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SELD Evaluation Resource Guide: Consultants
The following section provides some guidance and resources to support you buying consultant support for evaluation.
Additional to following your organisation's own procurement policy and funding guidelines, there are various important considerations to be made before buying in consultants to support your evaluation. Engaging the wrong consultant or wrongly instructing a consultant working for you can lead to a costly and disappointing experience.
The following resources provide you with some standard guidance around commissioning research and evaluation services followed by various guides to where you can find a contractor appropriate to your needs.
How to commission an evaluation
Guidance produced by the NRU on how to commission evaluations
Commissioning social research: A good practice guide
The Social Research Association have produced a useful to advise you on how best to go about choosing and buying research services.LARIA Effective Research Toolkit
The Local Authorities Research + Intelligence Association (LARIA) publish a guide to creating effective research in local government contexts.BMRA Commissioning Research Toolkits
The British Market Research Association (BMRA) provide various toolkits to help you commission research including: 'How to write a research brief' and 'How to select a research agency'. They also provide a list of agencies and further guidance to find the right one for your needs. Click on the 'commissioning research' section on the left-hand column.Regeneration & Renewal Consultants Guide
Regeneration & Renewal Magazine provide a selection of useful resources including a guide to using consultants, choosing a consultancy and a directory of consultancies across the country. Click on the 'consultants zone' tab on the their homepage.New Start Regeneration Index
New Start Magazine publish something called 'The Regeneration Index' which is a guide to consultancy, education and training, and service providers in regeneration. The latest edition can be downloaded from their website.A Database of Regional Researchers & Evaluators
This is maintained by the South West Observatory (SWO) Skills & Learning Intelligence Module (SLIM). Whilst the focus is on the labour market, many of those listed also cover other fields.Whilst we do not advocate individual contractors, if you are aware of other useful resources we could include here or to report a faulty link, then please
let us know
