Bringing utilisation -focused evaluation into effect in virtual workshops

ABSTRACT

Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced many collaboration activities online, requiring creative approaches to make these interactions work in the virtual world. This paper introduces an alternative approach to support multi -disciplinary research, when travel is out of the question. A utilisation -focused evaluation framework was used to track the success of two semi -virtual workshops held across four locations. An important feature of the approach was the regular evaluation touchpoints that provided flexibility to update workshop design. Feedback is incredibly important in virtual settings where tone and body language are largely absent, and the 'successes' of workshop activities are difficult to gauge. Incorporating these principles did not require a significant amount of time in terms of implementation but did require a commitment to the process by the programme lead and evaluator. This paper provides recommendations for people setting up a similar process.