Our offering

Evaluations are crucial for understanding whether a program or policy is working, what is not working, and how it can be improved. New Era Advisory offers a range of evaluation services including:

• Evaluation design including creating or refining theories of change or program logics, evaluation frameworks such as evaluation questions, data collection tools, mapping of existing data sources.
• Data collection / evaluation implementation based on the evaluation framework (including running data collection methodologies, and auditing and reviewing existing data or documentation)
• Analysis and reporting including qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics, triangulation of data, and reporting evaluation findings and insights for multiple and diverse audiences.
• End-to-end evaluation services. New Era Advisory can manage and implement the design, data collection, analysis and reporting for small to medium scale evaluations.

From the initial stages of a program or policy, it is important that evaluations are set up for success. For example, ensuring you are asking the right questions, have the data (or can collect the data) to answer these questions, and that the outputs of the evaluation (such as a report) are useful and meaningful to stakeholders (whether that’s managers, frontline staff, or beneficiaries). We suggest that evaluation is embedded early in programs and policies, rather than a consideration at the end.

It is important to note that evaluations do not need to be technical or complex. New Era Advisory will work with you and your organisation to meet you where you are at to ensure that the evaluation is fit-for-purpose and meaningful, but not burdensome.

Research should involve examination of the existing evidence base, understanding what data is already collected, and how additional data collection may fill gaps and add nuance.

New Era Advisory specialises in qualitative research. Our Principal Consultant and Founder, Rosie Ashley, utilises a trauma-informed approach which centres the comfort and safety of research participants. Rosie has conducted research with diverse and vulnerable groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse people, young people, and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

 New Era Advisory offers:

• Review and analysis of existing research through literature reviews, desktop scans, document audits, and quantitative data review (using descriptive statistics).
• Research design including ensuring alignment of research aims with methodologies and outputs, identification of ethics requirements and obtaining ethics approval where required, and creating frameworks to guide research activities.
• Targeted data collection and engagement activities, including survey design and implementation, interviews, focus groups, and other qualitative data methods (i.e. journey-maps, observations, workshops etc).
• analysis and reporting of insights including qualitative analysis (thematic, content, contribution analysis), using qualitative analysis software (Nvivo, Dedoose), and report writing for all audiences.

Project management is central to all our projects with our clients. To us, this means:

• Taking a no surprises approach, ensuring transparency throughout the engagement, and co-managing risks as they arise.
• Bringing you into our decision-making process. We might be experts in research and evaluation, but our clients are often the subject matter experts. Our project benefit from working closely with our clients to ensure the best outcomes for the project and project beneficiaries.
• Agreeing what success for the project looks like upfront but being flexible and adaptable as the project is implemented to ensure that the project meets the needs of our clients.

Rosie Ashley is an experienced project manager who has overseen small to large research and evaluation projects. Rosie is aware of what is required at all stages of a project and can mobilise teams to ensure work is conducted to a high standard.

Depending on your needs, New Era Advisory can build in knowledge and skills transfer into our projects so that you and your team can replicate or build upon the work after the project. This could include:

• learning how to build evaluation into your projects, such as understanding evaluative thinking, what your data needs are, and how you can collect what you need.
• how to design an evaluation including program logics and evaluation frameworks, and
• how to conduct ongoing monitoring of your programs or policies to check that they are on track (or how they can be adjusted).

New Era Advisory provides support to facilitators, such as scribing, small-group or breakout group facilitation, and a limited range of technical support (i.e. Teams meeting set up, recording).

Ethics is key to doing evaluation and research right. Projects which interact with vulnerable populations (as per the National Statement on ethical conduct in Human Research) may require formal ethics approval. New Era Advisory can help you to better understand your ethical obligations and to attain ethical approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), where required.

Please let us know what you need, and we can talk through how we can help.