4.2 Building a Culture of Evaluation

Evaluation is an ongoing and continued process that ideally runs alongside your program or service. Once you have engaged in the steps of collecting, analyzing and sharing your data, it is recommended that you continue to review built-in mechanisms for program or service feedback.

While an ongoing commitment to evaluation work can be demanding, here are some tips that can support you in this process:

• Leveraging your Network
  Connect with evaluation experts available in your network and engage them to support your evaluation efforts. Consider making them an evaluation champion for your organization or have them present to your team as a guest speaker on ways to keep listening and responding to your communities.
   
• Connecting to evaluation hubs
  Some universities have centres or labs dedicated to the study of evaluation. Connecting to these centres can help you stay aware of innovations in evaluation methods or approaches that could work for your program or service. For example:
  • The University of Waterloo hosts a Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation
  • The OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) at University of Toronto has a Centre for the Advancement of Measurement, Evaluation, Research and Assessment

   

• Build in a Practice of Learning
  Employ practices that develop a culture of learning with your team or colleagues. This can involve dedicating set time to sharing data or learning from your program or service at staff meetings or creating opportunities for staff to attend evaluation workshops, webinars or conferences.