EACD Working Group: Evaluation

August 2009

Your Working Group recently met at the European Communication Summit. What have you and members taken from the event/meeting?

The general consensus on the Summit was positive, as the speakers were of a high quality and there was a wide selection of both presentations and discussions, not to mention the excellent and frequent opportunities for networking. We had a very productive group discussion and have made plans now for the next 12 months.

What are your plans for the Working Group for the future?

During our Working Group Lunch at the Summit, we agreed on a range of activities over the next 12 months. We confirmed our commitment to our monthly conference calls, but have changed the format so the calls take on more of a round-table topical discussion. We plan to produce a collective paper for publication in Communication Director magazine, as well as holding a Working Group seminar in October, which will be kindly hosted by Yves Robins of Dassault Aviation, on the subject of ‘Looking forward, what will we really need to measure in the future’.

What are the most relevant issues for your Group at present?

The most relevant issue that we will face in the future is knowing which results are the most important to measure in the age of Web 2.0. There will be an increase in data and opinions available, and it is important not to get lost in the middle of all of that. We need to focus on what our goals are, and then decide what is important to measure with that in mind. For this reason, we will be holding the seminar I have mentioned, in the hope of outlining best practice and sharing the knowledge and expertise of those gathered.

Can you explain how the Working Group keeps in contact with its members?

We hold monthly conference calls for members of the working Group, as well as making full use of social networks and emails to keep each other informed.

What do you personally hope your Working Group can achieve within the EACD network?

Evaluation is an important part of a communicators job – it is not just about spreading messages, but also about measuring how effective those messages are. We aim to increase awareness of evaluation methods, share insights and best practice, and cement our maintain our strong network of communicators interested in the field of evaluation.