IV. Evaluation and Monitoring of the Social Advocates Program
An essential component of the Social Advocates training program is the evaluation by the participants of their experience. At the end of each session, participants are asked to complete a questionnaire with comments about that particular aspect of the course. In the past, the Gender Justice Program has also used two different approaches to soliciting an overall assessment of the training program by the participants- using a more comprehensive written evaluation at the end of the six-month course and through open discussions or brainstorming with the trainees at the end of the course. Both methods have proved valuable in evaluating the effectiveness of the course as a whole. A sample evaluation form is included in Section III Annex C to this manual.
After each training course is completed, the CEELI also conducts monitoring of the participant’s achievements, specifically if and how the advocates are using the information and skills they have learned. Staff of the Gender Justice Program contacts the participants periodically to learn details of their work and to evaluates whether the training has led to improvements in the advocates’ ability to represent clients.
In addition, CEELI has carried out two long-term assessments of the effectiveness of the Social Advocates program. In November 2000, seventeen Social Advocates who took part in the first training were invited to Moscow to discuss their work experiences, which were summarized in a Six-Month Impact Study. At that time, five of the participants were representing clients in court and nearly all were regularly providing legal consultations on a number of issues, including domestic violence, child custody, nonpayment of child support, unlawful termination of employment and issuance of pensions. At the same time, the Social Advocates conducted trainings of their own on women’s rights and domestic violence for NGO staff, university students, police officers, prosecutors and doctors.
In 2003, the Gender Program undertook a second Impact Report, focusing more closely on evaluating the broad categories of work undertaken by the Social Advocates. In the study, it was found that many of the participants used their knowledge to expand the activities of their organization to include regular legal consultations, which also includes help in the preparation of legal documents. A second important outcome of the program has been to give the participants the skills and confidence to participate more actively in court and in negotiation with local government bodies. Social Advocates explained that the program helped to demystify the Russian legal system as well as clarify the role citizens can have in interacting with public officials.
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