Research is often the starting point for the development of a new service offer or project. Without a detailed assessment of client need or the problems facing your local community, your assumptions about what could be done to tackle the problems you face will more often than not be based on a hunch or anecdotal evidence. Some of the best projects grow out of the findings of a small piece of research: interviews with a small cohort of service users that you want to help; a door to door questionnaire aimed at people that live locally. If designed well and accurately focused, research does not have to be expensive and can help tell you what you need to know to convince funders to support your ideas.

Evaluation is at the other end of the spectrum. Once you start delivering your project, or as it nears its conclusion, you will want to ask some pertinent questions about its success and impacts. Your funder will most certainly want to hear about what has worked well for you and the quantifiable benefits to your service users. If you can demonstrate success, you have a better chance of getting your project funded again or using your data to develop a follow-on programme.

Think Funding offers a cost effective research and evaluation service designed to help you understand and quantify the needs of your community effectively. We can also help you build an evaluation framework that will enable you to capture information and data as your project progresses.

Want help with research and evaluation? Contact think-funding.co.uk