Project
Process evaluation of the Town Centres First Study (TCFS)
Conwy County Borough Council
In April 2022, Lichfields were commissioned to undertake a process evaluation of the Town Centres First Study on behalf of Conwy County Borough Council and part-funded by the UK Community Renewal Fund (UK CRF). The evaluation included an assessment of the successfulness of the project delivery, progress against contractual agreements and the effectiveness of the working relationships between delivery and organisational partners.
The output report included a review of the existing evidence base and the appropriateness of the initial project design, a summary of the delivery and management process, outcomes and impacts associated with the project as well as conclusions and lessons learned, reflecting on the challenges faced and the best practice approaches identified.
Lichfields designed an evaluation framework to identify how the available evidence would feed into the evaluation to comprehensively explore the identified research questions. The evaluation framework was underpinned by a review of project documentation and data as well as consultation with the project manager and core CCBC team involved in the study. The evaluation framework subsequently led to the development of research tools, including the development of an interview pro-forma.
As part of the evaluation process the project team undertook a review of relevant programme documentation and data. The initial document and data review, alongside the inception meeting, informed the development of research tools for the primary research strand of data collection.
Lichfields held focus group consultation exercises with Council Officers from CCBC and separately with the TCFS delivery team. These were delivered via MS Teams and followed a semi-structured approach with core questions covering the key thematic areas underpinned by UK CRF guidance whilst also enabling consultees to provide wider context. This provided useful insights into the experience of delivery as well highlighting challenges which were faced, lessons learned, and best practices approached.
The final output was a final evaluation report delivered to UK CRF as part of the contractual obligation, covering the areas outlined in UK CRF Assessment Guidance. The report also provided recommendations highlighted by the experience of project delivery for future funders and deliverers.
Working with Lichfields on the evaluation of the Town Centres First Report was a positive experience. The project lead kept to the timescales as agreed and interviewed CCBC officers in a semi-structured way which enabled the detailed questions around project delivery and outcomes to be revealed. The evaluation process was a ‘must do’ as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund conditions and Lichfields were able to present to us a final report that was clear, thorough, and fully met the project brief.
Lidsay Mercer, Senior Planning Policy Officer, CCBC