Analysis of management data
Management data holds a wealth of information about policies and programmes. It can include monitoring data about outputs and impact data that can be central to evaluations. Management data can also provide invaluable contemporaneous insights into the rationale for particular actions at particular times, which can be extremely important in setting the context for reviews. However, it is not always in a format that is easy to analyse. Often programmes have been established for a long time and records are held in a variety of formats, including in hard copy. Responsibility for a programme or policy may have changed within an organisation either because of staff changes or organisational re-structuring.
We use management data qualitatively to re-construct timelines that led to certain actions and decisions to aid understanding. We collate numerical data and (where appropriate) textual information so that it is in a coherent structure that will allow quantitative analysis of outputs and impacts.
Some examples of projects that have included analysis of management data are:
- Evaluation of the National Network of Science Learning Centres
- Evaluation of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM)
- PPARC Evaluation of the National Awards Scheme for public engagement
- EPSRC Evaluation of Partnership for Public Awareness Awards