Where to next?
Next steps
A proposal for a seminar series for Government based R & E Units (see below) was tabled and discussed.
There was general support for such a series (report back on day, e-mails and Zoomerang Survey comments)
Points made included:
- Session around managing expectations (public, media, Ministers, other researchers)
- Seminars are good - be clear who is the audience? And how often?
- Discussion Forums - interaction gives value
- Need for Guidelines around consultation
Proposal for seminar series for Government based R&E Units
Aim
SPEaR is proposing the establishment of a series of seminars aimed at enhancing the knowledge and expertise of government agency officials who commission or design and conduct social research projects in Research and Evaluation units.
The seminars would follow on from the June release of the SPEaR Best Practice Guidelines and have a focus on ways to produce good quality research and evaluation outcomes.
They would provide an opportunity for R&E units to share information on lessons learnt and what practices and processes have worked well in enabling them to undertaken high quality research and evaluation that meets desired outcomes.
Format
It is proposed that the seminars would be monthly or bi-monthly informal, possibly lunchtime, events of approximately 2 hours in duration. The seminars would cater to small groups of around 20 people, and be hosted by participating agencies.
Some Suggested Areas of Interest
- Defining the research objective - Who wants to know? What information is needed? Who will use the information and how will they use it?
- Scoping - Does the information already exist? Identifying gaps in information and whether you need to collect new data? Requirements for resources and timelines.
- Sampling methodology - how to get to the people you want to know about, use of control groups, use of booster samples
- Best methods for collecting particular types of information from particular populations e.g. mode, testing concepts and instruments, use of translations, use of administrative data, use of incentives
- Analysis of data - what tools and methods work well for particular data types
- Outputs - quality assurance, presentation, publication and dissemination of results
- Outcomes - measuring outcomes
What you can do
We would like your feedback on the seminar proposal and suggested areas of interest.
Are there areas that you could contribute to? The seminar series offers an opportunity for you to share experiences of research and evaluation project issues you have faced, and how you have successfully overcome them.
Are there areas you would like to develop your knowledge in? These seminars will enable R&E practitioners to learn from the experiences of others.
Contact: raewyn.good002@msd.govt.nz DDI 916-3702 or cell 029 650 0176
