Evaluation of Sixteen Women's Community Justice Services in Scotland

Evaluation Questions

1. Formative (the reason/need): What were the intentions of the WCJS programme and the theory of change to achieve this?

a. What was the rationale underpinning the development of the WCJS(s)?

b. What is the theory of change and assumptions for the WCJS(s)?

2. Process (implementation): How are WCJSs being implemented?

a. To what extent do the components (inputs, activities, participation, and outcomes) of the WCJS(s) align with the aspirations of the Commission 2012 report? Is anything missing?

b. What is working well and not so well in how the WCJS(s) are being implemented/achieved? How does this vary across sites or service-user groups? What contextual factors influence implementation?

c. How was the funding used by WCJSs - was it appropriately and adequately spent, and did it accomplish the development of the service as set out in the funding proposal

d. Was the intended reach (clients) achieved (e.g. throughput, dropout and the characteristics of users)? If not, what were the reasons for this?

3. Outcomes (short- and long-term changes): What progress have WCJSs made towards achieving their intended outcomes and overall strategic outcomes?

a. What intended outcomes were realised during the funding period, both in terms of how services are co-ordinated, and individual user outcomes? How does this vary across different types of WCJS(s) or user groups? What contextual factors influenced outcomes?

b. To what extent do the observed results and the perspectives of service users, staff and stakeholders suggest WCJS contributed to outcomes (whether improved, worsened or unchanged)?

c. How sustainable are these changes (both in terms of service provision and user outcomes)?

d. What unintended changes (positive or negative) has the WCJS(s)made?

4. Lessons learned: What have we learned that can inform future practice, on-going development and decisions?

a. To what extent are the evaluation findings (both in terms of service provision and user outcomes) consistent with the existing evidence base? Where findings are contradictory, what might explain this?

b. What lessons learned and recommendations for future practice can be drawn from the experiences of the WCJSs?