Tag Archive for: evaluation wellbeing

Process evaluation

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Process Evaluation

At The Evaluator, we specialise in process evaluations that provide organisations with a clear understanding of how their work is being delivered and where it can be optimised. Our approach focuses on uncovering what’s working well, identifying challenges, and refining processes to maximise effectiveness. By examining implementation, decision-making, and operational dynamics, we help organisations strengthen their approach in real-time rather than waiting until a project’s end. Our evaluations are designed to be practical and insightful, offering clear recommendations that enhance efficiency, improve delivery, and ensure resources are being used to their full potential.

What makes our process evaluations stand out is our commitment to making them both reflective and action-driven. We don’t just map out workflows—we identify opportunities for streamlining, innovation, and growth. We work closely with organisations to ensure that their processes are not only effective but also sustainable and scalable. By embedding evaluation within delivery, we enable teams to adapt quickly, build resilience, and drive continuous improvement. Our evaluations turn operational insights into strategic advantages, helping organisations refine their work, strengthen their impact, and deliver with even greater confidence.

We know that setting up new teams can be tricky at first, and have developed tools which not only evaluate projects, but also help you during the project itself. We offer the following, in larger projects, to keep you on track:

Monitoring support and tools

Monitoring your activity is essential because it ensures that your efforts are making an impact and that you’re using your resources effectively. Without a clear way to track progress, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s working well and where adjustments are needed. That’s why we provide monitoring spreadsheets that offer a quick, at-a-glance overview of key metrics, making it simple to see trends, spot challenges, and identify opportunities for growth. These tools help you stay focused, prioritise your time and energy, and make informed decisions based on real data. Whether it’s tracking outputs, engagement, or project milestones, our monitoring systems empower you to stay on course, adapt when needed, and ultimately achieve greater success.

Innovative process measurement

The Reflex Survey system designed by The Evaluator is a brilliantly simple yet highly effective way to track team progress in real-time. By implementing regular self-assessment measures, the programme team can quickly reflect on their work, providing a gut-reaction assessment rather than an over-analysed response. This allows for a more accurate and honest snapshot of how the project is evolving. The inclusion of the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing (FSNP) framework ensures that team dynamics and project challenges are recognised, allowing leadership to identify patterns, pinpoint challenges, and celebrate progress. By aligning these team insights with feedback from the board and steering group, the Reflex Survey ensures a balanced, multi-level perspective on the programme’s development.

One of the most powerful aspects of this system is its flexibility and responsiveness. Unlike traditional assessments that assume linear progress, the Reflex Survey acknowledges that teams may move back and forth between phases, adapting to new challenges as they arise. The data from the team’s assessments demonstrates this in action – here is an example “an initial dip in scores reflects the complexity of external challenges, while the sharp rise to ‘norming’ in January highlights the team’s resilience and adaptability.” This real-time insight allows for targeted support, proactive problem-solving, and a deeper understanding of team dynamics, making it an invaluable tool for monitoring project health and guiding strategic decisions.

 

 

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to strengthen an existing project, our process evaluation tools are designed to support you every step of the way. We bring clarity, insight, and momentum—helping your team stay aligned, adapt quickly, and deliver impact with confidence. If you’re ready to gain a deeper understanding of how your work is unfolding and how it can be even more effective, we’d love to talk. Get in touch with us today – info@theevaluator.co.uk or call 01756 532 538, to explore how we can tailor our approach to fit your needs and elevate your project from the inside out.

 

Pendle Business Award Finalist

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The Evaluator is delighted to be a finalist in the 2024 Pendle Business Awards for the category Social Responsibility.

 

Graphic is black with white text saying we are proud to be a 2024 finalist

We take our social responsibility very seriously, championing inclusion and diversity for example. We always work hard to make sure that all the projects and activities we evaluate include as many people as possible.

We also work on a lot of environmental projects and are a sustainable team. We minimise commuting by working from home, expect for once a week office days. Our director’s commute is walking to walk! We avoid single use plastic, and hardly use any consumables as a business.

We are a philanthropic team, our director, Kirsty, volunteers for her local secondary school as the school’s strategic careers lead, and our people specialist, Bronwen is also a trained hedgehog rescuer!

We are an ethical organisation, where we make decisions as a team. We even have an ethical query resolution process which is worked through step by step.

And, last but absolutely not least, we are passionate about wellbeing. We delivered the groundbreaking wellbeing project, ‘72 Seasons’ in 2020. This involved getting more than 300 people to rewrite the seasons with us to create an agreed set of nature seasons, to help people connect more with nature as it sits on their doorstep. Since then we continue to share the seasons online and the community of seasonal seekers has now grown to almost 2,000 people. You can see more about the 72 Seasons project here. 

This is all in addition to our operational activity which looks at social responsibility day in and day out! We are delighted to be finalists along with two other amazing organisations; Domiciliary Home Care Services and VS Group. 

Capturing impact in people’s own words

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At The Evaluator we recognise the value of collecting qualitative information for our evaluations. We take pride in capturing the genuine impact our projects or organisations have on individuals through hearing about their experiences in their own words.

The questions we ask are often simple and open to encourage individuals to speak honestly and let their stories unfold naturally. We feel privileged to get to hear about the amazing feedback and stories from people, and we love to share these stories with our clients.

We would also like to share some genuine quotes with you, spoken by real people who have experienced the impact from some of our clients:

We have heard from volunteers

“I truly appreciate everything the team does throughout the year to keep things moving forward. Thank you for helping to make so many people feel empowered, and seeing all of the work being done leaves me feeling so much hope for the future. Thank you for shining a light on all that can be done to make live music more accessible and equitable!” – Volunteer

“That was the biggest opportunity I’ve been given and that changed my life” – Volunteer

“It is such a joy and has made a really positive impact on my life. It has even changed the direction of my career” – Volunteer

 

We have also heard from participants

 

“For my general health I consider [client] more important than the NHS” – Participant of a wellbeing service

“[Client] has just been a godsend for me. Absolute Godsend” – Participant of a wellbeing service

“I really enjoyed the course as I love art and it also gave me a push to get out of the home and socialise more thus contributing to my wellbeing. Thank you”  – Participant of an Arts project

Thank you for the opportunity. Since starting with [project] I’m growing in self confidence and feel like I’m getting my life in order again. I’m putting plans in place and I’m more optimistic for my future.” – Participant of an Arts project

 

If you’re interested in learning more about our evaluation processes or exploring how we can help your organisation measure its impact, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to chat!

New Client: Love Withington Baths

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The Evaluator is delighted to be working with a new client, Love Withington Baths.

The Evaluator is working with the community leisure centre to carry out a Social Return On Investment (SROI). You can read our blog post all about SROI here, but it’s basically a formal process of identifying what matters to people taking part, starting with the changes they identify. We are looking forward to chatting away to people using the centre, and figuring out what changes it has led to in people’s lives. It’s a really well used centre, so we should get to talk to lots of people!

You can see more about Withington Baths here. 

New client: The Bureau for the Arts, Blackburn

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The Evaluator is delighted to be starting a new evaluation; Chip In. Isn’t that a great name? Northern, does what it says, and everyone loves chips!

Helping people, building community, changing lives!

Chip In is a place- based project which aims to engage and mentor young people aged 16-30 in volunteer opportunities across Blackburn with Darwen’s arts, culture, sport, heritage and environment sectors over the next two years. The Project aims to break down barriers which young people face in volunteering, bring together opportunities and build skills, confidence and community.

The Bureau Centre for the Arts is among over 160 organisations across arts, culture, sport, civil society, youth, and heritage sectors to benefit from the £4.6 million Volunteering Futures Fund.

Chip In (formerly Volunteering Now) is our two year volunteer partnership programme for young people aged 16-30. We have teamed up with a range of local partners in the borough to provide opportunities for volunteering in a range of areas such as events, music, project development, admin, exhibition invigilation, workshop support, stewarding, curation, collection handling, supporting youth sessions, social media and blogging, food growing and much more!

You can see more about the project here or read more about Volunteering Futures here. 

National Research Council Report Published

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Our research report is now published.

Nature and Wellbeing in the Probation Service

Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature and Wellbeing Service started running sessions at a Probation Service approved premises in October 2020. Running a number of activities such as landscaping, growing food and working as a team, the project ran twice a week, available to the probationers living on site.

As the project was funded through Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) this evaluation was carried out following approval from the National Research Council for HMPPS and followed all their guidelines including size of summary report.

 

Click here to see three different reports we have published with Lancashire Wildlife Trust. 

 

 

Evaluation: To Have and To Heal

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When you hear Ancient Egypt for Modern Times, what do you think of? We thought of pyramids, and mummies and actually the whole of Egyptian Culture. We have loved evaluating this project around connecting modern people to ancient themes. This project aims to take the whole of that culture and make it relevant now. Of particular poignancy is how people have coped with tough times, and bereavement throughout the generations, which is timely given the last few years.

The Evaluator is delighted to be working the Manchester Museum team to understand the impact of their project, which includes an inter-generational project working across schools and care homes and an online project, of which more is below.

The official project description is:

To Have and to Heal is a unique new arts and wellbeing programme, supporting Covid recovery and resilience, which explores Manchester Museum’s World Class Egyptology collection and popular fascination with ancient Egypt. Sessions provide a safe space to share responses to and personal reflections of experiences of the pandemic.

Participating groups are invited to explore a chosen theme, through which discussion and reflections are shared in relation to the objects and the personal experiences they may connect with. Themes range from Magical Healing and Touch, to Loss and The Meaning of Art.

The interactive online programme includes real time engagement and Q & A with the Museum’s Curator of Egypt and Sudan, showcases high quality digital images of rarely seen objects from the collection, together with a behind the scenes virtual visit to the Museum’s storerooms.

​The online programme uses Manchester Museum’s collections as a catalyst for providing inspiration, and meaningful support to groups and organisations that have been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and is open to:

*​Third sector organisations offering vital support to people at risk of social isolation, with health conditions, or caring responsibilities.

*Schools and home-schoolers seeking inspirational new resources to support ‘catching-up’ on disrupted education

*Care homes and living independent living facilities

You can find out more about the project by clicking here. There are a number of short films which can be freely viewed to explore some of the project themes and objects from Ancient Egypt on the same link.

This project is funded by The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association.

Manchester Museum reopens soon at 10am on the 18th February and is opening with a free exhibition, Golden Mummies. You can find out more here. 

72 Seasons

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72 Seasons is a project we ran which now has an online life. It helps connect people to nature, in amongst their ordinary live and has been proven to enhance wellbeing.

If you want to know more, we now have a page with all the 72 Seasons resources and information available in one place.

Click here to see everything 72 Seasons. 

 

 

 

New Evaluation: Green Loop

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The Evaluator is delighted to be working with a new client, Fylde Borough Council on their arts and environment project; Green Loop. Based around Lytham St Anne’s, Green Loop as a name was inspired by the idea of creatively re-using the waste products which wash up on the shore.

There are three parts to this project including a new Eco-Market taking place at Fairhaven Lake, running with eco-friendly makers and crafts people and curated by Hopeful & Glorious. It has been really nice to work with Heather from Hopeful & Glorious as we worked together many years ago when both of us were working in Arts Development in Lancashire. Hopeful & Glorious curate many high quality events, and you can see more about them on their website here. 

Environmental artist Nerissa Cargill Thompson, is both creating an artist commission and working with a group of volunteers to take part in a 12 week programme to learn how to become an environmental maker with a creative business. That’s a journey of discovery for sure! We will enjoy writing about that as creative business is one of our particular interests.

Nerissa describes her work as:

Exploring change over time, not just eroding or decaying but new layers of growth, giving juxtapositions of structure and colour. Recent mixed media sculptures combine embellished textiles and cement cast in plastic packaging to highlight the legacy of disposables. Naturally inspired textures emphasise the way our waste becomes subsumed into the natural world around us.

Images of recent works can be seen on her website here. 

This project is run by Fylde Borough Council whose website is here, and the project is funded by Arts Council England.

New Client: VocalEyes

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The Evaluator is delighted to be working with a new client, VocalEyes. We are going to be working with VocalEyes to evaluate their Heritage Access 2022 project.

An ambitious project working with 50 volunteers, Heritage Access 2022, will support and train volunteer access researchers in a large-scale digital volunteering project that will benefit over 3,000 heritage sites in the UK and their visitors.

VocalEyes (great name!) helps bring arts and culture to life for blind and visually impaired people. They support arts and heritage venues through audio description services, training, consultancy and advice. You can see more about VocalEyes on their website here.