Centre for Regional Economic Development
Leadership Programme
Summary: Workshop 2: A ‘New’ Strategic Leadership of Place: Making Better Use of Evidence
12 May, University of Cumbria, Carlisle; 21 May, Rheged, Penrith; 22 May, The Oval Centre,
Workington
Please see the website for all presentation slides.
Professor Frank Peck – Research Director – Centre for Regional Economic Development,
University of Cumbria
Frank briefly summarised his presentation at
Workshop 1 in relation to “A ‘New’ Strategic
Leadership of Place” and then continued by
examining the implications for leaders of place
of developing policy based on different types
of evidence. He then explored how data can be
turned into evidence, and how this can be used
to develop strategy. Frank’s presentation is
attached.
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Professor Frank Peck, Research Director at
Centre for Regional Economic Development at
Carlisle 12 May 2009
The Cumbria Observatory –
Paula Kennerley (Carlisle), Owen David (Rheged), Dr Dan Bloomer (Workington)
Paula, Owen and Dan delivered a presentation regarding The Cumbria Observatory. Their
presentations can also be accessed on the CIEP web-site within the Economic Development and
Regeneration Theme (www.ciep.org.uk). They introduced the Observatory and outlined what
data it holds, and then each presented a different example of how the data can be used,
including a brief introduction to the Cumbria Profiler which can be accessed via this link:
www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk/Summaries/profiles.asp. The presentation concluded with a
discussion of scale, ways in which data can be presented and how it has been used in strategy
development.
Owen David from The Cumbria Observatory
presented at the event held at Rheged on 21
May.
Table Discussion
Following the first two presentations, there was a table discussion regarding how delegates had
used different types of evidence and what the advantages and disadvantages of these may have
been.
Sarah Mitchell – Regeneration Manager – Regen NE Copeland (Carlisle)
Sarah delivered a presentation which illustrated the whole process of
developing a project, gathering data using a number of different
methods to provide evidence and monitoring progress. Please click to
see Sarah’s full presentation.
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Dr Stephen Connolly – Director – DC Research
Making Use of Evidence – Some Lessons from Evaluation
Stephen’s presentation focused on the ‘evaluation process’, types and use of evidence. Typical
stages of evaluation are:
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Scoping and Inception;
Desk-based (secondary) research – reviews of academic and policy literature and documents,
data collection, collation and analysis;
Consultations (primary research) with deliverers and partners;
Consultations with beneficiaries / users;
Producing a robust, objective, independent report of the findings

Making recommendations for future and drawing out lessons from the project
Stephen highlighted that there is often a ‘gap’ between the ideal evaluation and reality – the
pragmatic practitioner recognises that they may be working with limited data and resources in a
tight timescale to show the linkages between the initiative being assessed and any changes to
the targets.
Issues which the evaluator has to consider include:
 How can the evaluation question(s) be answered?
 What information and evidence do you need?
 What information and evidence can you get?
 How to deal with the counterfactual scenario?
 How to deal with the issue of multiplicity?
 How to show contribution towards outcomes?
These considerations result in the
triangulation of methods/techniques
and different emphasis/weight being
given to each source of evidence
Evidence for an evaluation can be:
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Any information that enables us to “prove” or “substantiate” statements
Not restricted to things which can be counted or measured (though these are important)
Includes systematic recording of personal observations, conversations and interactions with
partners and members of communities
Types of evidence:
Secondary
 Existing Literature and Documents
 E.g. policy documents
 Academic articles
 Action plans
 Existing Data
 E.g. No of outputs achieved
 Financial data
 Audit data
Primary
 One-to-one consultations – face to face,
telephone
 Group consultations (one-to-many)- face to
face/telephone
 Structured surveys – postal, telephone, online
 Focus groups/workshops
 Observations
(passive
and
participant
observations)
The results of an evaluation can be used in a number of ways, depending on why it was
commissioned. However, it is important to maximise the use of the findings and evidence by
reflecting on the lessons learned and considering how recommendations can be implemented.
The evaluator may be required to disseminate the findings through presentations and in some
situations there may be an advocacy role to be filled e.g. between project deliverer / funder.
The importance of advocacy and improved dissemination is becoming more widely recognised, and
there is a clear role for leaders to interpret evaluation findings and evidence for their purposes.
Key activities are specifying what uses the evaluation may be used for from the outset, however
the way this is best achieved is contingent on the audience and the purpose of the evaluation.
Key points which Stephen concluded with are:
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Appreciate the full range of sources of evidence that can be used for evaluations
Be pragmatic and realistic with what can be achieved, whilst maintaining independence
Be flexible with method and techniques adopted
Make sure all key people agree purpose of study
Ensure that the findings are acted upon
Ensure that dissemination occurs
PEANuT – Participatory Evaluation and Appraisal in Newcastle-upon-Tyne – Catherine
Butcher, Ross Mowbray, Helen Hindmarch
We invited PEANuT to contribute to these
events, as the Participatory Appraisal and
Evaluation methods which they deliver training
in are useful in a number of forums, for
example they can be used within teams, with
partners, and with communities. Please see the
attached presentation for details of the
techniques.
Forcefield Analysis
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A fun way of identifying opinions, in this case
whether tourism is a good thing for Cumbria?