Introduction

A well- placed and purposeful judgement on method is the starting point for choices to be made about how best to apply it. The four chapters making up the concluding parts of Purposeful Evaluation are concerned with those choices and where the groundwork for optimising how a chosen method is put in place can boost or impair the integrity and influence of the evidence it is to provide. The focus of this chapter is on the initial preparation and planning for delivery; those that follow look at managing the evaluation when it is underway, delivering the evidence and maximising the opportunity for its influence.

Planning for the evaluation falls into two parts: before and after the choice of method. The first part is concerned with scoping intent, setting objectives and managing expectations, and embedding the ethical dimension, as covered previously (Chapters 2 to 4). This chapter focuses on the second part which follows the choice of method from the wealth of possibilities set out in Chapters 5 to 11. Time pressures can mean this groundwork receives less thorough attention than it merits or needs, risking insubstantial foundations. This can leave delivery vulnerable to implementation gaps, and in a poor position to adapt to challenges as and when they arise. It will be difficult to push back on such pressures, so well- focused actions and energy for preparations need to be guided by anticipating what is needed, and addressing this with intensity, agility and confidence.