Are you a project manager already up to your eyes, and now you’ve an evaluation looming?
You’re responsible for managing or overseeing a small public sector project that aims to make a real difference to its clients. Your organisation, and maybe your partners, have invested significant time and resources in your project. Now they want to know how it’s doing: What has it achieved so far? Where were the hiccups? Is it providing value for money? What have we learned? And, most importantly, How can it be improved for the future?
Or you may need an evaluation to inform policy changes to an established programme, or to help secure future funding.
You’ve already got enough on your plate, and now you’ve got an evaluation to set up. Your staff are good at implementing the project, but how do you evaluate the results they’ve achieved? What if you fail to take an important stake holder’s views into account, or mess up the statistics? Will you lose your chance of future funding?
Or, maybe you are keen to evaluate your project yourself and have time available, but little experience, so you’re at a loss where to start.
Evaluations need time and attention and an appropriate approach. They don’t have to be complicated, but they do have to be accurate. Treating them as an after-thought can threaten your whole project, and turn thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours of effort down the drain needlessly.
I’m May Johnstone, I help managers in the public sector who need to find out the difference their project is making, and are short of time or skills to do this themselves.
I evaluate, or help evaluate projects run by public sector agencies, most of which fall into the education, training, enterprise, childcare and outdoor recreation sectors.
I specialise in small scale evaluations where I get to know both project staff and some of their clients, so both the project and I have the satisfaction of dealing with real people as well as the necessary statistics.
I’ve evaluated projects throughout Scotland, so I’m familiar with the issues of distance, transport and sparse services in rural and remote areas.
If you have an evaluation coming up, please go to the box at the top of the page to get my free Evaluation Checklist: What’s involved in evaluating a small project?
And if you’re wondering whether I can help you, please go to Is this you? to find out who really benefits from my approach.