A 2-hour workshop designed to help policy makers working in local economic growth understand impact evaluation.

There are many types of evaluation, and they serve different purposes. Impact evaluation tests the effectiveness or impact of an intervention; that is the type of intervention that forms the basis of the What Works Growth evidence reviews.

This course is an introduction to impact evaluation, and touches on other types of evaluation. It provides an overview of counterfactuals, evaluation questions, observables and unobservables, and different types of impact evaluation.

This course complements our training on Making use of logic models and Developing good evaluation questions.

By the end of the training, attendees will:

Understand what impact evaluation is, the common issues around conducting it and how to overcome them.
Feel more confident considering suitable counterfactuals.
Be able to make the case to others about why and how impact evaluation is valuable.

What sort of training is this?

It is a short interactive workshop with a mix of presentations and practical exercises to review evaluation concepts and consider suitable counterfactuals.

Who should attend?

Policymakers in central government, devolved administrations, combined authorities and local authorities within a devolution deal area who have no or limited experience of impact evaluation.
If you are thinking of running a trial or commissioning an evaluation, the course will provide useful information to help you with the process.
If you want to use published research and studies to design interventions, this course will help consider whether it answers your research questions.
Note: This course is not currently open to people outside the public sector.

How do I prepare?

No prep work is required, but we recommend that you think about a project or programme you are interested in evaluating to reflect on during the workshop.

What happens once I’ve signed up?

You will receive a link to join the workshop three days in advance.
We will send you resources you will need for the exercises shortly before the workshop. You can access these online or print them out.
If you’re worried you have not received these emails, please contact m.streb@whatworksgrowth.org.

What happens after the workshop?

We are keen to help you implement what you’ve learned. We offer support after the course to attendees including resources you can share with colleagues; and additional tailored support.

M ore questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us on m.streb@whatworksgrowth.org.

Registrations are closed

Understanding impact evaluation