Learn how to improve your survey design by avoiding three common mistakes with Likert scales. This webinar explores issues like double-barreled questions, forced responses, and using Likert scales when they don’t fit that purpose and how to fix these. Designed for evaluators and program staff, it will help you collect clearer, more accurate data in your work.

This tip sheet brings together practical Microsoft Excel keyboard shortcuts for both Windows and Mac users to help speed up navigation, formatting, formulas, PivotTables, filtering, and more. Whether you’re cleaning data, analyzing survey results, or building reports, it’s a handy resource to keep beside you while you work.

Pivot tables often feel harder than they should, not because they’re complex, but because they’re rarely explained in a way that matches how we actually think about data. This article breaks down the most common frustrations and reframes pivot tables as a simple tool for answering clear questions. If you’ve avoided them or felt stuck, this will help you understand what they’re really doing—and how to use them with more confidence.

When you can’t include everyone in your evaluation, maximum variation sampling helps you make those choices count. This article shows you how to intentionally include diverse participant experiences so you can understand not just what happened, but why outcomes differ—using a simple, practical approach that leads to richer, more useful insights.

Pilot projects are about learning—not just results. This article highlights key considerations for designing evaluations that are flexible, responsive, and grounded in meaningful insights.

The Indigenous Visiting Bundle is a practical, ready-to-use resource designed to support evaluation visits from planning through follow-up. Developed by Eval Academy, it brings together essential tools, templates, and guidance to help teams conduct visits that are thoughtful, consistent, and grounded in best practices. The bundle is designed to strengthen preparation, support meaningful engagement, and ensure visits are carried out in a respectful and well-coordinated way.

Eval Academy’s Implementation Science video series offers practical, accessible learning for evaluation professionals. Grounded in implementation science principles, these videos translate theory into clear, usable insights that support stronger evaluation design, interpretation, and use.

This article explores how artificial intelligence can be thoughtfully and responsibly integrated into qualitative evaluation work. Drawing on hands‑on experience, the article outlines where AI can add real value—such as transcription, document scanning, and early theme development—while clearly identifying its limitations and risks.

Evaluators often face a common challenge: survey results show many items scoring similarly, leaving leaders to ask, “What should we improve first?” While it’s tempting to focus on the lowest‑scoring items, these scores alone don’t reveal what actually drives key outcomes. Driver analysis fills this gap by identifying which survey items have the greatest influence on the outcome of interest.

The Pre‑Interview Risk Assessment Checklist is designed to help evaluators ensure interviews are safe, ethical, and well‑planned before they begin. Interviews can carry inherent risks that can affect participant well‑being, interviewer safety, and the quality of the data collected. This resource offers a structured, easy‑to‑use process for identifying potential concerns early and putting the right mitigation strategies in place.

It can be easy to describe what a program does, but is much harder to pin down what it’s actually trying to change. Without clear outcomes and assumptions, evaluations end up measuring what’s convenient instead of what matters.
A good program logic spells out the intended change, why it’s expected, and what’s realistically within the program’s influence. When that clarity is in place, everything from indicators to data collection becomes more meaningful.

Evaluative thinking is part of a meaningful evaluation, yet it’s often a challenging part of the process. While data can tell us what happened, it takes intentional reflection to uncover the so what—the significance, implications, and opportunities hidden within our findings. This resource, 10 Evaluative Thinking Questions, is designed to help evaluators, program managers, staff, and partners move beyond surface-level interpretation and dig deeper into what their results truly mean.

Ultimately, this resource helps transform evaluation from a reporting exercise into a learning practice.

Creating an accessible evaluation report isn’t just about technical standards—it’s about making sure your findings can be understood, navigated, and used by the widest possible audience. This article introduces our Accessibility in Reporting infographic, a practical guide with seven key components and easy tips you can apply right away to improve clarity, inclusivity, and usability in every report.

Kick off your evaluation year with confidence by following five practical steps designed to streamline workflows and maximize impact. These steps help evaluators stay intentional, responsive, and efficient to support meaningful results and stronger relationships throughout the year. Start your year with clarity and purpose to achieve evaluation success!

This year-end wrap-up takes a look at the Eval Academy content that evaluators engaged with most in 2025—from our top articles and most downloaded resources to new courses, webinars, and learning tools. It offers a snapshot of what readers found most useful this year and highlights the practical evaluation topics that shaped our work.

This ready-to-use Paper Survey Template helps you create clear, well-structured paper surveys in Word without the usual formatting challenges. It includes customizable examples of common question types, a built-in introduction section, and practical tips to streamline setup—making it easier to design participant-friendly surveys that collect the data you actually need.

Evaluating gender-based violence programs requires care, intention, and a trauma-informed mindset. This article explores how trauma-informed principles can be embedded throughout every stage of an evaluation—supporting safety, minimizing harm, and honouring the voices of survivors and frontline workers. It offers practical, real-world considerations for conducting meaningful and ethical evaluations in this complex and sensitive sector.

Learn how to use a data party to sensemake your data! A video summary.

Qualitative sensemaking sessions—also known as data parties—are collaborative spaces where participants engage directly with qualitative findings to co-create meaning, refine themes, and strengthen recommendations. Unlike quantitative sessions that typically follow completed analysis, qualitative sessions benefit from earlier engagement, allowing participants to shape emerging insights and add valuable context. To ensure effectiveness, evaluators should clearly define session objectives, organise findings to avoid information overload, and incorporate visuals to break up text. Common challenges include managing groupthink, handling sensitive data with care, and balancing depth with time constraints, all of which require thoughtful planning and flexibility.

Discover practical strategies for managing stress in evaluation projects. This article explores common stressors faced by evaluators, including ambiguity, emotional impact, constant change, and limited resources. Learn actionable tips for reducing stress through enhanced project management, protecting scope and budgets, fostering team support, and using self-reflection. The guide also highlights leadership habits that promote healthy evaluation practices and offers tools for building resilience and maintaining balance. Ideal for evaluators seeking to improve wellbeing and effectiveness in their work.