Blog

Feb 12 2020

Yes, please be judgemental

Evaluation is a field in which we encourage judgement. Rather than living by the ‘Please don’t be so judgemental’ mantra, evaluation is about judgement. It involves pulling all of the empirical data together and making a call. Making a judgement in evaluation goes from the ‘what is so’ (typical of research), to the ‘so what’. […]

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Jan 27 2020

5 things we learned from Black Saturday

Here in Australia we are living through our longest and most devastating bushfire season we’ve experienced. The statistics around numbers of affected communities, the extent of habitat and wildlife loss are staggering. The NSW, Victorian and Australian Governments are responding with disaster assistance in a range of forms. Whether that assistance is offered in the […]

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Nov 13 2019

When to make an impact

You’ve delivered a government program or initiative with specific objectives in mind and now you ask yourself: “What was the impact of this program? How can an evaluation answer this question?” You’re right in leaning towards evaluation to answer your question about impact. But is this the right time? Have you let enough time pass […]

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Aug 22 2019

The power of the pre-test / post-test

This week I visited my old school, Fort Street High in Petersham, Sydney. I wasn’t there for nostalgic reasons. Rather, I had the good fortune of sitting in on a documentary screening for Years 9 and 10 science students. Three hundred or so students filed into the hall to be shown the recently-released BBC documentary, […]

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May 2 2019

Collaborating with regional communities

It’s well understood now that arts and culture make regional Australia a better place. Communities thrive when people come together to share stories, reflect on a common history, and build social inclusion through arts and cultural activity. Last year NSF Consulting was commissioned by Regional Arts Australia to research and prepare a guidelines document to […]

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Apr 15 2019

Evaluating transformation

I’m currently ensconced in report writing for an evaluation project. That is not an uncommon situation to be in, as I work as a program evaluator and consultant. But this project is different; it is more challenging than many, as it poses some big theoretical questions. I am evaluating  Small Town Transformations; an initiative of […]

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Feb 5 2019

The importance of logic

The Logic Model: A supermodel applying logic to ponder something important? No, we are talking matters less hedonistic, although crucially important in the evaluation process. A Logic Model is an important tool to help set up a robust and meaningful evaluation. The process of developing a Program Logic Model is an important first step carried […]

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Sep 24 2018

Australasian Evaluation Conference 2018 – Transformations

Last week the annual Australasian Evaluation Society’s International Conference was held in Launceston, Tasmania. This year’s theme was Transformations, which was more than fitting, given the rate of change in our industry with new theories, approaches and technology changing the way we work. I left the conference with transformed thinking, my four main take-outs were […]

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Oct 31 2017

Lessons from the regions

Having recently returned from a 10 day road trip around regional Victoria I am reflecting on the lessons that can be learned when consulting with communities in small towns. This is because the turn-out to my scheduled consultation meetings was lower than I had hoped. My road trip was a mid-point reading on the mood […]

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Jul 26 2017

Evaluation or research?

Sometimes research and evaluation can be confused or conflated, as I explain in my new online evaluation course for local government, which you can see here. When commissioning a project it is important to be clear about whether you require research or evaluation. Because, despite them being related and sharing some common approaches, they are […]

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