How can you ensure that your conference evaluation is aligned with your goals?

1 Define your goals and indicators

Before you plan your evaluation, you need to clearly define what you want to achieve with your conference and how you will measure it. Your goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Your indicators should be quantitative or qualitative measures that show how well you are meeting your goals. For example, if your goal is to increase awareness of a topic, your indicators could be the number of attendees, the media coverage, or the post-event survey results.

2 Choose your evaluation methods

When evaluating data, you can choose from various methods depending on your desired goals and indicators. Surveys are a popular option; they can be administered online or through paper and ask participants about their satisfaction, learning, engagement, or feedback. You can also use closed-ended questions (like ratings, yes/no, or multiple choice) or open-ended questions (such as comments, suggestions, or stories). Interviews are another way to get more in-depth insights from key stakeholders or participants. They can be semi-structured or unstructured and allow for flexibility and exploration of topics. Additionally, you can observe the behavior, interactions, or reactions of attendees during or after the event to gain a direct and objective view of what happened. Tests are also useful for measuring changes in knowledge, skills, or attitudes; these can be in the form of quizzes, assessments, or self-reports.

3 Plan your evaluation logistics

Once you have chosen your evaluation methods, you need to plan the logistics of your evaluation. This includes deciding when to conduct the evaluation, who will conduct it, and what tools and platforms will be used. For example, if you want to measure learning outcomes, a pre- and post-test may be employed. If satisfaction of attendees is desired, a survey at the end of the event may be administered. Depending on resources and expertise, the evaluation can be conducted by yourself, an external evaluator, or your team. To collect and analyze data, online tools may be used for surveys, while a recorder or transcriber may be employed for interviews.

4 Communicate your evaluation results

After conducting your evaluation, it's important to communicate the results to your stakeholders such as attendees, speakers, sponsors, staff, or funders. Consider the purpose, audience, and format of your communication. Depending on why you're communicating--to inform, persuade, or inspire--you'll need to tailor the language and tone to the interests and expectations of your stakeholders. When deciding how to communicate your results, choose the best format and channel for delivery. For instance, a newsletter or blog post may be best for attendees while a report or presentation may be best for funders. Following these tips can help ensure that your conference evaluation is aligned with your goals and supports improving live events.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?