Evaluation Guide Easy Read

 

We want to know what you think

How to include people with disability in evaluations

An Easy Read paper

Easy Read logo.

How to use this paper

A woman standing in front of a group of people. She is holding a sign that says 'We'. The Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) wrote this paper.

When you see the word ‘we’, it means DSS.
Easy Read logo. We wrote this paper in an easy to read way.

We use pictures to explain some ideas.
The words 'Bold' and 'Not bold'. We wrote some important words in bold.

This means the letters are thicker and darker.
A word list icon. We explain what these bold words mean.

You can find out what they mean in the Word list.
Summary of another document icon This Easy Read paper is a summary of another paper. This means it only includes
the most important ideas.
Website icon, 'www.' You can find the other paper on our website.

https://engage.dss.gov.au/ads-consultations-develop-guide-evaluation
A woman is helping a man read a document. You can ask for help to read this paper. A friend, family member or support person may be able to help you.

What’s in this paper?

We want to know what you think

What is this paper about?

How to tell us what you think

1. Plan an evaluation

2. Run an evaluation

3. Decide how to use what we learnt

Our principles

Word list

What is this paper about?

A document titled 'Australia's Disability Strategy' showing a map of Australia with a disability icon. Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 is a plan to support people with disability in
all areas of their life.In this paper we just call it the Strategy.
A woman writing in a clipboard, and a form showing a thumbs up and a thumbs down. As part of the Strategy, all governments are writing a guide about evaluations.When you do an evaluation, you look at what:

  • went well
  • could be done better.
A group of people with disability pointing to themselves with their other hand raised, and an evaluation form. This guide will make sure we include people with disability in evaluations.
A form showing a services icon, and a form with dot points. This includes evaluations for:

  • programs and services
  • policies – plans for how we should do things.
A woman pointing to the numbers 1, 2 and 3. When we do an evaluation, there are 3 steps:

  1. Plan the evaluation
  2. Run the evaluation
  3. Decide how to use what we learnt.

We want to make sure we include people with disability in all 3 steps.
A woman with a speech bubble showing a light bulb. Our guide also includes principles about how to include people with disability in an evaluation.Principles are important ideas we should always think about.
A woman asking someone some questions and taking notes. Before we start using our guide, we want to find out what the community thinks.
A woman pointing at you, with a speech bubble showing a light bulb and the number 3. We want to know what you think about:

  • each step of an evaluation
  • our principles.

How to tell us what you think

A document with dot points, a speech bubble with a question mark and a light bulb. In this paper we:

  • talk about our ideas
  • ask questions.
A man with a speech bubble showing a thumbs up and thumbs down. We want to know what you think about our ideas.

There is no right or wrong answer.
You can answer:
A form with every answer filled out, and a tick.
  • all our questions
A form with only some answers filled out and a tick.
  • some of our questions.
A question with an answer box, and a speech bubble showing a hand writing and a computer mouse pointer. There is a box below each question where you can share your answers.
A smiling woman using a computer, and a speech bubble showing a thumbs up and a thumbs down. You can write your answers in this document and send it to us by email.

disabilityreform@dss.gov.au
A clapper board with a 'play' icon, a microphone and a smiling woman holding a digital tablet. You can also send us a video or voice recording by email.

disabilityreform@dss.gov.au
A woman using a computer, and an email icon. You can email us what you think.

disabilityreform@dss.gov.au
A man writing on paper with a mail icon and a hand writing icon. You can write to us.

Australia’s Disability Strategy Governance and Engagement Section

GPO Box 9820

Department of Social Services

Canberra, ACT 2601
A woman using a computer and a website icon showing 'www.' You can tell us what you think on the DSS Engage website.

https://engage.dss.gov.au/ads‐consultations‐develop‐guide‐evaluation
A calendar showing 30 November 2022, a clock showing '11:59 pm' and a speech bubble showing a thumbs up and a thumbs down. Please tell us what you think before Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 11:59 pm.
A woman pointing to herself with her other hand raised, and a computer screen with 3 arrows pointing outward. We want to share your answers online.
A man with his hand raised, and a speech bubble showing a cross. But if you do not want us to share your answers, please tell us.
A man looking unsure with a speech bubble showing a question mark, and an email icon. If you have any questions about this paper, you can email us.

disabilityreform@dss.gov.au
A man talking on the phone. Or you can call us.

1800 334 505

1. Plan an evaluation

A woman with a thought bubble showing an information icon. When we plan an evaluation, we need to think about what we want to find out.
An evaluation form with a question mark. And what type of evaluation we will do.
A woman with a computer talking to 2 people around a table, and a question mark. An evaluation might use online questions.

Or it might be:

  • in person
  • in a group.
A woman thinking, with a thought bubble showing 3 poeple. We also need to think about who should take part in the evaluation.
A group of smiling people, and a question mark. And who will be part of the team that runs the evaluation.

Questions to think about

A group of people with disability with their hands raised inside a curved arrow, and a thought bubble. How can we include people with disability when we plan an evaluation?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

2. Run an evaluation

Two woman reading a document together. One of the women is explaining the document to the other. To run an evaluation, we need to ask people with disability to answer some questions.
A diverse group of people sitting and standing together. They are raising their hands in the air. We need to make sure every person with disability can take part if they want to.
A young woman talking to another woman, who is supporting her. This includes making sure everyone gets the support they need to take part.
A person using a calculator to put information into a graph. After the evaluation, we need to look at:

  • all the answers people gave us
  • work out what they tell us.
A large group of people with disability shouting, and an information icon with 3 arrows leading outward. And we need to give people with disability the chance to share what we found out in the evaluation.

Questions to think about

A large group of people with disability inside a curved arrow, and a clipboard icon. How can we include people with disability when we run an evaluation?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

3. Decide how to use what we learnt

2 people sharing a document and a speech bubble showing an information icon. After we have done an evaluation, we need to decide how to use what we learnt.
A form with dot points and a form showing the services icon, under a change icon. We might decide to change some parts of a:

  • policy
  • program
  • service.
A large group of people with disability shouting, and a change icon. And we want to make sure people with disability have a say in what we change.

Questions to think about

A large group of people with disability inside a curved arrow, and an information icon. How can we include people with disability when we decide how to use what we learnt?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

A woman holding a sign showing an arrow leading from a thumbs down to a thumbs up. Is there anything else we can do to make evaluations better for people with disability?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

Our principles

When we do an evaluation, people with disability must:
A woman with her hand raised and a tick.
  • know about the decisions we make
A group of people in a meeting with their hands raised.
  • take part in these decisions.
A group of people with disability pointing to themselves with their other hands raised, and an information icon. It’s important for evaluations to focus on what is important to people with disability.

And how we can make life better for them.
An accessibility icon with a tick. All 3 steps of an evaluation must be accessible for people with disability.When an evaluation is accessible, it is easy to:

  • find and use information
  • take part in the evaluation.
A large group of people with disability and a thought bubble showing a disability icon. We must include people with disability who have different experiences.
A group of people with different disabilities, and a plus icon. This includes people with different disabilities.
A group of people with diverse backgrounds. It also includes people from different:

  • places
  • communities
  • backgrounds.
A person with a thought bubble. And it includes people with different genders.

Your gender is what you feel and understand about who you are as a person.

It isn’t about whether your body looks male or female.
A woman with a computer having a meeting with 4 people with disability, an information icon with 3 arrows pointing outward, and a change icon. We should include people with disability when we share what we learnt from an evaluation.

And what we will change.

Questions to think about

A man pointing at you, with a thought bubble showing a lightbulb. What do you think about our principles?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

A woman holding a sign showing a change icon, and a thought bubble. Should we change any of our principles?
A man thinking, and a plus icon and a light bulb icon. Are there any more principles we should include?

[INSERT TEXT FIELD HERE]

Word list

This list explains what the bold words in this document mean.

An accessibility icon with a tick. Accessible

When an evaluation is accessible, it is easy to:

  • find and use information
  • take part in the evaluation.
A woman writing in a clipboard and a form showing a thumbs up and a thumbs down. Evaluations

When you do an evaluation, you look at what:

  • went well
  • could be done better.
A person with a thought bubble. Genders

Your gender is what you feel and understand about who you are as a person.

It isn’t about whether your body looks male or female.
A man pointing to a document with dot points on it. Policies

Policies are plans for how we should do things.
A woman with her hand raised, and a speech bubble showing a light bulb. Principles

Principles are important ideas we should always think about.