National evaluation

What is this?

National evaluation is a form of summing up a day or a project element, conducted in national groups by each of the leaders. This form of evaluation should be planned during the online work or the preparatory visit so that each leader is prepared for their task. Leaders should establish in advance what parts of the program are most important to them when talking to their national participants and what exactly they want to hear from them. This form of evaluation may take approximately 30 minutes. Evaluation methods can be prepared separately by each of the leaders – the most important thing is that they allow them to obtain exhaustive feedback from the participants (those can simply be free group conversations). National evaluation is usually done in the group’s mother tongue.

This form of summary should be discussed by all leaders immediately after its completion, to exchange observations, learn more about the moods in the group and clarify any doubts.

Why is national evaluation important?

This form of group discussion allows participants and leaders to bypass the language barrier, so that thoughts and remarks are not biased due to linguistic difficulties. All participants in the evaluation group can express exactly what they mean in a simple and direct way. In addition, national groups are usually naturally more relaxed in the presence of their leader and trust them more than, say, the organizer, so they can convey problems or doubts to the leader that they would be afraid to express to a larger group. This form of spending time may also be an opportunity to integrate with a team from one country.