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Evaluation Strategy
Client:
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Study objectives:
• Review the Combined Authority's current and future funding streams and approach to evaluation;
• Develop an over-arching evaluation framework to guide what types of evaluation the Authority commissions at what points; and,
• Create an Implementation Plan setting out practical steps that the Authority can take to enhance evaluation capacity and capability.
We were commissioned to assist the Combined Authority develop an Evaluation Strategy and Implementation Plan. We commenced by analysing the Authority's operational context mapping out their current and future identify and policy aspirations.
We set out the purpose of evaluation and the crucial role it plays in each stage in the lifecycle of programmes and projects as shown in the diagram to the right. We explored three main evaluation approaches:
• Process evaluations - how was an intervention delivered?
• Impact evaluations - what difference did the intervention make?
• Economic evaluations - did the benefits delivered justify the costs?
We set out the steps involved in designing an effective evaluation including the key role that logic chains play in articulating aims, objectives, inputs, outputs and outcomes.
Based on extensive consultation with Combined Authority staff we developed a series of evaluation principles which underpin all evaluation activity, including that "evaluation is a learning process and a key component in policy development."
We established four evaluation tiers with guidance on how the Authority can determine which tier to apply to individual programmes and projects, and concluded with a detailed action plan to help build capacity and capability.