ChEW Bitesize: Large-Scale Macmillan Service Evaluation

Macmillan Cancer Support provides a suite of services to support people living with and affected by cancer. Many of these services are funded and run by Macmillan (‘direct’ services) and are usually delivered virtually – telephone helpline and webchat based. Other services are funded by Macmillan but run by other organisations (an ‘indirect’ offer) and have a variety of delivery methods including face-to-face. Macmillan’s Evaluation & Impact team were asked to build on previous work attempting to measure the impact of such services on quality of life.

As such, ‘Impact 2022’ was a (more than!) year-long project to measure service outcomes and quality of life with users of 15 direct and indirect Macmillan services. Overall, the project was a success and resulted in some key findings. However, it was not without its challenges for the Evaluation & Impact team, including realising that they were not necessarily speaking to the right people at the right time, a reliance on service delivery staff for some data collection but being unable to communicate directly, low survey response rates leading to a pivot on the methods, and the need to extend fieldwork dates and how that impacted upon the project findings contributing to key senior decision milestones.

Suzie Snowden (she/her) is the Evaluation & Impact Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support. She has a research and evaluation background in topics such as gerontology (particularly dementia), exercise psychology, service and practice improvement, and widening participation. Suzie worked in service delivery as a Dementia Support Worker while completing her PhD. Her thesis was on the topic of assistive technology use with people with dementia, and the role of technology in contributing to decisions about location of care. At Macmillan, Suzie supports the Evaluation & Impact team to deliver evaluations in services, fundraising, innovation, and advocacy functions of the organisation. The team have just been asked to evaluate the current Strategy Review process.

During this Bitesize, Suzie will discuss Macmillan's logistical and methodological challenges, reflect on what went well and what could have been better, and gather your thoughts and experiences with similar challenges when conducting research and evaluation.