Evaluation in Action: Empowering Recovery Stories and Insights

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The Evaluator was invited to present at an event for those working with the drug and alcohol service programmes, funded by Birmingham City Council. Taking place at the University of Birmingham, the event included talks from past service users (now volunteers), talking about their experiences and evaluation results and had a strong focus on service-user voices.

To start there was an inspirational talk from a current recovery worker, who had experience of service use. She shared how life was for her, seven years into recovery. It was heart warming to hear her story about how Change Grow Live (CGL) had changed her life for the better, especially the intuitive thinking programme which led her to be able to have her first Christmas, sober, many years ago. Hearing about how her recovery not only impacted her life, but also her children’s lives, truly showed the impact CGL has had on the wider community as a whole. She explained how seeing his mum ‘get clean’ inspired her son to work towards becoming a PT and changed her younger daughter’s life for the better.

The next speech was from a current volunteer and previous service user, sharing her recovery story. Her journey started two years ago when she sadly lost her brother to addiction and decided she needed to get some help. She attended a CGL coffee group where she met staff who reached out to her and offered her the support she needed. With help, she created a recovery plan and ‘got clean’. Noting that the intuitive thinking course was also transformative in helping her change her mindset, she began to volunteer, which has given her structure and purpose. She finished off her speech explaining that she is currently enrolled at college, learning how to help others with their recovery.

Following these inspiring personal experiences, three different companies shared their findings from three different evaluations.

The evaluation team, who investigated children and young people’s engagement with the drug and alcohol service, shared some key findings. Some young people felt that they couldn’t access these services with 38% citing family as the reason, 30% due to peer pressure and the acceptance of drugs as a coping mechanism and 23% due to travel. The presentation showed that more needs to be done to help young people earlier on with 90% of young people saying drug education needs to start at around Year 6.

Kirsty Rose Parker, Director of The Evaluator stands next to a white board at the University of Birmingham, to present our findings on Service User voice.

Kirsty Rose Parker, Director of The Evaluator, shared our evaluation presentation, focussed around our findings and sharing Service User Voice. We offered an incentive to encourage service users to take part in our research and we were able to publicly hand over the prize (an iPad) on the day. Our evaluation here reached almost 400 different service users and we were able to share many quotes, which helped those attending, to understand the voices of those actively engaged in drug and alcohol services.

Image of Kirsty Rose Parker, director of The Evaluator holding an ipad uo above her head. Kirsty is wearing a brightly patterned shirt and blue trousers.

Some of those comments were practical and relevant, some were funny, some heart-warming and some heart-breaking. There was value in taking some time to listen to their experiences and needs.

New Client: Nature Calling

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The Evaluator is delighted to be working with a new client, National Landscapes, on their exciting national project, Nature Calling.

National Landscapes are the new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Nature Calling is a £2 million national project that celebrates the natural beauty of England’s National Landscapes, formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).

The project aims to:

– Listen to communities

– Ensure landscapes are inclusive

– Engage new audiences

– Inspire the National Landscape’s family

– Address the climate crisis

The project is a partnership between: The National Landscape Association, Activate Performing Arts, Poetry School, and Six regional National Landscapes hubs.

National Landscapes explain:

“Co-delivered with Activate Performing Arts as executive creative producers and working with writers, musicians, visual artists, and theatre-makers, Nature Calling aims to inspire new communities across England to connect with National Landscapes, increasing people’s access to nature, improving their wellbeing, and inspiring a sense of belonging in these special places.

Nature Calling marks the first time Defra has invested in the arts on a national scale and it is the first time National Landscapes teams have come together in such numbers to deliver an arts programme.”

The project invites artists and writers to respond to a brief and ultimately to co-create artworks inspired by the landscapes. The artworks will be shared with the public in a Season of Art from May to October 2025.

The project is funded by: Arts Council England, Defra (Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs), and National Landscapes in England.

National Landscapes add:

“The programme will bring together the 34 National Landscapes in England, local arts organisations, and community groups from within a 30-minute journey time of their nearby National Landscape.

They will work together to co-create artworks inspired by these iconic places and the results will then be shared with the public in a Season of Art from May to October 2025, reaching an audience of tens of thousands.

National Landscapes are the UK’s nearby countryside.”

– 66% of people in England (44 million) live within 30 minutes of a National Landscape

– Over 1 million people live within them

– At least 170 million people visit every year

– Nature Calling aims to encourage even more communities to feel welcome to enjoy these special places on their own terms

The Evaluator is supporting the project to collect evaluation materials and really focus in on monitoring all the activity which will be taking place.

Cheers to a Festive Break

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We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful clients from this year, it is a pleasure to work with such outstanding people and provide meaningful evaluation services and data analysis. We look forward to working with new and existing clients next year.

In the spirit of the festive season, the Evaluator team will be taking a break to refresh and recharge during Christmas. Therefore, we would like to inform you that our office will be closed for the holiday period starting from Monday 23rd of December and will resume operations on Monday 6th of January.

We appreciate your understanding, and we assure you that we will return in the new year fully revitalised and ready to continue delivering our exceptional service.

Evaluation in action: Making Data Collection Simple and Effective for Our Clients

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At The Evaluator, we are committed to doing the best job we can for our clients. That means helping them to use data and making sure that they feel confident using data and collect enough. Small amounts of data can be helpful indicators of information, but having larger amounts means that you can trust your information.

Therefore, a big part of our work is carefully planning and supporting clients to maximise their ability to collect data.

Look for all opportunities to collect data as easily as possible

Consider all angles – where is a good place to get people to write something? Are there times in your programme where people will be waiting? Are there natural opportunities to ask questions and record answers?

Sometimes you might want a record of a change, and a photograph might be the best way. Data can be in the form of words, pictures, numbers, and more.

We do usually use at least one survey in each project, but we think carefully about the best place to use it.

How can your evaluation team help you to collect data?

We know all evaluators have slightly different approaches, but this is how we do it at The Evaluator:

– Weekly tracking of information, to help clients out, if we see things start to stall

– Spotting opportunities to visit in person

– Making visits in person as useful as possible – maximising our time

– Encouraging use by demonstrating how valuable the information can be – dashboards, data-driven decisions, etc.

And you know what, it works! In 2024/25, since July 2024 (which is the start of our year), we have supported our clients to collect over 750,000 pieces of data ready for our analysis. Analysis happens at different planned times in the year, but collecting data whilst it is fresh in people’s minds (and their experiences are still memorable) is a vital part of our organisation. We call it our company ‘rock’, as we all stand on that.

Blue graphic image with rocks, which says company rock - data collected in 2024/25 - since July 2024 The Evaluator has collected over 750,000 pieces of data for it's clients.

Evaluation In Action: Working With Volunteers

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The National Festival of Making took place on 6th and 7th July across Blackburn town centre and was supported by a wonderful team of volunteers, including an evaluation team of volunteers.

Volunteers

Each volunteer brought different skills to the festival, with some speaking multiple languages, helping the diverse audience with finding venues across the festival and being a friendly face to converse with. In fact, the team spoke the following languages; Persian, Urdu, French, Polish, Zulu, Bengali and more. What a skilled bunch!

The volunteers were a valuable support to our evaluation team. Over the festival weekend, they helped us to conduct surveys with festival attendees and gather valuable data and feedback, which supports funding for future events and helps the festival to make improvements year on year.

 

Artwork in church - festival of making

Photograph, above, reproduced from the National Festival of Making website. You can see more about the festival by clicking here.

At The Evaluator we enjoy working with volunteers to make the most of our clients resources.

 

Why not keep in touch if you want to know more about how volunteers could be included in your evaluation? Sign up for our mailing list below.

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We’re Hiring!

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Two Exciting Project Officer Roles Available

Would you like to work for a growing evaluation consultancy and use your skills for good? Join The Evaluator and help charities and not-for-profit organisations demonstrate the impact of their work by “measuring the unmeasurable.” We’re thrilled to announce two new job opportunities in our dynamic team!

1. Project Officer – People-Focused Creator and Evaluator

Salary: £28,600 FTE
Hours: Part-time, flexible to fit around family commitments
Location: Hybrid – Mainly home working, with at least one day a week in Barnoldswick, Lancashire
Travel: Some travel required; access to a car and a full driving licence is advantageous

We’re looking for a creative, focused, and empathetic individual who is:

– Comfortable engaging with diverse groups and helping them feel at ease

– A skilled listener who can encourage people to express themselves

– Confident in creating and writing engaging reports

– Proficient in using Microsoft Word

2. Project Officer – Data-Focused Evaluator

Salary: £28,600 FTE
Hours: Part-time, flexible to fit around family commitments
Location: Hybrid – Mainly home working, with at least one day a week in Barnoldswick, Lancashire
Travel: Some travel required; access to a car and a full driving licence is advantageous

We’re looking for an analytical, detail-oriented individual who is:

– Confident turning data into actionable insights for reports

– Skilled in interpreting data, including spreadsheets, tables, and graphs

– Detail-focused with an eye for precision

– Proficient in using Microsoft Excel

Why Join The Evaluator?

At The Evaluator, you’ll work in a supportive environment with the opportunity to grow your skills. We’ll provide full training, and your work will have a meaningful impact on charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK. From conservation projects to wellbeing initiatives, our work spans a diverse range of impactful causes.

For shortlisted applicants, we offer the chance to spend an afternoon with us to see how we work and ensure it’s the best fit for you.

How to Apply

Send your cover letter and CV to kirsty@theevaluator.co.uk or call Kirsty on 07837 896 698 for an informal chat. Applications will close once sufficient applications are received.

We welcome applications from disabled individuals and can make reasonable adjustments during the interview process. We also encourage applications from diverse backgrounds. Applicants must be located in the UK and have the right to work in the UK.

Join us and be part of a team that’s making a real difference!

Simple evaluation you can do yourself – Three tips to do your own evaluation

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Sometimes we get asked to quote for projects and the project is quite small, or the project team is quite small. They don’t have a large budget and although we’re always great value for money, sometimes it’s better to spend the money on delivery.

Our Director, Kirsty, used to run small projects like this and always carried out her own evaluation. She used this knowledge to create ‘The Evaluator’ and wanted to put together a guide for someone who has got a bit of public funding and a small project (maybe £50,000 or less).

If your project is small we recommend you do your own evaluation. There are always exceptions to the rule however and sometimes the project has a strong learning objective, which makes an evaluation particularly appropriate, but as a guide – that’s what we’d recommend.

Say you are running a project and you’ve got, for example  £35,000 worth of funding -how would you attempt to evaluate that? There are some really very simple things that you could do, as follows:

Idea 1: Have an internal focus group.

For example, you might put a meeting together and the three or four people who have been running the project and working on most of the tasks, might sit down and answer these three questions:

What went really well?

What surprised you about the people taking part?

What would you do differently?

Just that alone – having a discussion and applying it, is a really good start.

Idea 2: Mini data analysis.

You keep a note of attendance at events and look to see which days are busiest and do more of them.

Idea 3: Mini research interviews.

Ask the people taking part what they have enjoyed the most – then plan to repeat that for new people.

The important thing is to not see ‘evaluation’ as a big scary thing, but to see it as ‘how can we use the knowledge or information we have to improve’.

Good luck!

72 Seasons Calendars Now Available

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The 72 Seasons shop is now live.

 

 

We know you’ve enjoyed seeking the seasons, it’s helped you feel more connected to nature and many of you have told us how this has helped your wellbeing and seasonal affected disorder too. Now you have a way to see what seasons are coming up and a way to share 72 Seasons with a friend. 

72 Seasons 2025 Desk Calendar

 

 

Click to see our calendar, and feel free to browse the rest ofour carefully selected items. We want as many people as possible seeking the seasons and connecting with nature in 2025!

Meet Our Intern – Nadia

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Nadia stands in front of the Sydney opera house at night with a dark blue sky My name is Nadia and I am excited to announce myself as the newest intern here at The Evaluator.

A bit about me: I’m currently studying Economics at the University of Liverpool, where I’ve developed an interest in Data analytics and statistics.

This internship presents an incredible opportunity for me to dive deeper into my interest of data analytics and apply the theoretical knowledge I’ve gained in a practical setting. What appeals to me about The Evaluator specifically is their core value of being creatively simple, I think the focus of anyone who handles data should be to ensure that any data can be easy enough for the average person to understand and useful enough that it can help them view their project or business in a way they may not have before.

Outside of studying my interests include music, film and travelling. In fact, I recently just spent 6 months living and travelling in Australia. I spent a semester studying in Melbourne and the rest of my time travelling across the east coast – I think my favourite memory from travelling abroad would be getting to go to the Melbourne Grand prix and meeting Daniel Riccardo as I’m a big fan of his. That or being chased by a possum was a fun memory also.

During my internship with The Evaluator my goal is to develop my data and report writing skills, both of which I feel I have already made a start on in the 2 months since I have been here. I’m excited to go forward and see what the new year has in store and I can’t wait to see what I can learn from Kirsty and the team.

 

Evaluation in Action: This is Nelson facilitation

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Reflection sessions can be a really important part of the package that we offer to clients, in terms of evaluation services.

Encouraging people to think back and spend a little time being in a more reflective state of mind can be a great way to improve your work over time. Having discussions about what has gone well, what could be done better and bouncing ideas off your peers and colleagues can reveal some great next steps.

One example is the facilitation we carried out recently for a town deal project. We went to a beautiful venue in the hills and had an ‘away day’ with the whole team. It was very helpful to bring together people who work at all different levels of their organisations. In fact, on this day, it wasn’t just people from all different levels but people from three different key organisations who came together.

At this session we asked ‘what do we know now that we didn’t know a year ago?’ This question can help people to understand their learning during the work they have been doing.

The day helped to:

  • Reflect
  • Reinforce what they knew
  • Build relationships
  • Plan new work together

Some of the most important decisions that came out of that day were really simple. In fact,  the partnership was taking over a new venue and hoped to all work from that venue one morning a week. Two of the organisations had chosen a morning and, on the day, it was realised that it was not a good fit for all three organisations and so a simple shift, right at the beginning, before it got bedded into diaries, would make a big difference to that project.

There were other really important improvements made, such as deciding together ‘how often shall we have a conversation?’ and ‘should it be on slack or more formal?’ ‘How do we keep in touch? Little and often?’(Rather than it being big, planned meetings) and ‘how can we coordinate programming more effectively?’

You don’t always know what’s going to come out of a reflection session but encouraging other people who are taking part in the program, to listen to other people’s thoughts and reflections, gives ideas some space to bounce around and improve.

When we facilitate something like this, we also spend a lot of time making sure that everyone gets a chance to use their voice. There is a concept of the HIPPO voice being the most often heard (Highest Paid Person in The Organisation) and the more senior people tend to be better at speaking up.

As passionate devotees to democracy we also want to hear from people who are more junior or merely just shy in general. Their knowledge and life experiences are really valuable.

The way we go about this is we plan a lot of activities and games which not only make the day fun and make time pass quickly, but they also give everyone a chance to speak.

Our facilitation days do get booked up quite quickly so if you are looking for an evaluation to include every voice – please get in touch.