FAQs
General
Evaluation is a social and political practice used to help us make sense of complex environments. Through rigorous examination of policies, programmes and interventions, we gain valuable insights in to what works, what doesn’t, and why. By analysing these results, informed decisions can be made about the value, worth, and merit of initiatives and to determine the best allocation of resources.
Effective evaluation involves acknowledging multiple perspectives from diverse stakeholders. It draws on a wide range of approaches to achieve optimum results, including contribution analysis, participatory evaluation, developmental evaluation, and experimental or quasi-experimental designs and managing the different interests and values of stakeholders and participants.
In summary, evaluation:
- Helps us understand how policies, programmes and interventions are working by analysing the factors that contribute to outcomes for diverse stakeholders.
- Provides evidence for public debate in contexts where there are social and political pressures to account for decisions and spending.
- Informs us of the impact of policies and programmes that are designed to create change, showing how much of a difference they’ve made by providing evidence-based accounts and evaluative judgments.
- Aims to be credible and useful for future policy and practice and to facilitate evaluative thinking and action.
Evaluation is a social and political practice used to help us make sense of complex environments. Through rigorous examination of policies, programmes and interventions, we gain valuable insights in to what works, what doesn’t, and why. By analysing these results, informed decisions can be made about the value, worth, and merit of initiatives and to determine the best allocation of resources.
Effective evaluation involves acknowledging multiple perspectives from diverse stakeholders. It draws on a wide range of approaches to achieve optimum results, including contribution analysis, participatory evaluation, developmental evaluation, and experimental or quasi-experimental designs and managing the different interests and values of stakeholders and participants.
In summary, evaluation:
- Helps us understand how policies, programmes and interventions are working by analysing the factors that contribute to outcomes for diverse stakeholders.
- Provides evidence for public debate in contexts where there are social and political pressures to account for decisions and spending.
- Informs us of the impact of policies and programmes that are designed to create change, showing how much of a difference they’ve made by providing evidence-based accounts and evaluative judgments.
- Aims to be credible and useful for future policy and practice and to facilitate evaluative thinking and action.
The data in your personal account is not visible outside our membership system. It is password protected. It will not be shared outside of the membership platform. See our UK Evaluation Society privacy notice for more information.
Membership
No, your membership subscription begins on the day of payment and will last for 12 months from that date. You will be notified via automated email when you are approaching your renewal date.
No, your membership subscription begins on the day of payment and will last for 12 months from that date. You will be notified via automated email when you are approaching your renewal date.
If you self-register on our membership platform, you can pay via debit/credit card in a secure online transaction, and there is the option for automatic annual renewal (so your subscription never expires).
If you need someone else to pay with their credit card, or you would like to be invoiced, or if you are arranging group membership, we can process that for you. Just email the team on hello@evaluation.org.uk and we can take care of the registration and sort out the payment methods for you. Our invoices can be paid with bank transfer (BACS or IBAN) or credit card. We do not accept cheque payments, and no payments can be made over the phone.
All members of the UK Evaluation Society (and non-members booking for training or events) must be registered on our membership platform. It is the main way the Society manages personal data, training and event bookings, and communicates about upcoming events and items of interest.
Our membership platform enables you (as a member or prospective member of the UK Evaluation Society) set up and log into a personalised account which shows your membership status, contact details, and lets you renew and manage various aspects of your membership and book events.
No, the data you provide through the member portal is only for managing your membership and personal details. The data is not available as a searchable register for others to see. The Society is still exploring creating a searchable register of members but this would be opt-in only.
Training & Events
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We send out the access details (usually a link for Zoom webinar or training spaces) once the booking window for a training or event has closed. Usually, that is the day before the event (to ensure as many people as possible have an opportunity to register).
You can sign up to receive emails about all our different events and activities
We offer wait lists for our courses that fully book-up, to help balance the high demand for our courses with the limited seats in each offering.
If a course is fully booked, we will note that on our website and open up a wait list for it. Our wait list is open to members and non-members and operates strictly on a first-come, first-served order.
To get on the wait list, you simply need to email us from the email address to which you want to receive notifications about your wait list status. You can be on multiple course wait lists at the same time.
Payments & Finance
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In order to receive an invoice for training, rather than pay at the time of booking with a credit card, please complete our invoice request form. Please have the following ready to make the process quick and easy:
- Full names and email addresses of each person to attend training
- Full organisation name
- Organisation billing address (to be printed on the invoice)
- Organisation Finance email address (this is where the invoice is sent. We also copy the requester on the invoice).
- Purchase Order number (just the number, we don’t need the file). If your organisation requires a PO to be cited on an invoice in order for us to be paid, you must have it at the time of booking.
With all of these details, we can process a booking request and issue an invoice in just a few minutes.
We will complete Supplier Portal paperwork to facilitate a member/customer request to be invoiced. Email our team on hello@evaluation.org.uk to initiate this process.
We have a standard banking details letter on UKES letterhead and signed by our Executive Director, which we provide with all Supplier Portal requests. This letter outlines our business address, VAT number, bank account details, and other commonly requested details. If you are able to accept and act on this letter, your booking/membership and invoicing request can be handled much faster.
You can request we complete Supplier Portal paperwork at any time and it does not need to be tied to an immediate request.
We do not conduct any UKES business by phone. Keeping all of our business communications in email ensures that our entire team can see the history of communications and jump in to assist more readily in the event of leave or other outtages.
We encourage you to accept our banking letter, which can be provided very quickly and will be most efficient. This letter outlines our business address, VAT number, bank account details, and other commonly requested details.
Yes, we absolutely can – the PO number must be supplied to us at the time of invoicing (when you make a booking or membership request).
We cannot include an attachment of a Purchase Order file, but including a text code/number is easily done!
All of our invoices are issued with 30-day terms starting from the date of issue, unless otherwise specified in the event details.
If you register for an event more than 30-days before the start date, then your invoice must be paid before the event commences. Overdue invoices may be subject to late fees or interest charges.
Emails & Communication
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We send out the access details (usually a link for Zoom webinar or training spaces) once the booking window for a training or event has closed. Usually, that is the day before the event (to ensure as many people as possible have an opportunity to register).
Our marketing emails come from MailChimp and will always have an unsubscribe link. If you wish to unsubscribe, you can also email us on hello@evaluation.org.uk
Our Members’ Newsletter is sent quarterly and based on active UKES membership at the time of emailing.
If your membership was not active at the time we sent the newsletter, you will not receive it, even if you have opted in. You can read past issues on our website.
If you have any other questions that we haven’t addressed above, please email hello@evaluation.org.uk.