Commissioning process

On this page, you will find a template that you can use when you are commissioning or being commissioned to undertake an evaluation.

Please adapt and use as needed. We have also suggested a simple commissioning process.

Why do commissioning?

Provide greater clarity on what is expected by when

Reduce needless rework

Influence project direction

When you and your team are ready to evaluate some past work or current projects, the following process should be helpful in getting started. There is also a guide by the NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation that you may find helpful.

Evaluations can be conducted by in-house staff (internal) or a third party (external) or a mix of both. Use the Evaluation Commissioning Form to help with your initial thinking. Talk to Analytics and Insights team, EDK for advice on whether an in-house or a third party evaluation or a mix of both is appropriate for your evaluation.

Be clear about what is being evaluated. You need to be able to describe what the intervention is and how change will be effected and for whom in practical terms, what does success look like, how the initiative is expected to achieve this and what factors will influence success.

Take the time to consider carefully what the evaluation needs to do before considering possible designs. Ensure all those who need to be consulted during the process are adequately involved.

The RUFDATA [PDF, 425KB] categories – Reasons and purpose, Uses, Foci, Data, Audience, Timing and Agency – are useful points to consider when scoping your evaluation. You can also use the Scoping Evaluation ‘Cheat Sheet’ to gather information for your evaluation plan.

Develop the formal document that outlines the requirements for the evaluation. This includes the Key Evaluation Questions (KEQs) and the evaluation design – how data will be collected and analysed to answer the KEQs, the implementation plan and a dissemination plan. You can use the Ministry Evaluation Plan template [DOCX, 79KB]. If you decide to engage an external evaluator, the development of the evaluation plan can be included as a contract deliverable.

How the evaluation will be managed should be agreed in Step 2 and outlined in the implementation plan in Step 4. It is important that the governance group or the management group (depending on what is agreed in Step 2) is informed of the progress of the evaluation and any risks and issues encountered throughout the evaluation.

Make evaluation reports available and engage with primary intended users to make the results accessible. Use effective strategies to support use of the findings. Use the Evaluation Report Assessment Tool [PDF, 369KB] to assess the quality and increase the use of the evaluation findings.