Case Studies By Service Area
Evaluation and Research
Evaluability Assessment of the Extending High Standards Across School (EHSAS) initiative
The Scope
Consultant, Sonia Ogier, and Senior Consultant, Meenakshi Sankar, undertook work for the Ministry of Education in 2008 to conduct an evaluability assessment of the EHSAS initiative. EHSAS is a $20m initiative that offers incentives to stretch school performance and affirm excellence by identifying high performing schools and encouraging them to share their knowledge and practice with other schools.
The evaluability assessment was commissioned to systematically assess whether ESHAS could be evaluated and, by taking into account any barriers to undertaking an effective and useful evaluation, design an appropriate approach to any future evaluation. Evaluability assessments help to ensure that evaluation resources are specifically targeted to provide a ‘value for money’ approach to planning and implementing evaluations, that is, the cost of conducting an evaluation is less than the benefits it will provide.
Our Involvement
MartinJenkins Consultant, Sonia Ogier, led the evaluation. Our approach to conducting the evaluability assessment was based on reviewing documentation, interviewing key informants and engaging the Ministry in a series of workshops designed to test and debate emerging issues. Our approach was consultative and participatory in that we aimed to create a learning process for the project team.
The Outcome
Our report was well received by the Ministry of Education. It provided the Ministry with a clear articulation of the theory of change underpinning EHSAS, an assessment of emerging issues, a conceptual framework for the evaluation and a methodology for evaluating the initiative. The Ministry is currently deciding the logistics of any future evaluation and will use the evaluability assessment to inform this decision.
The MartinJenkins Difference
This project required our consultants to have excellent analytical skills, become familiar with an unfamiliar initiative quickly, and to skilfully assess and judge what the emerging issues of the initiative are and what the appropriate evaluation methodology should be. As a firm we are very experienced in conducting evaluability assessments but this is often a new experience for our clients. Ensuring excellent communications with our clients guarantees that the final product meets, and usually surpasses, our client’s expectations.
