Red Gem has undertaken a number of evaluations and recent clients include Chesterfield Law Centre, Voice for Derbyshire, the Derbyshire Disabled Action Network (DDAN) and Bolsover Community and Voluntary Partners (CVP)
The evaluations we have done have had a range of diffeent objectives. We have been asked to look at progress in meeting the objectives and targets of funders such as the National Lottery and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. We have also been asked to, identify recommendations and potential priorities for future years, measure impact and pull out positive aspects that can be used in future funding bids.
In undertaking our evaluations we use a variety of approaches. These include online surveys, interviewing, benchmarking, focus groups, desk research, case studies and open space. Our approach is to work closely with an organisation to ensure that what they are left with is something that is useful and a base for future work.
We bring a range of skills and experience to this work including strong interviewing skills, a good understanding of organisations in the voluntary and statutory sectors (including funders) and extensive networks.
Below is more detail of two pieces of work with the Chesterfield Law Centre "Moving Beyond" project and Voice for Derbyshire.
The "Moving Beyond" project worked with individuals facing barriers to employment. It looked to help them address these barriers through voluntary work and wanted us to assess its impact. We asked participants to rate themselves against a range of criteria prior to volunteering and again at the time of the evaluation. We were able to visually show an impressive range of impacts in areas such as health and confidence that went beyond simply getting people into work. We were also able to benchmark the project against a similar statutory project with very favourable results. The project and the evaluation is highlighted by funder the Coalfield Regeneration Trust at http://www.coalfields-regen.org.uk/news/default.asp?art=1290174718
The Lottery funded “Voice for Derbyshire” project is designed to help VCS groups engage with partnerships. We were asked to evaluate performance against the Lottery targets and outcomes and to make recommendations for the development of the project and future priorities. This was a complex project to evaluate and involved the use of an online questionnaire, a focus group, desk research and interviews with a range of voluntary and statutory sector contacts and project staff. 
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