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EVALUATION
BUILDING OUR FUTURE: SCOTLAND'S SCHOOL ESTATE
2 WHAT IS EVALUATION?
BENEFITS
1. No school building is perfect, not even a completely new one. In reality, most buildings are the result of imperfect clients engaging imperfect architects to get imperfect builders to construct for a diverse range of occupants who use the buildings in ways that were only partially predicted. This situation applies as much, if not more, to schools as to any other building type.
2. The design of the school environment has a direct impact on teaching and learning: activities which can be supported or frustrated by many building issues such as acoustic, visual, ergonomic, planning and thermal conditions. By undertaking building evaluations in new schools, local authorities are recognising that a school building is unlikely to be perfect first time round, but that every effort should be made to continually improve the educational environment within the resources available.
3. The specific principal benefits of carrying out building evaluations include:
- Fine tuning new buildings: A building evaluation can provide important information about how the building and services, support or frustrate the activities of the users. In many cases, making slight adjustments such as altering taps or providing additional signage or shelving, can offer significant improvements for users. In some cases, the evaluation may reveal that a particular problem is not necessarily with the building itself, but can be overcome by making changes in management practices and procedures, such as directing queuing in a different way, or using alternative spaces for a particular activity.
- Improving design for future buildings: One of the most important outcomes of conducting building evaluations as early as possible in a school building programme is to identify what aspects of the new schools have been a success. These aspects should be celebrated and included, perhaps even developed, in future projects. Equally, less successful aspects should be identified, so these can be avoided in future projects.
- Demonstrating Best Value: Building evaluations can identify ways in which buildings and equipment can be used more efficiently and more cost-effectively. They are also a valuable tool for assessing building quality, particularly in terms of 'suitability' or 'fitness for purpose'. This is an important element of estate management planning, and can assist local authorities to demonstrate accountability and that the considerable investments associated with building programmes are being managed responsibly and effectively, and are achieving Best Value.
- Participation by stakeholders: Building evaluations can assist in supporting a learning culture by involving users in discovering how well buildings work for them. This participation can engender a greater commitment from users to particular solutions, and more willingness to accept a project's limitations or face the changes associated with occupying new environments. Participation can also assist in strengthening a sense of ownership amongst school users and contribute to capacity building within the wider school community.
- Evaluating existing buildings: Building evaluations can also be applied to existing schools, as an important tool in planning refurbishment projects. It can assist in option appraisal and inform decisions about achieving the optimum balance between levels of refurbishment, remodelling or new build. On an estate-wide basis, conducting evaluations on a number of similar existing buildings can assist in determining investment priorities on an objective basis.
TYPES OF EVALUATION
4. A wide range of approaches can be used to obtain feedback on a project. These can vary from short, informal consultation with pupils, teachers and others, through to a detailed technical study of particular aspects of the project or building.
5. The term post occupancy evaluation (POE) has become widely used within the construction industry to describe any exercise that seeks to obtain feedback on the performance of an occupied building. Since its emergence in the 1960s, POE has been developed by a number of individuals and organisations, resulting in a variety of different approaches and methodologies.
6. While a POE will generally include consultation with the design team and the contractors involved in delivering a building, its primary purpose is to focus on the clients' views - particularly those of the end users - regarding the effectiveness of the building in use. For this reason, these evaluations are normally carried out up to a year after occupation.
7. Some evaluation studies are designed to explore the effectiveness of the project process, and will focus on aspects of procurement. They often involve only the project team and are generally undertaken shortly after the building has been handed over. These evaluations are often referred to as post project reviews (PPR).
8. There is a wide range of methods and techniques currently used for obtaining information in building and project evaluation processes. Some of these, such as the physical monitoring of environmental conditions, will provide objective data. Other techniques, such as questionnaires, interviews or observations, will collect more subjective-based information.
9. The most common methods can be considered in three broad groups:
- Questionnaires: These are particularly useful in providing quantitative data for statistical analysis and comparison. While this approach allows a wide number of responses to be gathered, the range of issues is predetermined and the technique does not generate much participant enthusiasm. Skill is needed in drawing up the questionnaire, however a number of tools such as Design Quality Indicators (DQI) 4 and the Quality Indicators in the Design of Schools (QIDS) 5 are readily available.
- Interviews and focus groups: Both these methods tend to limit the number of participant responses, but generally provide more qualitative data. Focus groups in particular promote discussion, and both methods allow participants to set the agenda and to explain their comments and responses. Facilitator skills are required to conduct the fieldwork.
- Monitoring and recording buildings in use: This covers a variety of methods of obtaining objective data about a building's performance and use. As they tend to focus on a particular area, they are often used to verify or investigate issues raised in a previous evaluation exercise which involved user consultation. These techniques often require specialist technical recording equipment and expertise.
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