Evaluating impact: how do

you know you are making a

difference?

Vivienne Porritt Executive Director London Centre for Leadership in Learning Institute of Education www.ioe.ac.uk/lcll 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

Why should we evaluate impact?

For whom do you want to make a difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Designing

impact

By when do you want

to make a difference?

• short term?

• medium term?

• long term?

• practical implications of timescale?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

What kind of

difference do you

want to make?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Guskey’s

levels

initial reactions

professional learning

organization support and change

pupil learning

outcomes

use of new

knowledge and skills

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

From what ………. to what?

© Copyright LCLL, 2007

How will you

know?

• Baseline picture

• Current practice

• Current data

• Current attainment

measure

• Impact picture

• Changed practice

• Changed data

• Changed attainment

measure

• How much of a difference?

• Implications for return on

investment?

• To whom?

• By when?

Does it make a

positive difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

What evidence will

demonstrate the

difference

you have made?

Distinguish between

Evidence source

Evidence

Does it make a

positive difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Evidence Evidence

source

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