Needs assessments and evaluations

Needs assessments

Reports, papers, and presentations

• Public Legal Education and Information-The Challenging Mission to Create what the Public Needs
  PowerPoint presentation on the PLEI needs of members of the public and how to evaluate existing PLEI designs. Prepared by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice. (November 2010)
• Listening to Ontarians: Report of the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project
  Overview of civil legal needs of low- and middle-income Ontarians by the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project Steering Committee. (May 2010) (PDF 1.85 MB)
• Assessments, evaluations and background research: How can we get it done?
  Questions, answers, and tips for conducting program assessments and evaluations.  Prepared by Mary Stratton for the CLEO Learn, Grow, Connect Conference. (October 2008) (PDF 45 KB)
• Community-based mapping: A research tool for justice system research
  Brief summary of the benefits, challenges, and key factors in successful community-based mapping.  Prepared by Mary Stratton for the CLEO Learn, Grow, Connect Conference. (October 2008) (PDF 45 KB)
• Helpful data sources
  List of sources for demographic information, civil and criminal justice information, and policy research.  Prepared by Mary Stratton for the CLEO Learn, Grow, Connect Conference. (October 2008) (PDF 100 KB)

Data

• Statistics Canada
  Statistics Canada produces reports, census data, maps, and other data presentations on a variety of topics such as population, resources, economy, society, and culture.  Their website has information on past census data and reports and handbooks about different demographic areas.
• Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative (TIEDI)
  TIEDI helps organizations access the quantitative data they need to identify priorities, develop programs and services, compose proposals and reports, and carry out advocacy and public education work.  You can find links to community-driven datasets, factsheets, and analytical reports on their website.

Websites

• Access Alliance Multicultural Health Centre
  Access Alliance’s research focuses on racialized groups and health access. You can find information on their site about determinants of health, non-status immigrants, and other topics relating to health and newcomers.
• Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE)
  The ACE library webpage has online information on a broad range of topics relating to the elderly, including fact sheets, webinars, and reports.  Their Submissions and Reports webpage contains more specific information about needs assessments for the elderly.
• ARCH Disability Law Centre
  The ARCH Disability Law Centre has online resources on a variety of topics relating to people with disabilities and social justice.  These include information and reports on needs assessments for people with disabilities.
• Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
  The CCPA produces publications on different social, economic, and environmental issues.  They also have videos and interactive tools on their website.
• Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)
  ISAC’s resources focus on systemic issues and income security for people in Ontario, including needs assessment information on basic level of income.
• National Housing Research Committee (NHRC)
  The NHRC maintains profiles of the country’s research hubs and repositories as well as links to on-line searchable library collections relating to housing issues.
• Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO)
  SPNO’s research reports examine social policies, socio-demographic trends, poverty, and other issues relevant to Ontario residents.
• Social Planning Toronto
  Social Planning Toronto’s research examines the social and economic effects of public policy on Toronto residents, and developing policy alternatives.
• Wellesley Institute
  The Wellesley Institute produces research on topics such as housing, healthcare, economics, and community building for the purpose of advancing population health.

Evaluations

Reports, papers, and presentations

• Access to Justice Metrics
  Discussion paper from CBA’s Access to Justice Committee.  Contains extensive discussion on metrics and indicators and measurements in the international context.  (April 2013) (PDF 351 KB)
• Effectiveness of public legal assistance services
  Discussion paper from the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales (Australia).  Some focus on measuring the effectiveness of community legal education services.  (October 2012) (PDF 644 KB)
• Evaluation of Public Legal Education and Information: An Annotated Bibliography
  This annotated bibliography includes a range of academic and government documents and program reports regarding the evaluation of PLEI. It discusses approaches to evaluation, challenges that impede PLEI assessment, and research and knowledge gaps in the area.  Department of Justice Canada, last modified 2013-06-07.
• We Can See There’s a Light at the End of the Tunnel Now – Demonstrating and Ensuring Quality Service to Clients
  Australian research report measuring the quality of legal services provided by one legal aid service provider and discussing the challengings of measuring “successful outcomes” in the legal aid context. Prepared by Dr. Liz Curran, Curran Consulting: Enhancing Justice and Human Rights. (2012) (PDF 1.8 MB)
• A Literature Review: examining the literature on how to measure the ‘successful outcomes’: quality, effectiveness and efficiency of Legal Assistance Services
  Australian literature review addressing national and international perspectives on evaluation in the social justice and human rights context.  Prepared by Dr. Liz Curran, Curran Consulting: Enhancing Justice and Human Rights. (February 2012) (PDF 979 KB)

Webinars and videos

• Online tools for measuring impact
  This PLEI Connect webinar has information on how to use free or low-cost online tools to measure the impact of your program, online user testing tools and metrics important for evaluating your social media plan.  1 hour 7 minutes in duration. Presented by Fiona MacCool of Your Legal Rights. (June 2013)
• Web analytics for PLEI projects
  Stay out of the weeds! A PLEI Connect webinar on the web analytics that matter for your PLEI project.  1 hour 15 minutes in duration. Presented by Bryan Robertson from Open Road (English) and Stéphane Hamel of Cardinal Path (French). (December 2012)
• Is It Reliable? – 7 Clues to Good Legal Information Online
  Short presentation video (4 minutes 15 seconds).  Created by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA). (September 2012)

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