british council · web viewappendix 1: evaluation plan templatepage 7 appendix 2: examplespage 8...

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CULTURAL PROTECTION FUNDEVALUATION PLAN GUIDANCE

September 2016

2CULTURAL PROTECTION FUND www.britishcouncil.orgEVALUATION PLAN GUIDANCESEPTEMBER 2016

CONTENTSIntroduction Page 3

Step 1: Evaluation aims Page 4

Step 2: Outcomes Page 4

Step 3: Project objectives Page 5

Step 4: Key performance indicators Page 5

Step 5: Evidence Page 5

Step 6: Project activity Page 6

Step 7: Getting your plan signed off Page 6

Appendix 1: Evaluation Plan template Page 7

Appendix 2: Examples Page 8


INTRODUCTIONCongratulations again on being awarded a Cultural Protection Fund grant. This guidance document is designed to help you complete your Evaluation Plan. You must complete this plan and return it to your Grants Manager within 10 working days of the date of your draft Grant Notification Letter. We must receive this plan before we can finalise your Grant Notification Letter and sign your Grant Agreement.

Your Evaluation Plan is an important document. The information you provide in your plan will form the basis of your progress report forms, which will be required when you request a grant payment. Your Evaluation Plan will also help you to write your Evaluation Report at the end of your project.

When completing your Evaluation Plan, it is important that you are pragmatic and realistic about what you include in it. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions we ask you to think about; above all you want an evaluation plan that accurately reflects what it is that you are trying to achieve through your project, that is realistic about the progress you will make in the time you have and that includes practical thinking about how you will gather the most appropriate evidence.

This advice document takes you through the process of completing the Evaluation Plan template you’ll find in Appendix 1, step by step. To help you understand what we need to see in your evaluation plan, we have produced an example of the kinds of information your plan might include, which you will find in Appendix 2.

We hope that this process will be straightforward, but if you do have any questions after reading this document, please contact your Grant Manager.


STEP 1: EVALUATION AIMSAs your first step towards completing your evaluation plan, think about what you want to achieve by evaluating your project – what your evaluation aims are. As a prompt, here are some reasons that might be relevant to you:

o So that you evidence your impact. o So you can share your success with other people.o So you understand how successful you have been, and what has contributed to that.o So you understand which things have worked, and which have not, and why that is.o So you can improve what you do.

ACTION: Once you’ve thought this through, please add your evaluation aims to section 2 of your Evaluation Plan template.

Evaluation helps you to communicate the story about your project. Often the evidence you collect as part of your evaluation can also be useful from a communications point of view. For instance, video documentation or interviews can provide content for a film you might make about your project, or feature on your website.

So your next task is to think about two questions: who are the people or types of people that you will want to tell the story of your project to, and how will you communicate your story. As a minimum, these will include your team, trustees and volunteers, your users or visitors and your funders.

ACTION: Once you’ve thought about those questions, we’d like you to fill in your answers in section 2 of your evaluation planning template.

STEP 2: OUTCOMESIn your application we asked you to identify which of the Cultural Protection Fund’s three outcomes your project relates to. As reminder the three outcomes are (1) cultural heritage protection, (2) training and capacity building and (3) advocacy and education. We also asked you to identify which of the following sub-outcomes your project sets out to achieve:

Outcome 1 (cultural heritage protection): Cultural heritage under threat is researched, documented, conserved and restored to safeguard against permanent loss.□ Cultural heritage will be in better condition and/or protected against physical damage or destruction□ Cultural heritage will be better managed □ Cultural heritage will be better identified/recorded

Outcome 2 (training and capacity building): Local professionals have sufficient business or specialist skills to be able to manage & promote cultural assets which will benefit the local economy. □ Local staff and/or volunteers will have developed skills□ The local cultural heritage workforce will be more diverse

Outcome 3 (advocacy and education): Local people are able to identify and value their cultural heritage and have a good understanding of what can be done to protect their cultural heritage and the role it plays in society and the economy.□ Cultural heritage will be better interpreted or explained □ Local people will have a better understanding of their cultural heritage and value it more□ Local people will have volunteered time to help protect or promote their cultural heritage


□ More and a wider range of people will have engaged with cultural heritage

ACTION: Refer back to your application to recall which of the above outcomes and sub-outcomes you aim to achieve with your project. Then turn to Section 3 of your Evaluation Plan template. Here you will find a separate planning table for each sub-outcome. Keep the tables for the sub-outcomes you plan to achieve and delete the remaining tables.

STEP 3: PROJECT OBJECTIVESNow that you’ve thought about the sub-outcomes that you hope that your project will achieve, we’d like you to think about each of them in turn, and identify some more specific objectives. Remember, objectives are the goals you’ve identified for your project, and a good way to remember what they should look like is to think about them as being SMART:

S PECIFIC M EASURABLE A CHIEVABLE R EALISTIC T IMETABLED

We are looking for ‘concrete’ impacts that you hope your project will have. For instance, these might relate to creating an online archive by a certain time, or to training a particular number of heritage professionals or volunteers. If your application to us you mentioned any of the following as targets, please ensure that you include an objective relating to each:

Increasing your visitor numbers in the first year after you finish your project Training people from our target countries as part of your project Involving volunteers from our target countries as part of your project Creating full time equivalent posts as part of your project

Rather than setting too many objectives, focus on the main things you want to achieve.

ACTION: Taking each sub-outcome in turn, please add to the planning table the relevant objectives you’ve identified (using the ‘objectives’ column). If you identify more than two objectives for each sub-outcome, you can insert a new row in the table.

STEP 4: KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORSFor each of these objectives, we’d now like you to think about what the performance indicators are that will tell you that you’re making progress towards achieving them.

The simplest way to think about this is just to ask yourself ‘how will we know we’re making progress?’ For example, if your project has a focus on training cultural heritage sector professionals or volunteers one of your performance indicators might be increased skills or qualifications gained, or that they’ve gone on to secure new positions as a result of your project. If your project has a focus on safeguarding cultural heritage, one of your performance indicators might be a reduction in risk levels. Please see Appendix 2 for examples of potential key performance indicators.

ACTION: Once you’ve thought about your indicators, simply add these to your planning tables, in the column next to each objective.

STEP 5: EVIDENCE

Having thought about your performance indicators, you will now want to plan how you are going to gather evidence about that progress you have made in relation to each of your project objectives. If you need some inspiration, we have provided lots of ideas for what your evidence might include in Appendix 2.


ACTION: Once you have thought about the evidence you will collect, please list this in your planning table in the ‘examples of evidence’ column alongside each performance indicator. And, in the column next to that (in the ‘how…’ column), please also list how you’ll collect it, who will do it and when.

STEP 6: PROJECT ACTIVITY

Turning back to what you’re actually going to do during your project, we’d like you complete each planning table by simply listing the project activity that’s relevant, and when this is likely to happen. You may find it helpful to refer back to the Project Plan you completed as part of your Application Form.

ACTION: To complete your evaluation plan, just add this information to the final two columns of each planning table.

STEP 7: GETTING YOUR PLAN SIGNED OFF

Congratulations! You have finished your Evaluation Plan. By now, you should have a very clear sense of what your goals are, and how – on a very practical level – you are going to evaluate your progress towards achieving them.

ACTION: Please send your completed Evaluation Plan to your Grant Manager. If we have any queries, we will come back to you. Once we have agreed the plan with you, we will issue a final version of your Grant Notification Letter containing your Project Objectives and agreed payment schedule. If you haven’t already signed your Grant Agreement and sent it to us, you should do so as soon as you receive your updated Grant Notification Letter.

© British Council 2015The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.


APPENDIX 1: EVALUATION PLAN TEMPLATE

Section 1: About you and your projectPlease complete the following basic information about you and your project.Legal name and address of your organisation:Name of your project:Project reference number (found on your Grant Notification Letter):

Section 2: Evaluation aimsAs your first step towards completing your evaluation plan, we’d like you to pause and think about what you want to achieve by evaluating your project, what your evaluation aims are. Please use the table below to tell us about these aims.

Evaluation aim 1Evaluation aim 2Evaluation aim 3Evaluation aim 4Evaluation aim 5

You next task is to think about two questions: who are the people or types of people that you’ll want to tell the story of your project to, and how you will do this. Please use the following table to explain that you us. Please add more rows if necessary.

People we need to tell the story of our project to

How we will do this


Section 3: Your Evaluation Plan

Using the 3 main Cultural Protection Fund outcomes as headings, we ask you to complete a table for each of the sub-outcomes which are relevant to your project. In the table there are columns for the following:

Objectives Indicators Evidence you will collect How you’ll do that Related project activity Activity dates

Please complete each column of the tables, using the guidance in this document. Only complete the tables for the sub-outcomes that are relevant to your project and delete any remaining tables.

Outcome 1: cultural heritage under threat is researched, documented, conserved and restored to safeguard against permanent loss

Sub-outcome: Cultural heritage will be in better condition and/or protected against physical damage or destruction

Objectives Potential key performance indicators

Examples of evidence to collect to help document your impact

How you might collect that evidence

Related project activity Start & end date of activity

Sub-outcome: Cultural heritage will be better managed






Sub-outcome: Cultural heritage will be better identified/recorded





Outcome 2: Local professionals have sufficient business or specialist skills to be able to manage and promote cultural assets which will benefit the local economy


Sub-outcome: Local staff and/or volunteers will have developed skills





Sub-outcome: The local cultural heritage workforce will be more diverse





Outcome 3: Local people are able to identify and value their cultural heritage and have a good understanding of what can be done to protect their cultural heritage and the role it plays in society and the economy


Sub-outcome: Cultural heritage will be better interpreted or explained





Sub-outcome: Local people will have a better understanding of their cultural heritage and value it more






Sub-outcome: Local people will have volunteered time to help protect or promote their cultural heritage





Sub-outcome: More and a wider range of people will have engaged with cultural heritage





APPENDIX 2: EXAMPLES


The following tables provide some example key performance indicators and evidence that you might find useful prompts for your own evaluation planning. We have not provided example project objectives as these will be specific to your project.

Outcome 1: Cultural heritage protection

Sub-outcomes Potential key performance indicators

Examples of evidence to collect



Cultural heritage will be in better condition and/or protected against physical damage or destruction

You or your partner organisation(s) are better able to protect cultural heritage, potentially via: Improved safeguarding or

protective procedures Preventative measures

you’ve put in place

Your/their new or improved safeguarding policies/action plans/measures etc

Ensure you/your partners upload such policies/plans/risk registers etc to central folder

Physical improvements to the condition of your cultural heritage

Photos showing repairs/maintenance

Certificates proving work done

Take before and after photos File all certificates online in central

folder

Cultural heritage will be better managed

You/your partners have been through organisational change, potentially including:

More resilient, with enhanced management and conflict preparedness plans

Increased skills/ qualifications/capacity within your/their team/volunteers

Changes in governance Increases in organisational

resources Enhanced financial position Better risk rating

Visitor/user feedback about their experience

Internal skills audits or similar Annual reports Business plans Conflict preparedness plans Maintenance plans Governance documents Financial

statements/management accounts

Risk register

Undertake visitor surveys and interviews, use feedback forms etc

Upload all audits, reports, plans, accounts and governance documents to central folder, as they are written, & audit these at review points


Cultural heritage will be better identified/recorded

You or your partners have new or enhanced records or archives relating to the heritage, site or object

Links to, or other evidence of, the records or archives themselves, to virtual heritage sites, or to/of excavation or conservation work carried out

Build archiving your project into the project plan for your work

Store all records centrally and be sure you can provide a link to them

Outcome 2: Training and capacity buildingSub-outcomes Potential key

performance indicators




Local staff and/or volunteers will have developed skills

Shift in the profile of your workforce or that of your partners’, or work done to start to affect this shift.

Compare and contrast evidence from before and after the project, relating to composition of workforce

Relevant policy documents and action plans (eg.equal opportunities, disability policy and plans)

Gather baseline evidence at the beginning, so you can compare and contrast. Run same process at the end, for comparison.

Store policy documents and action plans centrally, so you can easily attach them.

The local cultural heritage workforce will be more diverse

Increased skills/ qualifications/capacity within your/their team/volunteers

Skills and knowledge audit at the beginning and end of your project.

Staff and volunteer feedback about relevant professional development

Resources produced/work done as a consequence of this development (eg. marketing materials, conservation policies)

Carry out skills audits at beginning and end.

Do staff/volunteer interviews at end of project or ask them to do evaluation questionnaire after each training session.

Store relevant resources/documents centrally

You’ll have a better risk rating

Reduced risk rating Monitor risk register and store it centrally

Skilling up of those working in the cultural heritage sector

Details of training or mentoring that’s happened, and impact of it

Stores details of numbers and names of those who undertook training etc, and use


interviews/surveys too record impact

Development of plans for more ambitious joint projects

Plans for joint initiatives Gather together plans in central folder online

Improved lobbying, or mechanisms for doing this

Details of lobbying activity, and impact it’s had

Use project review meetings to capture details of lobbying activity

Outcome 3: Advocacy and educationSub-outcomes Potential key

performance indicators




Cultural heritage will be better interpreted or explained

Improved interpretation methods Your interpretation plans, resources or activity

Store details of all your interpretation work centrally so that you can easily summarise and share it

Enhanced user/visitor understanding or experience

Visitor/user feedback about their experience

Increase in user/visitor numbers and/or shift in their demographic

Train team/create or improve systems for capturing visitor and user numbers, and in creating surveys/doing interviews

Keep record of all volunteers, and use survey or application forms to capture key demographic info

Local people will have a better understanding of their cultural heritage and value it more

Shifts in user/visitor understanding of, and/or engagement with, their cultural heritage

Numbers of volunteers at start and end of project

Demographic information about volunteers

Train team/create or improve systems for capturing feedback from users and visitors; store this centrally

Keep project plans/dates of engagement projects

Store details of the engagement programme centrally, so you can easily access them

Collect photos/videos etc from the activity, along with interviews/surveys

(More) local people will be volunteering to help protect and

Increase in numbers of volunteers

Numbers of volunteers at start and end of project

Demographic information about

Train team/create or improve systems for volunteer numbers, and in creating surveys/doing interviews


promote their cultural heritage.

volunteers to capture key demographic info Store materials relating to volunteer

programmes centrally so you have easy to access record

Organisation better resourced and able to do more as a result

Details of increased activity undertaken as a result of having more volunteers

Store detailed of the work being done by volunteers centrally

Volunteers can articulate benefits of volunteering (eg. new skills, increased confidence)

Research into impact volunteering has on volunteers

Use interviews and surveys to capture evidence of impact being a volunteer has had

More people, and/or a wider range of people, will engage with cultural heritage

Increases and other demographic shifts in user/visitor numbers and other relevant online analytics

Visitor/user numbers, plus demographic information about them

Volunteer numbers, plus demographic information about them

Supporting material related to engagement programmes

Train team/create or improve systems for capturing visitor and user numbers, and in creating surveys/doing interviews

Keep record of all volunteers, and use survey or application forms to capture key demographic info

Store materials relating to engagement programmes centrally so you have easy to access record

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