Evaluation Support Scotland

Earlier this month we were at the SCVO's The Gathering – delivering a session as well as exhibiting. Here our team share their highlights from the event! ⬇️

How using fit-for-purpose evaluation methods can make life easier - Evaluation Support Scotland In this blog our Senior Training Officer talks about how using fit-for-purpose evaluation methods can make life easier for all those involved.

Are your evaluation methods fit-for-purpose? Do they enable you to collect strong outcome evidence? 🔍

In this blog our Senior Training Officer talks about how using fit-for-purpose evaluation methods can make life easier for all involved ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/news/how-usi...

Free resource sessions. How to explore decision making and the role of evidence. Date: 29th of January 2026. Time: 1:20pm – 2pm. Making Sense: Analysing qualitative information. Date: 26th of February 2026. Time: 11:30pm – 12:10pm. Making Sense: Analysing quantitative information. Date 19th March 2026. Time: 1:20pm – 2pm.

Free resource sessions are back! In this series of short lunchtime sessions, we will introduce a resource and share tips to help you get the most out of it.

Book now 👉 evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/resou...

A promotion for SCVO’S The Gathering 2026, which will be held on the 10th & 11th of February at the EICC, Edinburgh. The main text reads: We’re a Gathering event host… Booking now open exclusively to SCVO members. In the footer of the graphic it shows the SCVO website URL: scvo.scot/the-gathering, and the event hashtag: #SCVOGathering.

We’re delighted to be hosting an event - 'the Joy of Clear Outcomes' - at the Gathering 2026! Join us and SCVO on the 10th and 11th of February at the EICC!

Booking now open for SCVO members ➡️ scvo.scot/the-gatherin...

Current training workshops. Let's Evaluate! - starts 6th November (starts soon). Evaluating Prevention - 9th December (fully booked). Let's Evaluate! - starts 14th January. Evaluating Policy Influence - 21st January. Why bother involving people in evaluation? – 22nd January. Getting the best from your grantholders - 18th February. Let's Evaluate! Lite - starts 4th March. Evaluating Prevention - 22nd April.

🚨 New workshop dates 🚨

Including:

- An additional round of 'Evaluating Prevention’
- New workshop ‘Why bother involving people in evaluation’
- The return of our funder workshop 'Getting the best from your grantholders'.

See what you could learn!💡➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/

Evaluating Prevention (Spring 2026) - Evaluation Support Scotland Prevention work is challenging and complex – evaluating the difference this work makes can be especially difficult. While there are no magic answers, this workshop will provide practical tips and tool...

🚨 Additional workshop date added for Evaluating Prevention

Prevention work is challenging & complex – our workshop provides practical tips & tools on how to tackle the challenge 🛠️

📅 22/04/2026
🕙 10:00am - 1:00pm
🖥️ Online

Secure your place now ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/evalu...

An infographic. ‘What are the benefits of neutral facilitation? Our Shared Learning Programme is a way of ‘reporting’ where we facilitate a series of learning events for funded organisations and write reports with thematic analysis, instead of organisations submitting full written reports. So, what’re the benefits of working this way. Better and more complete learning is generated. Funded projects confirm important or emerging themes. They explore further learning, get to know each other and their funders. They gain confidence from discovering shared challenges. The learning is easier to share. This means that the learning that emerges is more complete. Shared learning reports are designed to be accessible with sections that can be extracted and easily shared. Life is made easier for the funder. This way of working involves projects and funders coming together to identify, discuss & capture shared learning. This removes pressure from funding officers.

Did you know we offer Shared Learning Programmes? 💡
See our infographic below to learn about the benefits of this way of reporting.

& Learn more about Shared Learning Programmes here: evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/ne...

Let’s Evaluate! Learn how to measure your impact and demonstrate the difference your work makes. Autumn 2025 learning programme – register now! Workshop 1 – Getting started, 06/11/25 Workshop 2 – Make to measure, 20/11/25 Workshop 3 – Telling my story, 04/12/25

Join our Autumn 'Let's Evaluate!' programme to learn how to measure your impact and explain the difference your work makes. 🍂

Register for the Autumn 2025 learning programme ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/le-no...

ESS Evaluation Method: Using social media to evaluate other activities - Evaluation Support Scotland Social media can be a good source for unsolicited feedback that can supplement other evidence. Make sure you capture it!

Social media can be a good source for unsolicited feedback that can supplement other evidence.... however, it can only be a useful source of evidence if you capture it! 💡

See our resource to find out how ➡️ 📝 evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/us...

This graphic shows the evaluation pathway: a cycle of 4 different steps. Step 1: Setting outcomes and indicators Step 2: Collecting Evidence Step 3: Analysing and reporting Step 4: Acting on your learning The cycle then repeats.

Navigating the evaluation pathway is a good way of getting started with your evaluation, or checking that you are progressing. Our new resource provides guidance to help you with each step of the pathway. 🌀

Find the resource here 💡 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/th...

Are you an Evaluation Leader in your organisation?

📣 Evaluation Leaders - save the dates!

Upcoming meetings:

- 10:00-11:30, 4th September
- 10:00-11:30, 15th December
- 10:00-11:30, 10th March

Interested in joining the Evaluation Leaders’ Network? Learn more here 🔍 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/what-we-do/s...

Let’s Evaluate Lite. Autumn 2025. This workshop will be delivered over 2 days. Dates: 09:30am – 1pm, 18th of September 2025 09:30 – 1pm, 25th of September 2025

💡| New to self-evaluation or looking for a refresher? Let’s Evaluate! Lite begins in just a few weeks!

This compact workshop is designed to help you get started with simple evaluation systems. ✏️

Sign-up now ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/le-li...

A group of people working together on a large piece of paper – one person is holding a pen, the people are smiling/laughing.

A person addressing an audience.

An audience member speaking into a microphone.

ESS Senior Evaluation Support Manager Gary reflects on the day: “It was a pleasure to be involved in a conference that was brimming with ideas, challenges, and inspiration. It felt like an urgent agenda, providing a barometer for current thinking across the sector."

Last month we jointly hosted the research symposium ‘Perspectives on Scotland’s third sector impact’ with TSRF, @vssn1.bsky.social, University of Glasgow, YouthLink Scotland, Volunteer Scotland and SCVO.

...Now we’d like to hear from the Funders! 🚨

Do you provide grant support? How important is it that your grant holders have sufficient evaluation procedures in place? We want to know! ➡️ forms.office.com/e/gR0dzpiu6w

Your answers will shape our future and the support we give – thank you!

A graphic of a light bulb next to text that reads: While 65% of respondents said they could not afford evaluation support without funding, only 25% of respondents have ever had evaluation support paid for by a funder. This snippet is from the Evaluation Support Scotland survey entitled the Big Listen.

📣 At the end of 2024 we issued our survey the ‘Big Listen’ with the aim of learning how we can respond positively to the challenges facing the third sector.

See a summary of our findings here 💡 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/es...

See our Evaluation Stories to learn how our support has helped small charities, such as Music 4 U, Pain Concern, Speech Bubble Drama, Edinburgh Food Project & Edinburgh School Uniform Bank ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/evaluation/e...

This #SmallCharityWeek we’d like to highlight some of the ways that small charities can access practical support through ESS. 💡

- Free resources including support guides, method sheets & case studies
- Training & workshops
- Tailored support for organisations

A graphic from the Small Charity Week campaign, running from the 23rd – 28th of June. There is large text alongside a graphic of a megaphone, the text reads “Let’s help small charities make an even bigger impact’ #SmallCharityWeek.”

It’s #SmallCharityWeek!

As a small charity, we’re proud that by helping other charities measure & explain their impact, the sector is better equipped to deliver the best services for those who need them. ✅

Let’s Evaluate Lite workshop. New to self-evaluation or looking for a Let’s Evaluate refresher? This workshop provides an overview of the main principles involved in self-evaluation.

⭐ New workshop: 'Let's Evaluate! Lite' is a 1-day workshop designed to help you get started with simple evaluation systems.

Workshop dates:

🍂 Autumn: 18/09/25, 9:30am - 4:30pm

🌼 Spring: 04/03/26 & 11/03/26, 10:00am – 1:00pm

Secure your place now➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/event-series...

Gary Walsh, @evalsupscot.bsky.social, joined us to share reflections on how third sector organisations can demonstrate their impact and embed learning into delivery.

Great to have him as part of the discussion at Perspectives on Scotland’s Third Sector Impact @uofglasgow.bsky.social

Big thanks to @vssn1.bsky.social @evalsupscot.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social @scvo.scot @volunteerscotland.bsky.social Youth Link for such an interesting and thought provoking day #volunteering #research #community

📸 It’s a wrap!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Perspectives on Scotland’s Third Sector Impact!

Proud to have co-hosted with
@scvo.scot, @evalsupscot.bsky.social (Third Sector Research Forum), @volunteerscotland.bsky.social, Youth Link Scotland and @uofglasgow.bsky.social.

The ESS principle: Good evaluation should be used by you, is indicated with a light bulb symbol. Along side this symbol is a graphic of a clipboard, and the text: ESS Support Guide, Acting on your learning from evaluation. Use this support guide to help you think about what you might do with the learning from your evaluation results.

Good evaluation should be used by you💡

Our 'Acting on your learning' support guide helps you think about how you could use the learning from your evaluation.

Find the support guide - which includes examples - here➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/es...

Did you know that we host Networks? • Evaluation Leaders’ Network • The Funder Evaluation & Learning Group • Supporting You To Support Others Network • Scotland’s Third Sector Research Forum

All of our networks are free to join. 💡

See if there is a network you’d like to be part of! ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/homepage/net...

The main body of this image shows text alongside decorative graphics – the text reads: ESS Evaluation Methods & Tools – Embedding Evaluation Checklist. Use the embedding evaluation checklist to reflect on what in your organisation is helping make evaluation happen, and what could be improved. Next to the main body of text is a cartoon of a 4-piece jigsaw puzzle – each piece containing the outline or a person. The text underneath reads: Good evaluation should fit the way you do your work.

Good evaluation should fit the way you do your work. 🧩

Use our embedding evaluation checklist to reflect on what in your organisation is helping make evaluation happen, and what could be improved. 💡 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/em...

This image shows a preview of the 5 principles self-assessment tool. Each of the principles is listed in a column, the rows are labelled with different confidence levels e.g. I have no idea, not at all, very much so.

Not sure if your evaluation is good enough?

Use our 5 Principles for good evaluation self-assessment template to identify if there is room for improvement, and which principle you want to focus on first. ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/5-...

+For practical tips and tools on how to tackle the challenge of evaluating prevention, sign-up to our new 'Evaluating Prevention' workshop 💻 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/events/evalu...

Our Evaluating Prevention guide shares learning from our work about how to evaluate prevention. We suggest approaches you can take and share examples from the third sector 🔎 ➡️ evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/ev...

The main body of this image shows text alongside decorative graphics – the text reads: ESS Support guide – Evaluating Prevention. ESS Workshop - Evaluating Prevention, 19th of June 2025, 9th of December 2025. Next to the main body of text is a cartoon of a hand underneath a heart, the text underneath reads: Good evaluation should be about what matters.

Good evaluation should be about what matters. ❤️
The focus of evaluation is outcomes – what difference you make (or not), how you make that difference, and to whom.

However, if you provide support or run services that prevents something, the difference can be hard to evaluate… 🤷