With colleagues from Kinnect Group we published an e-book on the use of rubrics in evaluation.
The Kinnect Group developed the ideas in this book over ten years of collaboration. In the introduction they observed:
“There are many other guides to evaluation and different ways to do it. This approach emphasises the place of evaluative reasoning in evaluation. It draws on the work of many evaluation theorists, as well as our practice-based body of knowledge.
We find that using the building blocks explained in the guide helps us to do credible and useful evaluation. Our clients tell us it gives them meaningful and insightful findings that they can use to take action” (McKegg et al, 2018, p.2).
The guide takes evaluators and those who need to conduct evaluations through nine steps:
- Set the evaluation up for success
- Develop key evaluation questions
- Agree on performance criteria and determine importance
- Develop a framework to assess performance
- Agree on what evidence is credible to whom in what circumstances
- Design and implement data collection
- Analyse, compile, assemble and order the evidence
- Synthesis and sensemaking
- Report, use and socialise results.
This e-book was a recommended reading in the Better Evaluation Christmas reading list. Better Evaluation is a website which collects best evaluation practice from around the globe. It aims to build “evaluation practice, evaluation capacity strengthening and research and development in evaluation”.
www.betterevaluation.org/en/blog/betterevaluation-2018-holiday-reading-list
Better Evaluation reviewer, Patricia Rogers, commented:
"[The guide} is particularly strong [for developing] a framework to assess performance. [It]… has detailed examples of using global scales (rubrics) to synthesise both quantitative and qualitative data... [It helps] to avoid the common problems caused by replying only on Key Performance Indicators and targets... I’d especially recommend it in terms of developing a framework for evaluating performance."
