Regardless of the details of the survey or focus group which is set up, here is a list of criteria for any good assessment.

• Objectivity – to allow those surveyed to give their honest opinions, use anonymous feedback or use 3rd parties to obtain information
• Reliability – standardized survey and interview processes. Ask the same questions in the same format to all participants (e.g. All written responses, or all oral responses)
• Leadership – Choose a leader from among your committee members. This person should be in charge of leading the assessment process; however, implementing changes at the agency should follow your normal business processes

Step 1 – Understanding results

Once preparation has been completed and all the questions asked, the assessment may begin. Use the chart below, listing performance measures and the information requested. New core measures have been drafted, but they have not been distributed yet. Therefore, below are the performance measures which will be used until changes are implemented:

• Learner status at exit
• Lost contacts at exit
• Number of learners in program
• Learner satisfaction rate
• ‘Learner Satisfaction Survey’ completion rates

Those measures link to provincial targets set for 2007-2008:

• 70% of exiting LBS and AU learners should be employed, in further education or training or volunteering upon exit
• a maximum of 12% lost contacts at exit
• 51,000 learners receive LBS and AU training
• 85% of exiting learners report overall satisfaction with LBS training
  

A tip - information which you obtained in your survey of partners, stakeholders and the funder is not a part of the chart below. You should compile it separately, as it will be part of the information that your will use later, in your analysis.