Five essential building blocks for clearer findings

A practical guide to analysis and reporting that leads to action

How do you turn a mass of evidence into a judgement that is clear, credible and useful to someone deciding what to do next?

That’s the familiar challenge this guide is designed to address. It does this by showing how five building blocks can help you organise your thinking, avoid getting lost in the detail, and produce reporting that busy decision-makers can use.

Together, these blocks provide a set of prompts to help you check that your analysis is sound, your judgement is explicit, and your report answers the questions that are most important to readers.

It will help evaluators:

• Make analysis more structured and manageable
• Reach clear, evidence-based judgements
• Avoid reports that bury the main message in technical detail
• Tell a coherent evaluation story
• Test assumptions and revisit a Theory of Change

It will help commissioners and funders:

• Understand why some evaluation reports are more useful than others
• Get the most useful insights out of the evaluations they commission
• Decide whether they need a report to document evidence in depth or lead with a clear judgement for decision-making

With more than 175 consultancy assignments under my belt, I’ve written this guide for anyone involved in evaluation who wants practical support with the craft of analysis and reporting, whether they are new to the field or looking to sharpen an established approach.

You can download the guide for free here: