Using BetterEvaluation Material

BetterEvaluation resources can be easily adapted to help support evaluation training, from structuring coursework to creating organisation-specific materials.  

You are free to use the content on this site, excluding any images, logos and external resources, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Unported licence, providing appropriate attribution is given. 

Here are some of the ways people commonly use BetterEvaluation to help achieve their capacity-strengthening goals. If you’ve used BetterEvaluation materials in a way that others in the community might find useful, please let us know

Use BetterEvaluation material to structure learning exercises 

The Manager's Guide

The Manager’s Guide can be used to support both broad and detailed evaluation training.  

This guide walks the user through the main steps of an evaluation, from deciding the focus of the evaluation to distributing reports and could support teaching an overview of the process of evaluation.

If you’re wanting to go into greater detail, you might like to explore a step from the guide.  For example, you could run a workshop on developing Terms of Reference(ToR) or writing a Request for Proposal (RfP) document using Step 3 of the manager’s guide. This teaching can be further supported with the GeneraTOR – a free tool which helps create a TOR or RfP document that can be downloaded and shared.  

The Rainbow Framework

The Rainbow Framework can be used to structure learning agendas, with learners working through each section to gain an understanding of the full range of tasks involved in evaluation. It can also be used to help structure activities, such as the example below:

Example: Evaluation Design Workshop Exercise– breakout discussions using the Rainbow Framework 

  1. Attendees are divided into small groups with at least one community representative and one person with evaluation experience. 
  2. Groups asked to think about how to design an evaluation of a program that will address the problem discussed in the morning session. Groups are encouraged to consider how to address the stated evaluation goals. 
  3. Groups are encouraged to use the Better Rainbow Framework to complete the following tasks: 
  • Use the Manage section to decide who should be involved in the evaluation and what resources are available  
  • Use the Frame section to set the parameters of the evaluation 
  • Use the Describe section to form a plan for retrieving data 
  • Use the Understand causes section to form a plan for understanding causes of the produced outcomes and impacts  
  1. Attendees are encouraged to discuss the appropriate methods to use at each stage of the evaluation. 

Use BetterEvaluation as the underlying resource behind your organisation's evaluation guidance

The BetterEvaluation website contains credible information on more than 300 different evaluation methods, processes and approaches. 

The content on this site, excluding any images, logos and external resources, is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial Unported licence, providing appropriate attribution is given. 

We encourage you to make the most of the materials on our site, link to them, share what you find useful and let us know if something’s missing.  

Example: Using BetterEvaluation as a “key underlying resource” — The NSW Government Evaluation Toolkit 

This toolkit for the New South Wales Government in Australia draws heavily on the BetterEvaluation website as it walks users through the key steps in managing an evaluation. When it needs to provide further detail, it links back to BetterEvaluation. 

View the NSW Government Evaluation Toolkit here

Use BetterEvaluation Rainbow Framework to structure you own resources 

Categorising and organising your evaluation resources can help make them easier to navigate, increase utility, and illustrate how the resources are interconnected. The Rainbow Framework provides a simple taxonomy and structure that you can use in your own work.  You could use these to structure organisational guides or organise information in your internal filing systems or intranet. 

Example: Structuring information using the BetterEvaluation Rainbow Framework

 ALNAP used the Rainbow Framework to organise the contents of this paper to make it “accessible to a wide and diverse audience… because it offers a comprehensive and flexible way of organising vast amounts of information relating to practical evaluation issues by grouping them into a series of broad process steps that are common to virtually every type of evaluation exercise in most contexts”.  

ALNAP Evaluating protection in humanitarian action report

Adapt BetterEvaluation materials to create resources specific to your sector and context

BetterEvaluation materials can be used as a starting point to create your own context specific resources. Adapt the resources to include knowledge specific to your sector and elaborate using examples of good practice from your own team. 

Example: Using the Rainbow Framework to support a principles-based approach to evaluation for a particular sector

The Communication for Development (C4D) Framework is an approach to evaluation based on a set of values and principles that guide decisions.

The C4D framework was combined with the BetterEvaluation Rainbow Framework to create a suite of resources that help evaluators choose methods to suit their practical needs, while working within the values and principles of C4D.

Explore the C4D hub for inspiration on how you might be able to adapt the Rainbow Framework to support your approach.  

How do I cite BetterEvaluation? 

How you cite BetterEvaluation will depend on which citation style you are using. Here are some of the popular citation styles for a generic BetterEvaluation page and an example page. You will need to replace the generic fields and the curly brackets with information from the page you are citing. If there is no author, you can write 'BetterEvaluation' in place of 'Page Author'. 

APA 7

Page Author. (n.d). Page Title. Retrieved {Access date} from {page url}

Evergreen, S. (n.d). Visualise Data. Retrieved 20 February from https://www.betterevaluation.org/frameworks-systems/rainbow-framework/describe/visualise-data

Chicago 17th Author Date

Page Author. n.d. "Page Title." Accessed {Access date}. {page url}.

Evergreen, S. n.d. "Visualise Data." Accessed 20 February. https://www.betterevaluation.org/frameworks-systems/rainbow-framework/describe/visualise-data.

Harvard

PAGE AUTHOR. n.d. Page Title [Online]. Available: {page url} [Accessed {Access date} {Access year}].

EVERGREEN, S. n.d. Visualise Data [Online]. Available: https://www.betterevaluation.org/frameworks-systems/rainbow-framework/describe/visualise-data [Accessed 20 February 2019].

MLA

Page Author. "Page Title."  n.d. Web. {Access date} {Access year}.
Evergreen, S. "Visualise Data."  n.d. Web. 20 February 2019.

Vancouver

1.    Page Author. Page Title n.d [Available from: {page url}].
1.    Evergreen S. Visualise Data n.d [Available from: https://www.betterevaluation.org/frameworks-systems/rainbow-framework/describe/visualise-data].

Stay up to date on good and emerging evaluation practice 

BetterEvaluation is supported by a broad community of evaluation practitioners and subject matter experts around the world. Together we co-create resources to capture current good practice, which can support your own self-directed learning.

If you’re looking to meet fellow practitioners or would prefer a more structured learning environment, head to our events section, where you’ll find links to upcoming conferences, workshops, webinars and more.

You can also sign up as a member of the BetterEvaluation Community in order to receive regular newsletters.