Step 1 - Evaluation guiding principles

Before carrying out any evaluation... 

1. Know what the aim of any training activity is at the outset.  i.e. What was the identified training need that led to the training activity taking place? What impact was the development intervention designed to have?
2. Know how the training and development activity contributes to meeting the needs of stakeholders? (e.g. the needs of researchers, your institution and the funders of research)
3. Know where you are starting from before the training and development intervention. Do a baseline assessment e.g. participants needs analysis
4. Respect the issue of attribution. Nothing can be ultimately proven, however, enough evidence can be collected to draw conclusions ‘beyond reasonable doubt'.
5. Respect the subjective nature of participant views. Just because somebody enjoyed an activity and thought they had learnt something doesn't mean they did learn. Always have additional supporting evidence in draw conclusions from participant views.
6. Respect the potential for metrics to mislead when quoted as standalone figures. Reinforce with the supporting ‘story' behind the figure or associated supportive evidence.
7. Don't ignore the unexpected. Design and evaluate activity based upon the aims of the activity, but don't ignore unintended outcomes that become apparent during an evaluation. They may be valuable and help focus future or new activity.