Evaluation

Evaluation updates - January 2012

youngballymun aims to provide a culture where research and evaluation is undertaken not only to demonstrate the success, or otherwise, of the initiative and the individual services therein, but to support the cycle of ‘supposition-action-evidence-revision’ that characterises good science and good management.

youngballymun understands evaluation in its broadest sense as being the systematic acquisition and assessment of information to provide useful feedback about  a particular service, programme, policy, activity, need etc. Thus, we emphasize the information-processing and feedback function of evaluation and acknowledge that while some types of evaluations will assess the ‘worth’ or ‘merit’ of a programme/service, others, such as implementation analyses or formative evaluations will not necessarily have this focus.

youngballymun believes that the overall goal of evaluation is to provide useful feedback to a variety of audiences, including the community, client-groups, staff, funders, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders. However we also believe that a goal of evaluation should be to influence decision-making or policy formulation through the provision of empirically-driven feedback.  To this end, youngballymun promotes a research and evaluation culture that is honest, and truth-seeking, stressing accountability and scientific credibility. In addition we would encourage open commentary and debate regarding the results of our evaluation work.

youngballymun appointed Gemma Cox as Research & Evaluation Manager in July 2009 to contribute to the advancement of our programme of evaluation. Her role includes contributing to the development of an evaluation strategy for the six new ‘community-facing’ services, to project manage the contracted evaluations, to provide technical support, and to promote evaluation principles within the community.

In addition, youngballymun has a set of inter-related advisory and support structures to facilitate this evaluation culture including an Expert Advisory Committee, an Evaluation Sub-Committee of the youngballymun Board, and The Centre for Effective Services.

Expert Advisory Committee

The evaluation of the strategy and individual services therein is overseen by the Expert Advisory Committee (EAC), which provides independent advice, valued support and critical oversight to help ensure an integrated and dynamic evaluation process.

Members of the EAC are drawn from a pool of national and international expertise in research and evaluation in service provision to children and young people and include; John Sweeney, Senior Social Policy Analyst, NESC Mark Dynarski – President, Pemberton Research, Marjorie Smith, Professor of the Psychology of the Family, and Co-Director of the Thomas Coram Research Unit, University of London and Eilis Hennessey Senior Lecturer from the School of Psychology, UCD. The youngballymun staff members are Gemma Cox and Eleanor McClorey. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs and The Atlantic Philanthropies are in attendance at EAC meetings; Albert O'Donoghue from the DCYA and Gail Birkbeck and Jane Forman from the AP.