Making a difference: evaluating the impact of your work Vivienne Porritt Executive Director London Centre for Leadership in Learning Institute of Education
v.porritt@ioe.ac.uk
www.lcll.org.uk
Aims To support you in developing and refining your approach to evaluating the impact of your work • Designing for impact – clarity of purpose • Achieving impact - approaches • Evaluating impact – applying the approach and evidence
Key questions… • Why should we evaluate impact – what is its purpose? • What is impact evaluation? • For whom do you want to make a difference? • What kind of a difference? • By when will the difference be seen? • Does it make a positive difference? • How much of a difference? • How do we know – nature of evidence? • How can we evaluate impact simply and practically? © Copyright LCLL, 2008
Designing impact Why should we work on impact evaluation? For whom do you want to make a difference?
Š Copyright LCLL, 2008
By when do you want to make a difference? • • • •
short term? medium term? long term? practical implications of timescale? © Copyright LCLL, 2008
Establish learning objectives and outcomes at the planning stage “ Good evaluation does not need to be complex; what is necessary is good planning and paying attention to evaluation at the outset of the professional development program, not at the end � Guskey, 2002
Guskey’s levels pupil learning outcomes use of new knowledge and skills
organization support and change
professional learning
initial reactions
How will you know?
From what ……….
to what?
• • • •
• • • •
Baseline picture Current practice Information / data Type of measure
© Copyright LCLL, 2007
Impact picture Changed practice Information / data Type of measure
Does it make a positive difference? • How much of a difference? • Implications for return on investment? • To whom? • By when?
© Copyright LCLL, 2008
Does it make a positive difference? What evidence will demonstrate the difference you have made? Distinguish between Evidence source Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
source
© Copyright LCLL, 2008
A simple and practical approach Plan at the beginning • For whom do you want to make a difference? • What is the difference you want to make? • By when? • Establish a baseline picture and evidence and data at the outset • Establish the impact picture you want to achieve and evidence and data at the outset Then • Evaluate the difference you have achieved © Copyright LCLL, 2008
© Copyright LCLL, 2008
At the outset – to design actions needed
Your collaborative focus: Evidence sources Adults Pupils
Evidence Adults
Pupils
Soft data
Impact practice outset – date? For whom? Adults? Pupils?
School:
--------------------------------------------------------------------Hard data
Evidence sources Adults Pupils
Evidence Adults
Pupils
Soft data
Baseline practice outset - date? For whom? Adults? Pupils?
--------------------------------------------------------------------Hard data