DAY 1: Basics’ guide to research and evaluation.

Participants will: 1) get to grips with the basics of evaluation and research, 2) find out about some simple tools for evaluation, 3) learn relevant terminology used in research and evaluation.

9.00 - Starting day 1

• Welcome, introductions and overview of the preconference
• A, B and C of Evaluation and Research. About what, for what purpose and how to start?

10.30 - Sound familiar? Presentations and activities to provide practical tools for addressing tricky situations

• ‘Of course this exhibit is good, we made it!’
• ‘Just send me the questionnaire’
• ‘We can do this ourselves – we don’t need an evaluator’
• ‘I can tell my programme is good – I saw visitors enjoy it. Why evaluate it?’

[Note: there will be a coffee break after the first activity, from 11.00 - 11.30]

15. - Lunch

14.30 -  Talking corners: dealing with questions about evaluation & research

• funder questions (like: the impact of one school visit)
• designers’ corner (like: the designer who doesn’t want to know)
• marketing corner (like: you must get our message across)
• directors’ corner
• facilitators’ perspective
• researchers’ corner

15.45 - Coffee break

16.30 - Tools and wrap up

• Toolbox blitz (basic tools) & favourite tools + glossary
• Summing up the day

Around 17.45 - End of day 1

DAY 2 – Dealing with the impact issue 

Participants will increase their skill and knowledge about how to use research and evaluation to have better conversations with stakeholders using research and evaluation.

9.30 - Starting day 2

• Welcome
• Introduction to the day and our focus on logic models

10.00-11.00 - Small group discussions around impact

Discussions will be framed around questions such as ‘What sorts of impact are your stakeholders looking/asking for?’ And ‘How are you currently trying to measure this? What sorts of evidence do stakeholders want?’

11.00 - Coffee break

11.30 - Logic models: A tool for addressing the impact issue

An introduction to logic models/Theory of change as tools for research and evaluation.

12.30 - Let’s get started!

Work in small groups to start developing logic models related to your own

organisations.

13.15 - Lunch

14.30 - Logic models as evaluation tools  

Participants will continue working in groups to develop their logic models and begin linking logic models to evaluation. This will finish with a wider group conversation about how/whether logic models might be useful in responding to stakeholder concerns about impact.

15.45 - Coffee break

16.30 - Closing keynote and reflections on the day

Colin Johnson, former CEO of Techniquest (Cardiff, Wales), will wrap up the day by drawing on his experience with funders and other stakeholders around the impact issue. Reflecting on the sometimes different outcomes or goals desired by science centres/science communication organisations and funders, he will encourage us to think about how logic models might be a tool for conversations that need to bring disparate goals together. This discussion may be joined by a funder (tbc) and will certainly inspire us to further thinking during the rest of the conference!