Introduction
In the context of Innovative Solutions, evaluation refers to a systematic examination in order to determine efficiency, impact or relevance. The evaluation can occur at various stages. Merely an idea or concept could be evaluated in order to decide whether it is worth implementing or further developing. A prototype could be evaluated in order to determine whether a product is being developed according to specification and will be fit for purpose.

 

Evaluation doesn’t necessarily have to be of an idea, prototype or finished product. The actual development process could be evaluated, or the project management. In fact, any aspect of a project could be evaluated.

 

It is through evaluation that the overall progress, success and value of an endeavour is measured and it is by this method that potential for enhancement can be identified and measures for future improvements can be established.

 

Evaluation should be part of any Innovation related project. By definition, projects related to Innovation will have an element of originality, newness or improvement, which means that evaluation is especially important.

 

There are a number of ways in which evaluation can be included in the development of a project. Evaluation could take place at the end of the project, which has the disadvantage that possibly large parts of the project may have to be repeated to rectify unacceptable mistakes and also, the lessons learned may not actually feed back into the project but only benefit future projects. Evaluation could take place at important milestones of the project or there could be a continuous evaluation process present.

 

Often, the opportunity for taking a good idea and developing it further may be lost, or the most innovative elements may be excised, by a lack of efficient evaluation. Thus, at the idea stage, evaluation should fulfil the purpose of providing a method which will allow the acceptance/rejection of potential projects based on the assessment of the potential gain in balance with the risks involved. The evaluation at this stage should also be used to allocate the resources and determine the scope of the project. At later stages, the evaluation should provide feedback on progress or trigger the introduction of new approaches.

 

The various aspects of Evaluation that we will focus on are:

• The Decision Making Process
• The Point Rating System
• The Benchmarking Process

 

For further information on the different existing methods of evaluation, please refer to the “Links and Resources” section.

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