Developing a list of data requirements

To be able to effectively monitor and evaluate a service there is a need to collect sufficient amounts of information or data to be able to describe delivery and impact. The type and amount of data collected should be appropriate, proportionate and feasible. This means that any data collected has a specific purpose, is not unnecessarily intrusive, and is practical and realistic to collect.

Monitoring data

Monitoring involves the regular collection and recording of data relating to the implementation of key service activities. The data include process type measures such as recruitment e.g. the number of families attending a service; reach or the extent to which the people who participate are representative of the target population, and fidelity which relates to the extent to which the key ingredients or components of a service have been received by participants as often and for as long as planned. 

Monitoring uses standard service data as specified in the data requirements developed during the service design process. An example of the sort of data that should be collected to support monitoring can be found here but can be adapted to be more relevant to your service. A template for producing your final monitoring data requirements can be found in the resources section of this website.

To develop your final set of monitoring data requirements, you should:

• Refer to your service logic model, with a focus on the planned inputs, activities, and outputs. 

What data would allow you to demonstrate that these things are happening? 

• Develop your service process flow and plan in when the data capture will take place.

Can you feasibly collect the data you have specified? How and when will it be collected and by who?

• Understand what system/s you will using to record and store the data and the format of the data.

Evaluation data

Once you have moved on to developing your evaluation questions you may need to revisit your data requirements. All of the specified monitoring data can be used to deliver a robust implementation evaluation, but you may need to check and ensure it delivers against all of the questions you have around implementation.

If you are planning a before and after evaluation, you will be probably be collecting measures at the start and end of the service journey for participants. It is important that the data from these measures is included in the data requirements and that you have thought about incorporating the recording of this data into your data systems. Similarly, if there are measures relating to an effectiveness evaluation that you plan to collect at a service level these need to be included.

Data Systems

Often you or your service delivery organisation will have existing data systems in place as pert of your existing service delivery. It is important to work with those responsible for maintaining your data systems to ensure that your data requirements can be supported by existing systems or that the system can be adapted to incorporate any additional data collection. If not, and it’s practical, this might be a good time to consider a different data system. However, you can also supplement your current data capture with something like an Access database as a short term solution.