35. Evaluation, Impact & Dissemination

Explanation

Evaluation asks whether the project achieved what it intended to achieve and what changed because the volunteering activity happened.

It should not only ask whether the volunteer was satisfied. A high-quality evaluation looks at several perspectives: the volunteer, the host organisation, supporting organisation, local partners and the community or target group.

The evaluation should connect back to the original project design. Chapter 1 began by asking what organisational or community need the project should address. Chapter 7 should now return to that question: Did the project actually make a useful contribution to that need?

Volunteer evaluation can examine tasks, mentoring, learning, accommodation, integration, administration, support, difficulties and overall experience. The ESC Ecosystems research shows that organisations use a range of evaluation methods, including digital forms, face-to-face reflection, self-assessment, diaries, podcasts and regular competence reviews.

Partner feedback should look at how cooperation worked, whether responsibilities were clear, whether the volunteer role was useful and whether the partnership should continue.

Community impact is more difficult to measure but should not be ignored. The organisation can ask whether the volunteer reached intended groups, created useful activities, contributed to new relationships, supported local initiatives or introduced perspectives that would otherwise not have been present.

Impact does not always need to be measured through large numbers. A volunteer may work closely with a small number of young people and still create meaningful impact. The important thing is to connect evidence to the original objectives.

Evaluation should combine quantitative and qualitative information where useful. Numbers can show participation, events, workshops or reach. Stories, interviews and feedback can explain what changed and why.

Dissemination should then use the most valuable results. The purpose is not simply to publish photographs from the project, but to share learning that others can use.

This can include

• volunteer stories;
• practical methods;
• videos or podcasts;
• workshop materials;
• community events;
• evaluation findings;
• project guides;
• presentations to other ESC organisations;
• recommendations for improving volunteering practice.

The EVoly research itself was created around this principle: collecting good practice from experienced ESC organisations and making it accessible so that other organisations can improve implementation. The same logic should apply at the individual-project level.

The participant report and final project report should also draw on information that has already been collected throughout the project. Chapter 6 monitoring should therefore feed directly into evaluation rather than requiring the organisation to reconstruct evidence at the end.

For EVoly, this phase could become an Evaluation & Impact Builder combining volunteer feedback, partner feedback, project indicators, community evidence, stories and dissemination materials in one place.

Role perspectives

Organisation: Evaluates whether the activity achieved its objectives and uses the findings for reporting and future planning.

Coordinator: Collects feedback from different actors, organises evidence and ensures lessons are documented rather than remaining informal.

Volunteer: Reflects on the experience, learning, support and contribution and can help communicate results.

Partners: Evaluate the cooperation and the volunteer’s contribution from their perspective.

Community: Provides important evidence of whether the project created real local value.

Differences by ESC model

Long-term volunteering: Evaluation can explore deeper learning, long-term community relationships and organisational change developed over several months.

Short-term volunteering: Evaluation focuses more on immediate outcomes, participant learning and whether the intensive activity achieved its objectives.

Volunteering teams / group volunteering: Evaluation combines individual learning with collective outputs and community impact.

Questions & answers

What should we evaluate?

Volunteer experience, learning, support quality, project objectives, partner cooperation and community impact.

Is volunteer satisfaction enough?

No. Satisfaction is useful, but the project should also examine learning, project quality and community value.

What is the difference between evaluation and dissemination?

Evaluation identifies what happened and what was learned. Dissemination shares useful results with others.

Should dissemination begin only after the project?

No. Visibility and dissemination can happen throughout the activity, while the final phase brings the most important results together.

Documents for further reading

• ESC Survey Analysis Summary — project-evaluation methods and good practices.
• Sunce monthly evaluation diary — tasks, communication, wellbeing and learning.
• Creating Community Impact through Solidarity — community-impact perspective.
• EVoly_ESC_Implementation_Phases_Draft_0_1.docx — final evaluation and dissemination-story builder.
• Project communication and visibility materials from the EVoly resource library.