The Trident

Abstract

This contribution describes a ‘trident’ approach to programme evaluation, which focuses on three ‘prongs’ that might be used to structure an evaluation. These prongs represent the measurement of outcomes; the description and analysis of process; and the sampling of multiple stakeholder perspectives. The prongs thus address the questions: did it work, what happened and what did stakeholders think of it? The origins of the approach are described and its approach related to the needs of contractors and the purposes of evaluation. The methodological implications of the three ‘prongs’ are considered, including objective specification and outcome measurement; approaches to process description and analysis; and the techniques available to sample stakeholder perspectives. Three case studies of the trident in action are presented, including evaluations of clinical facilitation for student nurses; a skills laboratory for the acquisition of clinical techniques; and a scheme for the educational, social and health development of children under the age of four.