Short Abstract

The chasm between evidence producers and decision-makers is profound. Communication budgets are derisory, and impactful uptake seems rare. Where are the "positive deviants" - the people and projects that successfully 'tell the tale so it gets heard,' despite the odds?

Description

The gap between those who produce evidence – researchers, evaluators, those living experience - and decisionmakers who seek evidence to inform their decision-making and practice is often significant and profound. But how to meaningfully bridge the gap – and whose responsibility is it?

There is growing recognition that an evaluation without an audience is like a journey without a destination: interesting but rarely impactful. There is often little emphasis – if indeed any at all – on the communication of evidence generated from evaluation to those who might use it. Budgets for meaningful engagement and strategic communication are either non-existent or derisory. Contractors, promising strategic and innovative communication approaches in tender documents, rarely deliver on grandiose ambitions. Communications is too-often considered 'an optional extra', to be conducted at the end of the evaluation process 'when the findings are known' if there is enough time and budget.

The result is limited uptake of findings…..yet uptake of findings and influencing decision-makers is the main purpose of evaluation!

The reality is that for evaluations to realise their full potential, there needs to be commitment to the strategic and intentional communication of both process and findings by all parties from the get-go. Evaluators, commissioners, and managers of evaluative processes – who often do not ‘realize’ their role, responsibility and power in this critical translation – all need to be onboard. Findings need to be socialised and, like all things social, people need to be at the heart of the process.

In this session, three "long in the tooth" evaluation veterans—who have worked as evaluators, commissioners, and strategic communication advisors in government, the EU, and international NGOs—share accessible, first-hand experiences of succeeding where others falter. They reveal where the power and responsibility truly lie in the value chain and discuss how commitment to strategic, intentional communication from the get-go is the key. Discover the enabling institutional environments 'at the top' and the improved supply 'at the bottom' that make a difference. Join us for a lively conversation on how we can all become positive deviants in our field - and add your voice and experience to build our collective knowledge on what works where, and why.