Project Networking Event, Leeds

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Reaching Communities Programme Evaluation

• Project Networking Event, Leeds
• Tuesday 1st July 2008

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Welcome

• Dipali ChandraECOTEC Research Consulting

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Introductions

• 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

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Todays 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

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Purpose 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

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Reaching 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

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Reaching 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

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Aim 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

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Evaluation 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?

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Reaching Communities overview of evaluation
findings to date

• Nicola Hall
• ECOTEC Research Consulting

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Programme 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)
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Programme 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

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Identifying needs (i)
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Identifying 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)

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Activities being delivered
Top 5 answers in the survey
Big Lottery Fund data 2008
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Which did you use to identify the need for your
project?
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Base all, 325)
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Involving 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

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Involving beneficiaries (ii)
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Bases vary)
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Meeting 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

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Case 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".

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Longer term impact
ECOTEC Survey 2007 (Base 265)
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Introduction to Evaluation The Toolkit
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The 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

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What 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

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Benefits 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!

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Types 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

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Peer 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

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Sources of help

• www.reachingcommunities.org
• reaching.communities_at_ecotec.com
• Send us your evaluation report to include in this
  years annual report

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Project presentations Domestic Violence Services
Keighley

• Mary Beanland

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Project presentations Northern Learning Trust

• Colin Laidler

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Project presentations Rising Sun Domestic
Violence Project

• Anne Lyttle

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Parallel 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
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Final sessionRound up
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Final 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)

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Thanks for coming!

• www.reachingcommunities.org
• reaching.communities_at_ecotec.com