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

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.