Evaluation Cycle – new guidance now empowering low/no-cost comms evaluations
Last year, we published the Evaluation Cycle, which has been empowering our members to meaningfully evaluate all types of communication activity.
Whilst promoting the tool, we have engaged with over 1,000 communication professionals from across our membership at conferences and teach-in sessions and discovered that the most frequently asked questions are about evaluating low/no-cost communications.
Therefore, we have created further guidance on Evaluating low/no-cost communications as a companion to the Evaluation Cycle.
Diagram illustrating the GCS Evaluation Cycle, which defines evaluation as a recurring process, consisting of six stages (Inputs, Outputs, Outtakes, Outcomes, Impact, and Learning and Innovation).
Maximising impact on a minimal budget
Low/no-cost communications like social media, content marketing, partnerships and earned media are often the bread and butter of government and public-sector communicators.
Despite limited budgets, they can have a significant impact on policy and organisational objectives.
With this further guidance, we provide tailored strategies to help assess how comms activities will reach target audiences, raise awareness and encourage positive behaviour change, demonstrating the important impact delivered with low/no cost communications.
Evaluation decision tree
The new guidance includes a decision tree that helps communicators decide on the most appropriate evaluation approach – Basic, Enhanced or Comprehensive – and adopt effective practices accordingly.
Diagram of the decision tree illustrating a series of questions to help communicators select the appropriate evaluation tier (Basic, Enhanced or Comprehensive).
Continuous learning from real-time digital data
Digital communications like social media are one of the more popular ways of delivering low/no-cost communications. The new guidance gives practical advice on how to make the best use of real-time digital data to measure audience reach, awareness and positive behaviour change.
By making evidence-based improvements to communications, we can maximise the impact of our communications even when on a minimal budget, and be on track to celebrate communication successes in the future.
5 key takeaways
The Evaluation Cycle already encourages continuous learning improvements and the use of the latest digital innovations to better deliver our communications and government objectives.
You can find further good practice examples in the new Evaluating low/no-cost communications guide, including:
- Tell a story: Weave your activities into a compelling story of impact.
- Data doesn’t have to be numbers: Qualitative insights can be just as powerful in demonstrating impact.
- Provide context: Use benchmarks to give meaning to your data.
- Remember proportionality: Adapt your evaluation to fit the size and scope of your comms.
- Embrace continuous learning: Look into what works well/less well so you can learn as you go.
Learn more
We recommend using the resources below alongside the Evaluation Cycle and our new guidance on Evaluating low/no-cost communications when planning and reviewing your comms activities.
Template for evaluating low/no-cost comms: Download this user-friendly template, designed to help streamline the process of documenting evaluations. Use this tool to simplify your workflow and ensure your communications activities are tracked effectively during implementation.
Case studies*: Be inspired by our growing library of case studies, showcasing real-world examples of successful low/no-cost communication evaluations. Discover how others have applied these principles to their work and kickstart your own evaluation today.
Assist*: Later this year, you’ll be able to ask Assist, our generative AI tool for government communicators, to plan communication evaluations and produce outputs using the Evaluation Cycle and our other resources. Stay tuned for updates as Assist expands on its capabilities.
Training*: Enhance your skills with a new online training course being developed by our Academy. The training will provide actionable tips and advice for helping deliver and evaluate low/no-cost communications in a digestible format. Watch out for its release later this year.
*Member-only content; you will need to be a member of the Government Communications profession and sign in to Connect to access this content.