Further Guidance on Evaluation Planning for Aimhigher partnerships

Area Partnerships were required to put in place an evaluation plan by the end of the 2007-08 academic year, taking account of the further guidance that HEFCE sent to partnerships on the 23rd of April, the toolkit provided by the Centre for the Study of Education and Training (CSET) Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University and guidance provided by the Aimhigher Evidence Good Practice Group.

While HEFCE asked partnerships to provide an evaluation plan by the end of July 2008 they understand that the plan will be flexible and may change as partnerships develop. The plans will be used as a gauge of where partnerships are currently and HEFCE will share them with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) that they have commissioned to implement new evaluative work looking at the programme on a national scale.

The further guidance on evaluation planning, issued by HEFCE, is divided into two sections, a summary of what is required in respect of participant data, data on outcomes for participants, and the evaluative questions and processes that link them. Secondly, there is a template that can be used to write (or revise, or develop) an evaluation plan. An annex is also attached which gives a brief discussion of the issues that have led us to this guidance/template.