Close
5Purpose of the day
- Introduce us and the programme level evaluation
- Early findings of the evaluation
- Brief introduction to the Toolkit
- Inform you about other support available
- Projects meet each other
- Learning from each other and sharing experiences
- Answering any queries about evaluation
6Reaching Communities Programme Evaluation
- ECOTEC Research Consulting has been
commissioned to evaluate Reaching Communities in
England and Northern Ireland - Introduction to ECOTEC
- Working with Boyd Consulting in Northern Ireland
to cover that aspect
7Reaching Communities Evaluation
- Four year programme evaluation 2007-2010
- Various strands of the study including
- Evaluation Toolkit
- Networking events for projects (annual)
- Website
- Survey (annual)
- Case studies
- Annual reports year one published in Feb 2008
8Aim of the evaluation
- To assess the effectiveness of projects within
the Reaching Communities programmes in England
and Northern Ireland in identifying, defining and
meeting the needs of the people they aim to
benefit
9Evaluation Objectives
- How have projects identified need, most in need
and hard to reach groups? - Have projects considered local strategies to
provide evidence of need? - Have beneficiaries been involved in identifying
need? - Have beneficiaries been involved in project
planning/ delivery? - Have projects met the needs they identified?
- Have projects and the programme reduced
disadvantage and exclusion? - What different approaches have projects used to
identify and address need and reduce
disadvantage?
10Reaching Communities overview of evaluation
findings to date
- Nicola Hall
- ECOTEC Research Consulting
11Programme overview (i)
847 grants awarded in England (figure now
1000) 180 million of funds awarded (figure now
212 million) 90 projects working at local
level Good regional spread Tackling urban (67)
and rural areas (37)
12Programme overview (ii)
- 84 projects led by VCS
- A third are companies limited by guarantee (e.g.
community enterprises and credit unions) - Organisations relatively small in size
- Grant size ranges 10k to 500k
- 3 and 5 year projects most common
13Identifying needs (i)
14Identifying needs (ii)
- Survey top 5
- Young people (13)
- Medical condition (10)
- Minority groups (8)
- Disability (7)
- Homelessness (7)
- BIG data top 5
- Disabilities or health problems (15)
- Urban disadvantage (14)
- BME groups (12)
- Families (8)
- Rural disadvantage (8)
15Activities being delivered
Top 5 answers in the survey
Big Lottery Fund data 2008
16Which did you use to identify the need for your
project?
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Base all, 325)
17Involving beneficiaries (i)
- In identifying needs initially
- worked on equal terms with the project 24
- Entirely decided by beneficiaries 18
- Then during the projectin
- Evaluation
- Delivery
- Planning
- Project management
- Decision making
18Involving beneficiaries (ii)
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Bases vary)
19Meeting the need early indications
- Rolling programme early days
- 17 projects finished
- 24 projects finish by time of next survey
- Early evidence is needs are being met
- 75 met needs to large extent
- Half felt they had reached hard to reach or
most in need - 47 felt they had reduced disadvantage
20Case study Suffolk family carers
- 97 of all family carers who attend the outreach
centres feel supported and their needs are met
in order to attend - 98 consider it to be a good break from caring
- "I always come out of a meeting a lot better than
when I come in." - Before the project one beneficiary said "I was
stressed out.my mother is dependent on me and I
felt trapped in the situation" but afterwards
they felt less isolated and more 'normal'. - Attending the outreach centres makes one user
"feel like a person again, you lose this when
caring for someone, you become nothing".
21Longer term impact
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Base 265)
22Introduction to Evaluation The Toolkit
23The Evaluation Toolkit
- Toolkit to help you to evaluate your project
- Sent by post, web and copies here
- Ideas of methods and approaches to use
- Examples of tools to use
- How to analyse and write up your findings
- Enable you to input to the programme evaluation
- Details of other sources of support
24What is Evaluation?
- Different from monitoring
- Evaluation tells you how or why you met your
objectives - Provides an assessment of your project based on
the information you collect - Helps you understand what worked / what didnt
work as well in meeting the need you identified - Involves staff and beneficiaries
25Benefits of Evaluation
- Improve the planning and management of your
project - Understand how your project is working and how to
make changes so it achieves even more - Involve your beneficiaries in feedback
- Help you try to secure extra funding by providing
evidence about successes - Not compulsory but BIG strongly urge you to
undertake evaluation and we can help you!
26(No Transcript)
27Types of research
- Qualitative
- feelings, perceptions and thoughts
- explore the reasons why
- words and pictures
- depth interviews, focus groups, diaries
- Quantitative
- numbers and counting
- measuring how many
- surveys
- data analysis
28Peer research
- A great way to involve your beneficiaries in your
project - Involve them in all stages (e.g. design of
surveys) - Enable beneficiaries to interview each other
- Use our tools to train them do it
- Provide guidance / advice
- Unique feedback to include in your reports
29Sources of help
- www.reachingcommunities.org
- reaching.communities_at_ecotec.com
- Send us your evaluation report to include in this
years annual report
30Project presentations Domestic Violence Services
Keighley
31Project presentations Northern Learning Trust
32Project presentations Rising Sun Domestic
Violence Project
33Parallel sessions this afternoon
Three choices to chose from on your agendas,
attend 2 of the 3 Community based research (level
1 foyer) Beyond the toolkit evaluation methods
(main room front) Identifying and meeting needs
(main room back) 1.35pm-2.15pm Session
1 2.25pm-3.20pm Session 2 Plus evaluation clinic
with Dipali 1.35pm-3.45pm
34Final sessionRound up
35Final session Round up
- Thank you for coming and joining in
- Visit our website www.reachingcommunities.org
- Email us reaching.communities_at_ecotec.com
- Give us your feedback on this event (feedback
form) - Send us your final evaluation reports
- Fill in the annual survey for all projects (Sept)
- Look out for the year two evaluation report
(early 2009)
36Thanks for coming!
- www.reachingcommunities.org
- reaching.communities_at_ecotec.com