Presentation by StreetGames' Knowledge Managers Ceris Anderson and Karen Walpole

1. Analysing your Project
Ceris Anderson & Caron Walpole
StreetGames

2. Session Overview
 Why is it important to analyse your project?
 What data should we collect or look up?
 What are the limitations of data collection?
 What other information and feedback would be useful?
 What to do with the data and evidence once it is
collected
What is the one thing you most want to
cover in this session today?

3. Why is it important to analyse
your project?

4. Why is it important?
It can help to:
 Keep track of progress and assess how things are going
 Identify what is working well and where changes/improvements may
be needed.
 Provide consistent performance measurement.
 Provide feedback on progress to everyone involved and can be
used to share best practice
 Show the value and impact of sport to partners, Government and the
wider community etc.
 Provide an evidence base to support the case for continued and
increased levels of funding.
It is an essential part of good project management

5. Data collection is important but it
can also be a challenge…………
What challenges do you face with
data collection?

6. Data Collection
 Try to keep it as simple as possible
 Only collect what you really need
 Explain to project staff, coaches, volunteers and
participants why you collect the information and
why it is important
 Ensure systems are in place from the outset
 Make use and share the data

7. What data should we collect
or look up?

8. What data?
 This must be driven by the aims and
objectives of your project:
– Sports participation
– Participant engagement, Retention, Progression
– Volunteer engagement and development
– Training & qualifications
– Health improvement
– Reducing crime and ASB
– Others……..
 Can they all be measured by data collection?

9. Sports Participation
 Sessions
 Participants
 Attendances
May also collect data on:
 Coaches
 Volunteers
 Qualifications
 Events

10. Data collection
 Participant profile
 Attendance registers
 Volunteer records

11. Participant Data
 Total numbers
 Who is attending (profile) and who isn‟t
 What activities are they doing?
 How often are they coming?
 How long have they been coming?
 Who has dropped out? Are there
any patterns?
 How do we know if there has been
any progression?

12. Wider project Aims
 You may need to collect other data or use
progress „markers‟:
– Questionnaires or interviews (may be tailored to your
project or national surveys like the GPAQ)
– Evaluation tools (e.g. engagement ladders, Rickter
Assessment, Outcomes star)
– Partner data (e.g. crime stats, NEET records)

13. What are the limitations of data
collection?

14. “Not everything that can be counted
counts, and not everything that counts
can be counted”. [Albert Einstein]

15. Data Limitations
 Data collection can provide
very useful information and
show trends but it will not
explain why
 It will not identify why
something is working well or
not so well
 What is behind the data?
 What are the „life stories‟?
 It can be hard to prove
causality

16. What other information and
feedback would be useful?

17. Other information
 Gather feedback:
– Why is something is working
well – what are the success
factors?
– What have been the
challenges
– What could be done differently
 What are the „stories‟ that
bring the data to life?
 What progress or impact
has the project made?

18. How to find out
 You may decide to  Informal conversations
conduct in-depth  Graffiti Boards
research  Social Media
 Photo or Video Evidence
 Conducting interviews
 But you can also
 Ask young people to do
gather useful
„paired pal‟ interviews
feedback simply and
 Surveys
cheaply
 Hold focus Groups
 Projective techniques

19. What to do with the data and
evidence once it is collected

20. Build your project „story‟
 What have you learnt about:
– Numbers attending, year-on-year growth
– Key trends: can these guide future delivery/
investment
– Your success in attracting key target groups
– Your activities or growth in a particular sport
– Your development of local capacity
– Contributions towards physical activity targets
– Contributions towards improving quality of life

21. Build your project „story‟
 Project Case studies
– What has happened
– What worked well
– What have you learnt
 Individual „pen portraits‟
– Progress of an individual participant, volunteer,
leader or coach
 Other sources:
– Do other partners have data or evidence which
supports your work
– Has there been any press or political interest?
 Use all your different sources to „tell the story‟

22. www.streetgames.org
ceris.anderson@streetgames.org