| CODE | SWP1010 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Valuing and Adding Value to the Voluntary Sector | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit focuses on the process of evaluation as an indispensable learning tool for voluntary organisations. While recognising the formal evaluation processes involved in statutory accountability procedures (such as those concerning the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations), the evaluation paradigm in this study unit is shifted from one solely focused on accountability to one primarily focused on learning. Using Drucker’s “five most important questions”, students will explore how the voluntary sector can add value to its work through the continuous process of examining the nature of one’s mission, the distinctiveness of one’s service users, what one’s service users value, the results being achieved, and how such examination feeds into one’s future plans. In this approach, evaluation becomes the responsibility of all involved in any voluntary organisation and a means towards enriching staff’s, volunteers’ and service users’ sense of belonging towards their organisation and its mission. Following an introduction to the process of evaluation, a selection of evaluation approaches suitable for different programmes, audiences, settings and circumstances are explored. The overall purpose of the study-unit is to equip students with the critical analytical skills and practical tools necessary to conceptualise, plan, and implement evaluation as in integral part of an organisation’s operation, and to utilise evaluation research in informing and improving the programmes of voluntary organisations. A focus on the practice of evaluation covers evaluation of need, evaluation of implementation, and evaluation of impact. The evaluation of voluntary organisation programmes is studied through the combination of practice theory, technical skills, and the development of critical analytical competencies necessary for evaluation practice. The political and value contexts within which evaluation takes place, and its interplay with State and Supra-National evaluation and audit mechanisms (for instance in EU funded programmes) are explored to help students develop an evaluation practice orientation that continuously validates the user’s perspective. Different ways of involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the evaluation process are addressed. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims at equipping students who are new to the field of evaluation with the necessary knowledge and skills to engage in basic programme evaluation in the voluntary sector, and to critically consume evaluation literature. Students will become acquainted with the logic of scientific evaluation through a basic understanding of the philosophy of science. On a more practical level, students will be provided with knowledge on how to develop an evaluation question from an area of interest or concern, and how to proceed from the evaluation question to complete the evaluation process. Students will learn to establish the parameters of an evaluation, how to play the role of an evaluator in the context of the ethics of insider research, and the step-by-step process in conducting an evaluation, including: to conceptualise an evaluation, determine and develop appropriate design methods and instruments for an evaluation, acquire a basic understanding of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, and to undertake evaluation with a strong concern for all ethical implications. A sound understanding of the evaluation process is expected to enable students to develop a critical perspective to the use and misuse of evaluation, and to the utilisation of evaluation findings. Students are expected to develop critical-analytic and creative skills in planning, designing, undertaking, reporting, and assessing evaluation data, while learning the basis of the applied scientific approach to programme evaluation. Exposure to practical examples of evaluation findings will influence students in appreciating the values and ideology underlying evaluation. In particular, the study-unit aims to: • Familiarise students with the logic and methods of scientific evaluation through a basic understanding of the philosophy of science and the applied scientific approach to programme evaluation; • Introduce students who are new to the field of evaluation to the theory and knowledge required to engage in basic programme evaluation in the voluntary sector, and to critically consume evaluation literature; • Equip students with the critical analytical and creative skills and practical tools necessary to conceptualise, plan, design, implement, report, and assess an evaluation study, and to utilise evaluation research in informing and improving practice and programmes; • Prepare students in how to establish the parameters of an evaluation, how to play the role of an evaluator, and how to carry out the step-by-step process in conducting an evaluation, including: to engage stakeholders at all stages of an evaluation project, to conceptualise an evaluation, determine and develop appropriate design methods and instruments for an evaluation, acquire a basic understanding of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, and to undertake evaluation with a strong concern for the ethical implications; • Direct and support students in developing an evaluation question from an area of interest or concern, and in proceeding from an evaluation question to the completion of an evaluation process; • Expose students to diverse practical examples of evaluation findings from the voluntary sector, highlighting the values and ideology underlying different evaluation approaches; • Enable students to develop a critical outlook to the use and misuse of evaluation, and to the use and misuse of evaluation findings; • Support students in using the evaluation process as an opportunity to value and celebrate the strengths of voluntary organisations; • Support students in using the evaluation process as an opportunity to share their learning with others; • Assist students in using evaluation and self-evaluation as a tool to make improvements to one’s work and to use the evaluation results in the planning process; • Foster the idea of voluntary organisations as learning organisations that continuous seek to increase their impact and add value to the communities they serve. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Describe and explain the use of evaluation and self-evaluation, and their relationship to supporting enriched practice in the voluntary sector; 2. Define and interpret theoretical issues that determine different evaluation methods and approaches applicable to the voluntary sector; 3. Illustrate and appraise the ethics of evaluation, and to design and implement an evaluation project that fully respects all ethical principles of social research; 4. Differentiate the terms reliability and validity and their application to diverse evaluation strategies and designs; 5. Understand and discuss the logic of evaluation design, including the use of different sampling strategies, the use of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and the use of single-subject designs; 6. Describe and apply different modes of observation and data collection used in the evaluation of voluntary organisation programmes, including the use of surveys, interviews, focus groups, methods of field evaluation, and unobtrusive evaluation methods; 7. Understand basic methods of data analysis and statistical measures of description and association, and their strength in conveying the worth of volunteering; 8. Understand the role and use of personal narratives in communicating the value and impact of the work done by voluntary organisations and volunteers; 9. Interpret and critique the social context of evaluation, and the social and political influences that affect the process of evaluation for voluntary organisations; 10. Recognise minority, disability, gender and generational issues in evaluation and integrate such understanding in the development of evaluation practices that are sensitive to minority, disability, gender and generational issues. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative approaches to evaluation and self-evaluation, describing the relative strengths and limitations of different approaches when applied to the voluntary sector; 2. Engage stakeholders in designing and executing evaluation projects; 3. Formulate an evaluation question and design appropriate instruments of measurement that may be used to answer the evaluation question; 4. Complete an evaluation proposal that has practical merits for a voluntary organisation with which they are familiar; 5. Review, describe, discuss, evaluate and critically appraise selected contemporary evaluation studies from the voluntary sector; 6. Factor insider research ethical considerations; 7. Pursue individualised learning needs, directly reflective of the application of evaluation to the voluntary sector, and to share the results of continued learning; 8. Use library resources and the internet in developing a scholarly and professional approach to the practice of evaluation. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Drucker, P. F. (2010). The five most important questions self-assessment tool: Participant workbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. - Drucker, P. F., Collins, J., Kotler, P., Kouzes, J., Rodin, J., Kasturi Rangan, V., & Hesselbein, F. (2008). The five most important questions you will ever ask about your organisation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. - Grant, D. (2015). The social profit handbook: The essential guide to setting goals, assessing outcomes, and achieving success for mission-driven organizations. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing. - Harman, E. (2019). The great nonprofit evaluation reboot : A new approach every staff member can understand. Pleasant View, TN: CharityChannel Press. Supplementary Readings - Owen, J. M. (2007). Program evaluation: Forms and approaches. London: The Guilford Press. - Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2019). Evaluation: A systematic approach (8th ed.). London, UK: SAGE Publications. - Shaw, I., Greene, J., & Mark, M. (2006). The SAGE handbook of evaluation. London: SAGE Publications. - Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., & Caruthers, F. A. (2011). The program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (3rd ed.). London: SAGE Publications. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Ind Study, Group Learning and Tutorials | ||||||||||||
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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