Blog

Apr 18 2017

Sharjah – a successful cultural precinct

I’ve just returned from Sharjah, UAE. My first impression of Sharjah was that of a sprawling congested metropolis that felt like a satellite city of Dubai. But then I found the heritage and arts precinct and realised that this city had an identity of its own. Sharjah’s cultural precinct comprises a group of 16 museums […]

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Feb 26 2017

Evaluation on a shoestring

If you’ve ever wished you had more resources to conduct an evaluation, you’re not alone. But if you’ve ever felt you shouldn’t proceeded with commissioning an evaluation because of constraints on resources, think again.  Renowned American evaluator Michael Bamberger has written extensively about how to conduct evaluations with limited resources. He calls it a Shoestring […]

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Jan 30 2017

Making an impact

You’ve rolled out a government or community program with specific objectives in mind and ask yourself: “What was the impact of this initiative on the community? How can an evaluation answer this question?” Impact Evaluation goes beyond describing or measuring outputs of a program or initiative. An Impact Evaluation is unique in two ways: 1. […]

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Nov 28 2016

KPIs: Key Performance Indicators? Or perhaps not so key?

KPIs: Key Performance Indicators. Surely they’re the most relevant indicator when conducting an evaluation, right? KPIs are widely known and used in the business world. They are known as measurement values that demonstrate how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. KPIs are typically quantifiable measures that are used to track and assess […]

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Nov 14 2016

Cause and effect: why does it matter?

Causation can be a basic concept in everyday life. If you slip on a banana peel you will likely fall, therefore it makes logical sense to say that the presence of a banana peel in your path caused you to fall. But things can also get more complex than that. If you think about what […]

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Oct 26 2016

Evaluation in the regional arts sector – current thinking

In the last decade or so, regional arts programs have been designed to be powerful tools with which to engage communities in various levels of change. They have been delivered to address regional renewal, health outcomes, quality of life, sense of place, transformation, social development and marginalisation. Yet, the literature reveals deficiencies in the quality […]

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Oct 6 2016

To measure or not to measure

We often feel we need to assign value to something, to be sure we know if it has merit or worth. The field of evaluation is embedded in processes of measurement, be that qualitative or quantitative, or a combination of both methods. Social research, too, is similarly participating in the debate about what can––or should––be […]

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Sep 14 2016

Community Panels: consistent consultation in small regional towns

Consulting with communities over the long-term in small regional towns in Australia presents similar challenges to consultation in cities. How do you target the right people for consultation? How do you keep people engaged for long-term projects?
 It is a myth that small towns folk have more time on their hands than their busy city […]

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Aug 17 2016

Data Saturation – numbers left out in the rain, or something else?

Data saturation is a term used in research to indicate that no new information is expected to be added that will enhance or change the findings of a study. Data saturation is important to achieve. It is reached when there is enough information to replicate the study, when the ability of obtain additional new information […]

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Jul 27 2016

Cause and effect. Is qualitative evidence legitimate?

The exploration of causal pathways is compelling in evaluation and sometimes central. Investigating cause and effect and can be the only way of providing evidence that a program or initiative can be directly attributable to a particular outcome. To understand causal pathways is useful in telling a story of a program and is essential in […]

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