Five top tips for planning an evaluation

Our Clinical Effectiveness & Research Team supports us in running evaluations of the health care products and services we commission. This helps us to decide which products and services are successful, and which are less so.

Here are our top tips on how to plan for and carry out an evaluation:

1. Involve all key stakeholders and ensure appropriate patient and public involvement

This helps stimulate buy-in and can ensure your evaluation is successful. It is also an opportunity to identify local evaluation experts who can help you to design the right evaluation.

2. Identify the purpose of the evaluation and set clear aims and objectives

Have a clear understanding from all stakeholders as to why you are undertaking the evaluation and what you want it to achieve. This in turn will help you to identify the right methodology, measures and data collection tools.

3. Understand the evidence base and how the service was designed to achieve its desired outcomes

This helps inform the type and level of evaluation you need.

4. Plan your evaluation early with your key stakeholders

It is good practice to plan your evaluation when deciding priorities and designing services. This will help ensure that you use the most appropriate methodology, allocate adequate resources and set realistic timescales.

5. Share your findings and act on them

Make sure that they have an impact on patient care.

Visit the Evaluation Works toolkit for more guidance

Download the evaluation checklist