Intended audience: DataKind Volunteers
Now that you have gathered data about the impact of the project and feedback from the project stakeholders, summarize the findings in a brief report that can be shared with everyone involved in the project and beyond, so that everyone can learn from the project.
Evaluation Report
Use this Evaluation Report Template as a reference, and make the sure the evaluation report includes the following:
- Results from the quantitative evaluation: Even if they were inconclusive, impossible to collect, or not what was expected, it is important to share these results. These are valuable learnings for us at DataKind as we decide continuously on the right approach for evaluating our projects!
- Any qualitative impact that the project had on the partner organization or Project Champion: Summarize the findings, takeaways, and learnings from the qualitative interview, so that we can get a deeper understanding of the impact that the project had on the organization overall.
- Information on how the project is being used: If the project needs additional work done to be valuable to the organization, this is helpful for us to understand as we are designing new projects. If the project is being expanded and used across multiple organizations or departments, it is also helpful for us to understand the potential impact that projects being designed could have on a partner organization. Understanding if and how a project is used at a partner organization helps everyone.
- Results from the Post-Project Surveys, and anything that has changed since then: Six months after a project is completed, a Project Champion might have a very different understanding of the success of the project than they did immediately after the project was completed. Note any of these changes from the post-project surveys and what we could have done to mitigate challenges, if applicable. Combine these insights with the qualitative insights in the report for a seamless read, and don’t forget to include the survey results in the appendix.
- Next steps: Whether we are providing additional support, starting to discover a new potential project with the same partner organization, or just planning to stay in touch, document the planned next steps to help hold us accountable.
Finally, make sure the information found in the evaluation is documented in Salesforce, the Google Drive folder, and anywhere else anyone might go to find information on the project results.
Sharing Evaluation Learnings
Sharing what was learned in the Evaluate Stage is the only way we can all learn how to be better! Take advantage of the following potential sharing opportunities to socialize the Evaluation Report and any key takeaways:
- Coordinate with your staff point of contact to notify the DataKind community of the evaluation being completed by including it in the chapter newsletter, on Slack, or in other internal communication channels for volunteers and staff.
- Consider doing a project showcase presentation to share what was learned in the evaluation. This can be done internally (just for DataKind staff and volunteers) or publicly (if the partner organization and DataKind agree on the content being shared).
- Consider presenting the results at the partner organization again, if there is demand or value in the partner organization staff learning from what came out of the evaluation. Work with the Project Champion to decide if this is a good idea.
- Consider applying to a conference or posting on the DataKind blog to share the learnings from the evaluation. Any decision to publicly share the evaluation results needs to be agreed upon by both DataKind and the partner organization, and signed off by the appropriate approvers on both sides.
- Update any internal documentation that has been used to keep ongoing track of the project, such as the project plan or information about a portfolio that the project is a part of. Make sure that the results from the Evaluate Stage are shared everywhere the project is internally discussed and managed.
Contributer(s): Kenley Ambroise, Caroline Charrow
Contact us
If you would like to learn more about us, partner with us, or get in touch, email us at community@datakind.org
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