- Thursday 3 July
- 1–2pm (BST)
- Free webinar hosted by Matter of Focus Co-Directors Dr Ailsa Cook and Dr Sarah Morton
- Registration required
When done well, evaluation helps us understand what’s working, why it works, and how to improve. But it’s hard to deliver in practice, especially when there is a need to balance lots of other different data and reporting demands.
Too often, the effort put in leads to insights that no one uses, data that doesn’t tell the full story, and staff left unsure of what it all means.
This webinar is for people who are interested in embedding evaluation into day-to-day work in a practical and meaningful way that complements existing governance and accountability requirements.
What we’ll cover
As social scientists with one foot in practice and one in research, Sarah and Ailsa set up Matter of Focus and developed our software tool OutNav to reimagine how organisations use data to learn and improve.
Over the last eight years, we’ve worked with more than 200 organisations across public services, health, community and voluntary sectors.
This session shares learning from this work — and the three areas we think matter most for people working in this space:
Balancing evaluation and accountability
We’ll share a practical approach to integrating the needs of funders, commissioners and scrutiny bodies into an embedded evaluation approach without compromising what matters to your organisation.
Taking people-centred and proportionate data strategies
We’ll explore why public services often prioritise the wrong data and how you can focus your data strategy on the people in your organisation. We’ll share ideas for building a strong evaluation infrastructure.
Making sense together
Time and structures for collective sensemaking are fundamental for understanding complex change. We’ll explore some practical ways of doing this, including how our software OutNav supports organisations to embed this way of working in their day-to-day work.
Sarah and Ailsa will also reflect on what this means for leaders, commissioners, evaluators and people trying to make services work better.
Who is this webinar for?
This session is ideal for you if:
- You are responsible for supporting evaluation.
- You’re leading or commissioning complex work, and want to track and show its impact.
- You’re trying to build a learning culture in your team or organisation.
- You need to report on outcomes, but the data systems don’t align.
- You feel stuck between different expectations and want to use data in a way that’s honest, useful and human.
About the speakers
Ailsa Cook and Sarah Morton, will host this webinar. Both are experienced social researchers who have spent their careers helping organisations understand and improve their impact. They bring insight from across the sectors — and a deep commitment to making data meaningful.
Will this webinar be recorded?
Yes! Please register for the webinar to receive a link to the recording, whether or not you can join us on the day.