Evaluation and monitoring
Gloucestershire County Council is keen to hear about how your grant-funded project is going, for example the positive impact it has had on the community and any challenges you may have faced.
We send out an evaluation and monitoring survey at the end of the grant-funded year (typically November), which is open until end of January.
We also conduct a small number of in-person visits each summer to see funded projects and activities in action, enabling us to understand the impact of the grant and form closer links with these organisations.
Additionally, we also share details of funded organisations with our Adult Social Care operational teams, so they can explore relevant services during conversations that support adults in Gloucestershire communities.
What does the evaluation include?
Our end of year evaluation is a short online survey that takes around 15 minutes to complete. It enables us collect some key data about you project and is also an opportunity for you to share more detailed information with us, such as:
- What have you done?
- Who has benefitted?
- What stories can you share?
- Have you been able to obtain other funding?
- What’s happens next?
- What have you learned?
- What challenges have you faced?
- What might you do differently going forward?
You will also have the opportunity to feedback about the grant scheme process itself.
How can this be demonstrated?
Have a think about the information you already collect to avoid duplication of effort. You might like to include some of the following in your evaluation survey:
- Before and after pictures
- Case studies
- Interviews and quotes from beneficiaries (for example, videos/vlogs)
- Quantitative data such as ‘number of beneficiaries’
- Feedback from stakeholders and the local community
What principles underpin our collective approach to learning and evaluation?
- “Do what counts and measure what matters”
- Avoid duplication - think about what you already collect
- Be realistic - about what can be achieved in the time given
- Be proportionate – Thriving Communities Grant projects vary greatly:
- We do not expect to receive the same level or type of information from each project
- For short-term projects, it might not make sense to report at 12 months as well
- For longer-term projects, work might not be completed by 12 months.
- Think ahead - reflect on learning and evaluation as you go, rather than waiting for the evaluation period
- Be creative - our suggestions are just that and are not prescriptive. Any other ideas partners have are welcomed.