Evaluation Support Scotland (ESS) is a Scottish charity, supporting civil society organisations, trustees and funders, to measure and demonstrate their impact through evaluation. The aim is to use impact data and evidence to inform future policy development; it was created after research found that many third sector organisations and funders (including public bodies) lacked the skills and resources to undertake evaluations and to use the insights to inform decisions.

Tailored support and resources

ESS receive core funding from the Scottish Government to deliver open workshops, tailored support, free online self-directed learning modules, and a wealth of online resources. They have also developed multiple guides for funders and organisations, including the five principles for good evaluation, that enables organisations to gain real-time insights, adjust their work and remain responsive to feedback from communities and citizens. They also partnered with the Scottish Government to develop Principles for Positive Partnership, to enhance the relationship between grant managers and grant holders, providing practical advice to strengthen both parties.

Preventing homelessness

In 2023, ESS was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF), in response to the Scottish Government’s homelessness action plan, to focus on preventing homelessness in Glasgow and Edinburgh. With ESS’s support, organisations were able to better highlight the impact of their work which helped inform the targeting of future activity.  This included those who are at risk of being homeless:

• being able to access services that meet their needs, including mental health support and youth outreach services

• having more access to more suitable accommodation for their needs

• having more influence on the systems that they are affected by, through the inclusion of lived experiences within housing association policies

Outcomes

ESS’s work has supported TNLCF to make decisions about funding future projects, and ensured that future funding streams were informed about effective support and interventions that had a real world impact on the people they were designed to support.