The Evaluation Online Network is a virtual group for anyone interested in evaluation in the West of England and beyond.
It is led by Pam Moule, Professor of Health Services Research (Service Evaluation) at the University of the West of England, and Jo Bangoura, Evaluation & Commissioning Liaison Manager at the West of England AHSN who post regular content via an email-based forum, on all things evaluation related.
Members are also welcome to contribute by emailing out to the group, with questions, information or experience.
The network was launched in March 2017 with a promise to evaluate it after 3 months to inform its future development. The evaluation, carried out by survey, confirmed that members would like to see the network continue. The responses suggest that members have learnt from the network and appreciate having access to experts.
Survey respondents confirmed that the most helpful topic was ‘approaches to evaluation’. The topic covered some of the most frequently used evaluation approaches such as Plan Do Study Act, realist evaluation and logic modelling. Other topics for previous posts include ‘evaluation challenges’, ‘evaluating technologies’ and ‘how do I involve the public in my evaluation?’.
Following the evaluation, the network is continuing to explore different approaches to evaluation and keep members informed about evaluation events and training opportunities in the area. Upcoming posts, written by a number of members, will cover:
- How do research and evaluation differ?
- Approaches to evaluation including: mixed methods; process vs outcome; more on logic modelling; economic evaluation; developmental evaluation; evaluating with small numbers; very rapid evaluation; and how to facilitate a collaborative approach to healthcare evaluation.
The aim is that the group will become a self-sustaining peer support network, pooling regional expertise and experience and increasing evaluation capacity and capability. You can read the Network Charter here.
To join the network, email Jo Bangoura on j.bangoura@nhs.net. Details of how to post will be sent when you register, as well as instructions on how to unsubscribe and look at past posts via the web interface.
Posted on November 8, 2017
