Evaluating engagement in service change

It's important to include evaluation as part of the planning of your engagement and communication. Evaluation should consider if the process has met the outcomes set out at the beginning of the project, and what difference engaging with communities has made.

Why evaluate?

Evaluating the engagement process will help you to understand the difference engagement has made, and will help to demonstrate how you are listening to people. Evaluation can also identify areas for improvement and will help you understand what works and what doesn't.

When should you evaluate?

Ongoing smaller-scale evaluation at each stage of the process means you can respond to feedback and adapt your approach as you go along.

A larger evaluation at the end of the process will help to identify the impact of the engagement. Also, any learning can be shared and used to inform future practice.

How do you evaluate?

There are pros and cons to the different methods you can use for evaluating engagement. Whichever you choose, it should be accessible to your different stakeholders and their needs. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods is useful. It is increasingly important to evaluate online and digital engagement to capture the learning. But remember, it doesn't all have to be digital.

Evaluation is an important part of the engagement process. It helps you to:

• identify impacts and learning
• improve the quality of your engagement and relationships
• encourage future participation, and
• support good governance and decision-making

More information and resources on evaluation, and contact details for your nearest engagement office, can be found on our website.