Quick appraisal & self-evaluation (volunteer organisations)
Many of the evaluation techniques highlighted under the metrics and theory-based evaluations are arguably less useful for volunteer organisations; especially those which send individual volunteers (rather than cohorts of volunteers) to particular villages for a specific time-limited period.
There is, of course, a case for volunteers to design their own log frame or theory of change (the questionnaire begins by asking about assumptions), but for many individuals, this will be their first experience of the global South and they will have many other things to worry about before and during their stay.
A basic M&E framework is likely to be useful if a group of volunteers have been sent to the same area or have been tasked with the same set of activities. However, here the assumption is that the individual volunteer is essentially on his/ her own, albeit operating within the framework of a volunteer organisation and its partner in the South.
Quick appraisal & self-evaluation (volunteer organisations)
| Evaluation Type | STEP 1: Pre-arrival questionnaire | STEP 2: Quick Appraisal Methods | STEP 3: End of Tour Questionnaire |
| Quick Appraisal or Self-Evaluation for VOs | Pre-arrival Questionnaire | – Journal/ Reflective log – Snap-shot interviews – Appreciation Line – Most Significant Change (streamlined) – Palm on chest – Graffiti Wall – Mood box/Pebbles in a box – Short Participant observation – Pre- and Post Quizzes – Mini-surveys – Small focus groups – Time Diagram – Mentimeter | ‘End of tour’ Questionnaire |
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