aes24 International Evaluation Conference

Authors: Laura Baker (ACIL Allen), Larissa Brisbane (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water NSW, AU)

Recommendations are the sharp end of evaluation, connecting evidence and insights to the improvement we aim to achieve. Many evaluation theories focus on framing and conducting evaluations, rather than developing recommendations or the associated organisational change required to complete the journey.

Recommendations point the way beyond an evaluation report, as the journey doesn't end when the report is produced. This presentation tells the story of recommendation wayfinding. We will share an evaluation practitioner and a commissioner's journey on navigating the challenge of developing actionable recommendations to promote impact beyond program close and into future decisions.

Evaluators need ways to integrate diverse evidence sources and generate actionable insights. The consultant will share perspectives on where these insights and the associated recommendations "come from": how different data come together to inform insights, the process for developing recommendations (balancing independence and engagement from commissioners), and how to design recommendations for the program and beyond.

Commissioners need recommendations that make sense in their context. The commissioners will share considerations in what makes a recommendation useful, and how we use this evaluation journey to leverage learning, skill building, and improvement opportunities. They will also discuss the evaluation audience and how ambitious can you get with recommendations.

This work over a number of years has helped build the evaluation knowledge base within our organisations. We will close with our recommendations to you - with the top ideas that we plan to take with us on our next evaluation journey.
eloped evaluations for multiple end users, each with their own needs. They'll share the research and engagement approaches and tools, which have been useful in different situations, as well as what was useful specifically for this project.