Developmental Evaluation & Innovation

Some programs don't fit neatly into a traditional evaluation. If you're piloting something new, testing innovative approaches, or working in complex and rapidly changing environments, developmental evaluation provides real-time learning that helps your program adapt and improve as it goes.

We embed as evaluation partners alongside program teams, providing timely evidence and reflection to support decision-making when the path forward isn't yet clear. We also bring deep experience evaluating pilot programs across diverse sectors, generating the evidence needed to refine, scale or make the case for ongoing investment.

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Evaluation / Developmental Evaluation & Innovation

What is developmental evaluation?

Developmental evaluation is an evaluation approach designed for programs operating in complex or emergent settings — where the intervention is still being developed, the context is shifting, or the outcomes can't be fully predicted in advance. Rather than waiting until the end to assess what happened, a developmental evaluator works alongside the program team in real time, providing evidence and feedback that informs ongoing design and adaptation.

The concept was developed by Michael Quinn Patton and is grounded in complexity theory. It recognises that many social programs — particularly those addressing systemic issues, trialing new approaches, or working across multiple stakeholders — need evaluation that can keep pace with change, not just measure it after the fact.

We also bring developmental and adaptive approaches to evaluating pilot programs and innovation initiatives more broadly. Whether you're running an innovation grants fund, piloting a new service model, or testing place-based approaches, we tailor evaluation methods that capture learning from experimentation while still providing the accountability evidence funders need to decide whether to scale, refine or continue investing.

How developmental evaluation differs

Both approaches have their place. Traditional evaluation is the right choice for well-established programs with clear outcomes. Developmental evaluation is designed for situations where the program itself is still evolving.

Traditional evaluation

Assesses a stable, well-defined program

Evaluator maintains independence from program

Findings delivered at defined reporting points

Measures against pre-set outcomes and indicators

Answers: "Did the program work?"

Developmental evaluation

Supports a program that's still being designed or adapted

Evaluator embeds alongside the program team

Insights shared continuously as they emerge

Tracks what's emerging and what's being learned

Answers: "What's emerging and how should we adapt?"

When is developmental evaluation the right approach?

We use developmental and adaptive evaluation approaches when the context calls for it — not as a default. These are some of the situations where it's typically the best fit.

Piloting new approaches

When you're testing a new model or intervention that hasn't been tried before, developmental evaluation provides real-time learning to refine the approach as you go.

Complex multi-stakeholder initiatives

Collective impact initiatives, cross-sector partnerships and place-based programs involve many actors and emergent outcomes that don't suit a fixed evaluation design.

Innovation grants and challenges

Innovation funds that support multiple grantees testing diverse ideas need evaluation that can track learning across projects while each one evolves independently.

Programs in rapidly changing contexts

When external circumstances are shifting — like during a crisis response or policy reform — traditional evaluation timelines and fixed designs can't keep up.

Systems change work

Initiatives targeting systemic change often produce non-linear, emergent outcomes. Developmental evaluation tracks shifts in the system rather than just individual program outputs.

Co-design and community-led programs

When the community is shaping the program as it goes, the evaluation needs to be responsive enough to follow where the work leads rather than constraining it.

Developmental Evaluation & Pilot Program Projects

Examples of our work as developmental evaluators and evaluating pilot and innovative programs.

Featured Project

Developmental Evaluation of the Grit and Resilience Program

Rural City of Wangaratta

We undertook a four-year developmental evaluation of this community-driven Collective Impact initiative aimed at improving mental health and reducing rates of suicide in the Wangaratta municipality. Walking alongside the program as 'critical friends', we used a cyclical evaluation design with five six-monthly touchpoints of reflection and reporting, adapting our data collection tools at each stage and providing real-time recommendations through feedback loops.

Developmental Evaluation Collective Impact Mental Health

Watch the community presentation

Featured Project

Evaluation of the Secondary Years Kitchen Garden Pilot Project

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

We took a developmental approach to evaluating this AstraZeneca-funded pilot, which explored how the Kitchen Garden Program could work in secondary school settings. We developed a Theory of Change for the pilot, designed the evaluation plan and conducted multiple rounds of data collection with staff, students and professionals — iteratively refining our approach as the model was tested and adapted, with the ultimate aim of producing a scalable program.

Pilot Evaluation Theory of Change Food Education

View the infographic summary

Mental Health Service Reform Developmental Evaluation

Healthy North Coast

A three-year developmental evaluation of the MHSPAOD Service Reform Project, using co-design and mixed methods to provide formative findings every six months as new mental health, suicide prevention and AOD services are designed and commissioned.

Developmental Evaluation Mental Health

Devolved Aspire Program Evaluation

Victoria University

A developmental evaluation of a program transferring ownership of a young Muslim women's leadership initiative to the community, combining evaluation support with capacity building for participants in data collection, analysis and reporting.

Developmental Evaluation Leadership

LGBTIQ+ HOPE Capacity Building Pilot Project Evaluation

Thorne Harbour Health

Evaluating a pilot training program for LGBTIQ+ inclusion and affirmative practice among health service providers, using pre-post clinical skills scales to determine whether the model should be expanded statewide.

Pilot Evaluation LGBTIQ+

Food Waste Avoidance Pilot Evaluation

Transport Canberra and City Services

Evaluating the ACT Government's food waste avoidance pilot, including finalising the program logic, developing the evaluation plan, and designing data collection tools to identify opportunities to strengthen behaviour change outcomes before scaling.

Pilot Evaluation Sustainability

Strengthening Communities Program Pilot Evaluation

Alcohol and Drug Foundation

Evaluating the pilot of off-the-shelf peer leadership and parenting modules delivered by Local Drug Action Teams in diverse communities — from CALD youth in Melbourne to remote First Nations communities in NSW — to inform national scaling.

Pilot Evaluation AOD

Women in Trades Program Evaluation

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Evaluating a pilot program delivered in partnership with Bendigo Kangan Institute to encourage women and girls into trades careers, through career education, coaching, trying-a-trade activities and networking forums.

Pilot Evaluation Gender Equity

Related evaluation services

Systems & Place-Based Evaluation

Program Evaluation

All Evaluation Services

Working on something new?

If your program is innovative, adaptive or operating in complexity, we'd love to talk about how evaluation can support your work — not just assess it.

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Rural City of Wangaratta

Developmental Evaluation of the Grit and Resilience Program

Developmental Evaluation Collective Impact Mental Health Suicide Prevention

The Grit and Resilience Program is a four-year initiative that takes a community-driven approach to improving mental health and wellbeing and reducing rates of suicide in the Wangaratta municipality. The program aims to create and implement innovative Collective Impact change that is embedded and relevant to the community, with multiple programs, delivery partners and stakeholders from across the region.

We undertook a developmental evaluation over the full four years, taking an iterative and adaptive approach as we walked alongside the program as 'critical friends'. The methodology followed a cyclical design with five six-monthly touchpoints of reflection and reporting. At each touchpoint we reflected on our data collection tools — surveys, interviews, focus groups, routine program monitoring and reflective journals — and adapted them as needed. We also used these touchpoints to provide program recommendations through real-time feedback loops, enabling the team to make improvements throughout the life of the program.

The evaluation concluded with a presentation to the community and a comprehensive final report with actionable recommendations that informed the next iteration of the program.

Methods & Approach

Summit workshop Hardcopy survey Phone interviews Online survey Reflective journals Feedback loops

Watch the community presentation

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

Evaluation of the Secondary Years Kitchen Garden Pilot Project

Pilot Evaluation Theory of Change Food Education Developmental Approach

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation Program has enabled primary school students to grow, harvest, prepare and share seasonal fresh food since 2008. Funded by AstraZeneca, this pilot project explored and tested the ways in which a kitchen garden program could be implemented in secondary schools — and what a Foundation program for secondary schools could look like.

We took a developmental approach to the evaluation, developing a Theory of Change for the pilot, designing the evaluation plan, and undertaking multiple rounds of data collection with staff, students and professionals. As the pilot progressed and the model was tested and refined, we adapted our evaluation methods in response. The ultimate aim was to produce evidence that could refine the model into a scalable iteration of the Kitchen Garden Program for secondary settings.

Methods & Approach

Theory of Change development Focus groups Document review Phone interviews Online survey Iterative data collection

View the infographic summary

Healthy North Coast

Mental Health Service Reform Developmental Evaluation

Developmental Evaluation Mental Health Suicide Prevention Co-design

This three-year developmental evaluation (2024–2026) supports the MHSPAOD (Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, Alcohol and Other Drugs) Service Reform Project — a significant reform of how mental health and AOD services are designed and commissioned in the North Coast region.

The process evaluation follows a mixed-methods approach assessing the implementation and delivery of the reform, including how co-design and collaboration techniques were used and how co-design outcomes were translated into the design of new services. The outcomes evaluation is underpinned by developmental evaluation practices, gathering data on what's working, what outcomes are being met and what can be improved — with formative findings delivered every six months. The project will also produce a journal publication.

Methods & Approach

Co-design Literature review Mixed methods Six-monthly formative reporting

Victoria University

Devolved Aspire Program Evaluation

Developmental Evaluation Leadership Capacity Building Community Ownership

The Aspire Program, run by Victoria University with funding from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, aimed to provide professional development and governance training for young Muslim women in Victoria. The program was being 'devolved' — transferring ownership to the Muslim community by training and empowering past participants to become the holders of the initiative.

We provided technical evaluation support alongside capacity-building services, including building evaluation skills among the young Muslim women themselves — in data collection, analysis and reporting. Over the course of the developmental evaluation, we found clear outcomes related to social connectedness, empowerment, leadership and a growth in passion for social change among participants.

Methods & Approach

Mentoring Phone interviews Evaluation capacity building

Thorne Harbour Health

LGBTIQ+ HOPE Capacity Building Pilot Project Evaluation

Pilot Evaluation LGBTIQ+ Health Services Capacity Building

Thorne Harbour Health is the largest LGBTIQ+ community-controlled health organisation in Victoria. THH was contracted by the Primary Health Network to implement the pilot phase of the HOPE LGBTIQ+ Capacity Building Project, following consultations with LGBTIQ+ community members and service providers to review existing training packages.

The revised training program aimed to assist HOPE service providers in LGBTIQ+ inclusion and affirmative practice, drawing on content expertise from across Thorne Harbour Health's programs and partner organisations. We undertook an outcomes evaluation of the pilot to determine whether there was value in expanding the program statewide. This involved pre- and post-surveys incorporating the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale, supplemented by follow-up interviews with participants and facilitators.

We found that the pilot delivered significant positive outcomes, including increases in clinical skills, understanding of institutional barriers for intersex people, understandings of intersectionality, and awareness of culture and faith considerations.

Methods & Approach

Pre-post survey design Clinical Skills Scale Phone interviews Online survey

Transport Canberra and City Services

Food Waste Avoidance Pilot Evaluation

Pilot Evaluation Behaviour Change Sustainability

In the ACT, around one-third of households' waste is food. The ACT Government implemented a food waste avoidance pilot throughout 2020–2021, drawing on established elements of the Love Food Hate Waste brand.

We were engaged to evaluate the pilot and identify opportunities to improve the design and delivery to achieve stronger behaviour change outcomes. This involved working with ACT NoWaste to finalise the program logic model, developing an evaluation plan for the pilot, designing qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, and preparing an evaluation report to inform future work by ACT NoWaste.

Methods & Approach

Literature review Online survey Phone survey Program logic development

Alcohol and Drug Foundation

Strengthening Communities Program Pilot Evaluation

Pilot Evaluation AOD Prevention First Nations CALD Communities

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation received funding from the Baker Institute to develop and pilot off-the-shelf modules focused on peer leadership, mentoring and parenting. Local Drug Action Teams were funded to pilot the modules, each working in varied communities across Australia — from CALD youth in Melbourne to remote First Nations communities in NSW.

We were engaged to evaluate the outcomes of the pilot. As part of this work, we gained ethical approval from Flinders University HREC, which required the development of First Nations-appropriate data collection tools and consent processes — including appropriate language and Indigenous-friendly helplines. We worked with the ADF to support LDATs in collecting surveys and monitoring data, and conducted interviews with all participating teams. From all of the data and findings, we developed recommendations for scaling the modules more widely.

Methods & Approach

Hardcopy survey Online survey Phone interviews First Nations-appropriate tools Ethics approval (Flinders Uni)

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Women in Trades Program Evaluation

Pilot Evaluation Gender Equity Workforce Development

The AMWU, in partnership with Bendigo Kangan Institute, delivered a pilot program to encourage women and girls to enter a career in trades. The program involved a range of activities including career education, coaching, trying-a-trade sessions and networking forums to encourage young women to consider trades and non-traditional careers.

We were engaged to evaluate the pilot, with findings and recommendations to inform future iterations of the program. The methodology included reviewing program documentation, post-event surveys, and interviews with participants and key stakeholders.

Methods & Approach

Document review Online survey Phone interviews