1.3 - Measuring progress

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Evaluation of engagement

An important part of any project or initiative is the evaluation process in establishing the criteria for success. However, evaluating public engagement projects and their impacts on changes in behavior can be challenging, due to the long-term investment needed to realize behavior change. As well, there is no common approach regarding engagement definitions, objectives or tools across the sector. The same goes for the establishment of appropriate indicators to measure the success of engagement initiatives.

Global Affairs Canada and its partners are currently in the process of reflecting on the best ways to approach the measurement of engagement. We invite you to contribute to our reflection by sending us your ideas by email to: engagement.dev@international.gc.ca

Some elements to consider when planning the evaluation of your initiative include:

Evaluating behaviour change:

• Plan surveys, focus groups or telephone interviews or prepare comment cards to evaluate changes in behaviour over time.
• Consult the results of surveys done by other public engagement and development partners before preparing a survey.
• Follow up with Canadians who have agreed to participate in order to evaluate changes in behaviour following completion of a project and in future years, and use this information to plan upcoming projects.

Evaluating Development Communications:

• Measure progress on the communications strategy.
• Set goals and agree on a baseline that allows for performance to be monitored on an ongoing basis.
• Make use of small efficient instruments (e.g. templates and social media tools) throughout the process, making sure to evaluate their effectiveness so improvements can be introduced along the way.
• Keep checking data as it comes in to ensure it is adequate and correct.
• Triangulate and test the validity of the data gathered using old and new approaches with common sense and trust.

Theory of change and indicators

The indicators in a project's performance management framework should be monitored and reported. They must also be based on a methodology for surveying participants before and after the project.

Elements to consider include:

Level of awareness after participating in an in-person or interactive digital activity on international assistance issues.

• These include persons attending public events, information sessions, webinars, interactive exhibitions, etc.

Level of knowledge after consulting and engaging with online information or resources on international assistance issues and the number of people consulting and engaging with online resources on international assistance issues.

• These include reading, sharing, commenting on contributing to online resources, such as social media, Web content, articles, stories from the field, newsletters, brochures and documentaries.

Level of capacity on international assistance issues and the number of people participating in capacity-building activities.

• These include training, workshops, experiential learning opportunities, educational programs, experiences in developing countries, participation in national and international forums.

Level of active global citizen engagement in international assistance activities.

• These include, volunteering, engaging others in the issue, working in the sector, actively seeking out information and research, publishing, liking, and sharing posts on social media platforms, fundraising or making donations actively to support the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) action fields and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).