Evaluation capacity building in widening participation practice

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Return to 'Toolkit' Structure: Ten features of evaluation

9 Evaluation Dissemination

The RUFDATA evaluation framework used by CSET includes three sections that relate to dissemination. The overall PURPOSE and the USE will both shape answers to the questions about AUDIENCE and in turn they influence the strategies that you might use to disseminate your evaluation. Decisions about dissemination also connect with the different evaluation perspectives of accountability, development and knowledge (see below).

Questions about evaluation dissemination

The PURPOSE and USE of your evaluation will influence:

why you disseminate
to whom you disseminate

Thinking about your AUDIENCE will help you decide:

what you disseminate
how you disseminate
when you disseminate

	Evaluation Dissemination: Dissemination Strategies 9A (pdf slides kB) This information sheet includes ideas for different ways of dissemination that might be included within a communication plan.
	Evaluation Dissemination: Dissemination Opportunities 9B (pdf slides kB) This list of websites includes details of where you might disseminate findings from your evaluation.

Dissemination and Aimhigher communication plans

Aimhigher Partnerships are required to develop a communication plan this is an ideal framework to capture and record decisions about how, what and when you will disseminate your findings to different AUDIENCES. Although not required to produce a separate communication plan, HEIs may find it useful to discuss dissemination strategies with institutional colleagues who have responsibility for working with the press, developing news pages for your website, internal electronic and paper newsletters. Whilst using the RUFDATA model encourages a more planned approach to dissemination, this should not stop you pursuing the valuable serendipitous and unpredicted opportunities to disseminate your findings.

Dissemination and evaluation perspectives

The section of the toolkit about evaluation perspectives outlines three umbrella uses of evaluation: accountability, development and knowledge. Each of these perspectives has a different audience with respect to dissemination.

Dissemination for Accountability

There are several layers of accountability influenced by external and internal drivers which determine what you have to do and what you choose to do with respect to dissemination. It is likely that there will be a difference between dissemination to:

meet the external and conditional requirements of a funder, which may include a significant amount of monitoring data as well as providing an opportunity to disseminate some of your evaluative findings
demonstrate your commitment and accountability to the wider communities of practice with whom you work (e.g. other Aimhigher or widening participation practitioners), which may emphasise evidence relating to examples of good practice and depending on the context and format the artefacts you produce may encompass ideas contributing to your dissemination for development.

Things to do

Identify as early as possible if your funder has specific requirements regarding dissemination. This allows you to begin to gather monitoring data and consider how you will incorporate your evaluative data from the start.

For instance:

Is there a particular form? (This is often the case with reporting monitoring data, which may include space and opportunity to disseminate some of your evaluative findings.)

When does the form need completing and in what format? (Sometimes this will need ‘signing off’ by specific individuals or groups and thus you need to think carefully about the timing.)

What other ways can you communicate and disseminate your findings to funders and others? See dissemination strategies 9A

Who else are you accountable to? (It is important to think about the way in which you disseminate your findings to them and ensure it is in an appropriate format.)

Dissemination for Development

One of the features of this type of dissemination is that it is underpinned by an intention and hope that you can use the process and artefacts you produce to generate additional learning for yourself and thus enhance the quality of what you do. The importance of, and interest in, feedback is to gain further insights into how you might develop your work in the future.

There is, however, likely to be a difference between dissemination to:

members of a specific team who are working together on developing and delivering a particular activity, which may include informal verbal feedback as well as a written account that you might use as a basis for the other two forms of dissemination for development. (TEAM)
members of your own institution, or Aimhigher partnership with whom you maybe willing to share a 'warts and all' account that may be shared under Chatham House Rules, rather than a more sanitised or edited version of a report which often has the ‘less successful components removed’. (HEI / AIMHIGHER PARTNERSHIP)
members of a wider community of practice or network of interested practitioners who are already engaged in, or planning to deliver, similar activities in the future. This form of dissemination for development may include top tips, good practice case studies, short summaries submitted in response to others requests e.g. Action on Access Good Practice Guides, summaries in response to individual requests, or even answers provided in other people's electronic surveys as part of their evaluation activities. (SECTOR)

Using evaluation as an aid to developing activities is one of the more rewarding elements for those who undertake evaluation as one part of their work. This is because it enables you to think about what you are doing and legitimately take time to consider how the findings from your evaluation can improve your future action. In some situations it can even inform a decision to stop an activity as well as modify an activity.

Things to do

The needs of the audience also influence dissemination for development. When thinking about the:
TEAM: identify when you will reflect on the evaluative evidence gathered and try to achieve a balance between a reactive and proactive response. See cycle for an overview of the process of reflection – action – review – reporting.

A reactive review might include reading through the evaluation feedback forms to help decide what changes need making for the next event

A proactive approach might include a planned review of emerging issues from a series of events, these will have been collated by a member of the team and ideally include some initial analysis. This process might be repeated throughout the duration of an evaluation but eventually lead to the production of reports, presentations for HEI/AIMHIGHER PARTNERSHIP or SECTOR.

HEI/AIMHIGHER PARTNERSHIP: identify when you will disseminate your findings (existing or special events) and what you hope to gain from the process.

Within both organisational contexts there will be a range of existing meetings to which you can gain a captive audience who will be willing to read a short paper or listen to a short presentation and ask questions or offer feedback.

At other times you may wish to invite individuals to a special event. This is more likely to be appropriate towards the end of an evaluation when you have more to disseminate. Who you invite may depend on whether your focus is on deciding the future of an activity or to promote good practice which may have much in common with dissemination to the sector.

SECTOR: identify where and who or how you will disseminate your findings in order to have the biggest impact. Although the focus may remain a developmental one, as you disseminate to the sector you are beginning to move into disseminating for knowledge.

When disseminating at conferences or workshops try to find out who the audience might be so that you can select the information that is most likely to be relevant to them. For instance, policy makers will have a different interest and ask different questions to a group of practitioners.

Similarly a regional audience might lead to developmental opportunities for working in partnership whereas a national audience may result in more requests for information which may help raise the profile of your work but not aid you in developing your own provision.

Think about who is best placed to disseminate your findings. Is it possible or appropriate to invite some of the participants to help you in this process?

Although a presentation maybe the most immediate means of obtaining developmental feedback, written reports, press releases, or items placed on an email discussion list or website can also provide a useful means of disseminating for development.

See dissemination strategies 9A for other ideas for disseminating for knowledge.

Dissemination for Knowledge

The purpose of evaluation for knowledge is to obtain a deeper understanding of some specific area or policy field. It is more typical of levels 4 and 5 evaluation that is more concerned with macro or sector wide practices and longer term strategic objectives. It is not expected that the scale of individual evaluations will automatically lead to dissemination for knowledge; however, as discussed in the evaluation practicalities, the rigorous collection of data and clarity about the context and status of the evaluation findings will make it possible for meta analysis of smaller scale evaluations.

Things to do

Consider working in partnership with others to develop a combined evaluation project that has the potential to contribute to the wider knowledge base

Identify other projects to which you might share your evaluation findings to enable them to become part of the evidence base of a Meta analysis

Explore within your HEI or Aimhigher Partnership if there are individuals interested in or already undertaking research, whose purpose is to contribute to knowledge (for instance, a postdoctoral student)

Use others’ research to inform your own practice and decisions about how to develop your activities, for instance:

enable staff to attend relevant conferences to learn more about a specific topic;

allow them the time to read, discuss and share ideas from evaluation reports with others in the team.

It is a common concern amongst practitioners that they have pressures to fit the action into their daily timetable, if the benefits of engaging with knowledge arising from evaluation are to be realised they need to have time. It is also worth remembering that whilst some will relish this opportunity, others will prefer to focus on action, but welcome the opportunity to hear brief updates from their colleagues.

Identifying suitable people to undertake the different elements of all stages of the evaluation process from data collection through to dissemination is important.

Disseminating Evaluation Evidence

For examples of evaluative reports please see evaluation evidence. If you have a good idea of how to disseminate your evaluation findings then we would be happy to disseminate them on this site. Please email Ann-Marie Houghton.

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