DCMS panel discussion: repositioning monitoring and evaluation as a catalyst for greater impact

Описание: Join this very special free event, in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), to explore the thinking behind its new Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategy and what it means in practice.

Chaired by the UK Evaluation Society President, Dr Kirstine Szifris, the event will include a short presentation on the strategy, a panel discussion with panellists from DCMS and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), followed by an audience Q&A session.

Overview

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy 2026–2031 will shape learning, decision-making and impact across DCMS and its Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). As the department’s second published strategy, it sets out an ambitious vision for strengthening monitoring and evaluation across DCMS and its 42 ALBs, recognising the vital role they play in achieving sector outcomes.

Central to the strategy is the idea that monitoring and evaluation is a collective endeavour. The strategy — and this launch event — highlight the contribution that professionals across different roles and disciplines make to effective practice, and the importance of engagement across teams, from policy and delivery through to analysis.

M&E is also positioned as a real-time learning tool. This event will support teams to consider how evaluation can be used to learn and adapt interventions as they are delivered, increasing the likelihood of achieving impact and demonstrating maximum value for the taxpayer.

Who is the event for?

This event is aimed at a multi-disciplinary, cross-sector audience with an interest in the shared role different professionals play in making evidence work.

This includes:

Evaluation practitioners with analytical and technical expertise
Non-practitioners who use evaluation evidence, such as policy and delivery professionals
Senior leaders and decision-makers whose strategic choices influence how evidence is valued and used
Representation from Department for Culture, Media and Sport Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) is particularly encouraged.

What will I learn and take away?

You will gain insight into:

What the strategy aims to achieve, and how it will impact and benefit the work of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and its 42 ALBs
How you can build a culture where monitoring and evaluation evidence informs day-to-day programme and policy decisions.
How monitoring and evaluation can be used to close the gap between what costs and benefits we predict and what actually happens.
What effective shared learning looks like between central government and Arm’s Length Bodies.