Freelance Writing and Research

Are you required to seek someone to undertake an evaluation of a project that you have been working on e.g. a community based support group for wormen, because the project and its funding are coming to an end?

Don't fret, what follows is a simple model of such a document that should be adaptable to whatever your project may be.

Who will undertake your project evaluation?

Sometimes people will approach their local university who will have the necessary research expertise; to see whether they will undertake an evaluation - if you only have a small budget then the best approach is to put the project out for tender so that independent consultants also have the opportunity to bid on the project. The project might be advertised in the local paper or on the local council's website or sent out to a prospective group of people who would be interested in bidding on your project.

What your document should contian

The brief should open with a clear statement of the purpose of the evaluation e.g.:

Women together is a community project that has run from September 2006 until the present date. The purpose of the evaluation is to identify the impact that lottery funding has had on the women involved in the project; it is also anticipated that the evaluation will provide information that will inform future practice in supporting single, destitute women. The budget for this project is $5,000 no bids exceeding this sum will be allowed. The closing date for bids is May 20th, any bids received after this date will not be considered.

Background to the project

Women together is a partnership between community organizations, health practitioners, refuge workers, key workers and the police. The project was originally set up to encourage single, destitute women (who may or may not have been victims of abuse or been involved in substance misuse and petty crime) to regain some measure of control back into their lives. Community groups worked together to put in a grant proposal for the project which has been supported by lottery funding.

Project Objectives

The objectives of the project were as follows:

• To get women off the streets
• To support women in crisis
• To provide counselling and support as necessary
• To supply health information and advice

Evaluation Objectives

The evaluation should ascertain to what extent the project delivered its objectives as defined above and whether it met its budgetary targets. To establish the means by which the project objectives were met. To establish whether or not the project has gone beyond its original scope and to assess the benefits of the project to the women involved. To make suggested policy recommendations for the future concerning the support of women in need.

The researcher will be expected to undertake both focus group research and face to face interviews with the project beneficiaries and the professionals involved in delivering the project. The project evaluation is scheduled to begin in the next six weeks - this means that all bids should be in and the successful candidate engaged. The evaluation should be completed within three months. A preliminary report will be expected after ten weeks and presented to the steering group and any amendments dealt with by the closing date.

There should be three bound copies of the report and one electronic copy.

This is a very simple format which outlines what the budget holders want, when they want it and how much they are prepared to pay for it - this format can be adapted for most straight forward project evaluations that require a qualitative approach to data gathering and analysis.