Evaluation training for student researchers

In partnership with King’s College London (KCL), we designed and conducted a sequence of three training sessions. These sessions were tailored to doctoral students at KCL, with the aim of deepening their understanding of research consultancy, equipping them with practical knowledge and skills to navigate real-life scenarios, and empowering them to overcome a variety of project management challenges. The training culminated in the students applying their newly learned skills to paid evaluations with real clients. 

 

Fifteen doctoral students participated in the LEAP sessions: 

• In the first session, participants embarked on a consultancy journey game, tasked with discussing and developing strategies in small teams to overcome a set of challenges and tasks. 

• In the second session, participants had the opportunity to step into the role of consultants themselves, working through a sample scenario enabling students to design and develop their own evaluation tools. 

• In the final session, participants delivered brief presentations on their evaluation projects. Working in groups, they discussed the challenges they had encountered and collaboratively developed a risk register to identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks.

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The students loved the interactivity of the sessions, and learning from teachers who practise evaluation as their job. Initiatives such as Coding for Girls, Cancer Cell: raising awareness for prisoners with Cancer, and Radiation Reveal, benefited from robust, timely evaluations. With the guidance and leadership of the newly trained (student) consultants, these organisations could better evidence their achievements to funders and understand how to improve in the future. 

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