Relationships - Making connections across the department and with other organisations

Evaluation champions

Leaders who champion the Evaluation Strategy help entrench the intent into the daily work of the department and ensure evaluation findings are embedded in policy and practice

A network of mentors and critical friends who develop and promote a collegial approach to evaluation
Newsletters, bulletin board alerts, vodcasts and published articles promote the department's evaluation activities throughout the community

Consolidating evaluation capacity within the department's divisions supports the broader performance agenda by giving staff a point of reference to help understand the activities of a division and encourage information sharing
Strategic collaborations with evaluation professionals in other departments and organisations advance evaluation skills and promote the department's evaluation reputation
The engagement of key stakeholders in evaluations to seek agreement of the purpose and expectations of a program and the evaluation design, and once implemented, clarify understanding of data collected and analysed

Membership of the Australasian Evaluation Society and other evaluation bodies maintains links with evaluation experts and access to publications, conferences and seminars
Access to national and international scholarly work by monitoring current research which supports continuous improvement in evaluation

Internal-external collaboration in the design, implementation and reporting of evaluations builds ownership, corporate knowledge and independence, and leverages expertise
Academic advisors inform the department about aspects of evaluation
External evaluators add specific expertise and can support stakeholder interest in objectivity
Professional development facilitators deliver evaluation skills and knowledge to staff