Using Evaluation And Review

Once you have evaluated the space and collected feedback on its use, it is important that you provide users with evidence of what you have done, whether the outcomes are positive or negative. Include this in your communications strategy. Posters showing numbers of users, speed of queues for services, and so on can be an excellent tool to show what is happening in the space, and if you can give a comparison on a previous month showing an improvement over time then that is even better. Newsletters and web pages are also excellent platforms for this type of information. Use the following link to view a mindmap on the evaluation activities for the Learning Grid at the University of Warwick.

If the feedback is negative then it is important to plan what you are going to do about it. Is there an identified problem that can be easily fixed or is it insurmountable (due to perhaps physical or financial factors)? Either way a response is required.

Any feedback, whether it appears on first sight to be positive or negative, can be useful to the development of your space. Users may have practical ideas that you did not think of in the planning and designing stages and the implementation of which can result in real added value to the space.