Delhi State Legal Services Authority

Patiala House Courts Complex, 1st Floor, Pre-Fab Building, New Delhi,
Delhi – 110001

Internship Project

On the topic : “Outreach program during Covid”

Submitted to Delhi State Legal Services Authority

Submitted by: - SHIVAM PANDEY

B.A. LL. B 3rd Year student at Delhi Metropolitan Education, Noida

Email id: - pandeyjishivam123@gmail.com

Phone no: - 9415911024

 INTRODUCTION

Towards fulfilling the Preambular promise of securing to all the citizens, Justice – social, economic

and political, Article 39-A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and

weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity. Articles 14 and

22(1) of the Constitution also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law. In 1987,

the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament, which came into force on 9th

November, 1995 to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal

services to the weaker sections of the society. This project is an Outreach program during COVID

outcome of the 21 days virtual internship at Delhi State Legal Service Authority, 1st Floor, Pre-Fab

Building, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi 110001.The main constituents of the report are on the

lessons learnt while interning, cases observed analysis of the training we have got and the

conclusion drawn. I have tried my best to do justice with observance skills and whatever I have

observed, I have tried to mention it here with the same effort. Legal aid as defined, deals with legal

aid to poor, illiterate, who don't have access to courts. One need not be a litigant to seek aid by

means of legal aid. Legal aid is available to anybody in need. Article 39A of the Constitution of India

provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of

equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or

in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by

reason of economic or other disability. Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to

ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal

opportunity to all. Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and

spirit and equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the

society.

The earliest Legal Aid movement appears to be of the year 1851 when some enactment was

introduced in France for providing legal assistance to the indigent. In Britain, the history of the

organized efforts on the part of the State to provide legal services to the poor and needy dates back

to 1944, when Lord Chancellor, Viscount Simon appointed Rushcliffe Committee to enquire about

the facilities existing in England and Wales for giving legal advice to the poor and to make
recommendations as appear to be desirable for ensuring that persons in need of legal advice are

provided the same by the State. Since 1952, the Govt. of India also started addressing to the

question of legal aid for the poor in various conferences of Law Ministers and Law Commissions.

In 1960, some guidelines were drawn by the Govt. for legal aid schemes.

In different states legal aid schemes were floated through Legal Aid Boards, Societies and Law

Departments. In 1980, a committee at the national level was constituted to oversee and supervise

legal aid program throughout the country under the Chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice P.N.

Bhagwati then a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. This Committee came to be known as

CILAS (Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes) and started monitoring legal aid

activities throughout the country. Expert committees constituted, from 1950 onwards, to advise

governments on providing legal aid to the poor have been unanimous that the formal legal system

is unsuited to the needs of the poor.

The 1977 report of the committee of Justices Krishna Iyer and P.N. Bhagwati, both of the Supreme

Court, drew up a detailed scheme which envisaged public interest litigation (PIL) as a major tool

in bringing about both institutional and law reform even while it enabled easy access to the judicial

system for the poor. Their report, as those of the previous committees, was ignored. This explained

partly the impatience of these two judges, in the post-emergency phase, in making the institution

appear responsive to the needs of the population that had stood distanced from it. The two judges

played a major role in spearheading the PIL jurisdiction.

The introduction of Lok Adalat added a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of this

country and succeeded in providing a supplementary forum to the litigants for conciliatory

settlement of their disputes. In 1987 Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted to give a statutory

base to legal aid program throughout the country on a uniform pattern.

This Act was finally enforced on 9th of November, 1995 after certain amendments were introduced

therein by the Amendment Act of 1994. November 9 is observed as National Legal Services Day,

to commemorate the enactment of the legislation. Hon. Mr. Justice R.N. Mishra the then Chief

Justice of India played a key role in the enforcement of the Act.

National Legal Services Authority was constituted on 5th December, 1995. His Lordship Hon. Dr.

Justice A.S. Anand, Judge, Supreme Court of India took over as the Executive Chairman of

National Legal Services Authority on 17the July, 1997. Soon after assuming the office, His

Lordship initiated steps for making the National Legal Services Authority functional. The first

Member Secretary of the authority joined in December, 1997 and by January, 1998 the other

officers and staff were also appointed. By February, 1998 the office of National Legal Services

Authority became properly functional for the first time.

In October, 1998, His Lordship Hon. Dr. Justice A.S. Anand assumed the Office of the Chief

Justice of India and thus became the Patron-in-Chief of National Legal Services Authority. His

Lordship Hon. Mr. Justice S.P. Bharucha, the senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court of India

assumed the office of the Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority.

Eligibility1

Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 prescribes the criteria for giving legal services

to the eligible persons. Section 12 of the Act reads as under: - Every person who has to file or defend

a case shall be entitled to legal services under this Act if that person is –

1. A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;

2. A victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution;

3. A woman or a child;

4. A mentally ill or otherwise disabled person;

5. A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster,
ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster; or

6. An industrial workman; or

7. In custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of
the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (104 of 1956); or in a juvenile home within the meaning
of clause. (j) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (53 of 1986) or in a psychiatric hospital or
psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Mental Health Act,
1987 (14 of 1987); or

8. In receipt of annual income less than rupees one lakh or such other higher amount as may be
prescribed by the State Govt., if the case is before a court other than the

Supreme Court, and less than rupees 1.25 lakhs or such other higher amount as
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may be prescribed by the Central Govt., if the case is before the Supreme Court.

Hierarchy of Bodies under the Act

A nationwide network has been envisaged under the Act for providing legal aid and assistance. State

Legal Services Authority is the body constituted to lay down policies and principles for making legal

services available under the provisions of the Act and to frame most effective and economical

schemes for legal services. It also disburses funds and grants to District Legal Services Authorities

(DLSA) and NGOs for implementing legal aid schemes and program. In every State a State Legal

Services Authority is constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the Central Authority

(NALSA) and to give legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalat in the State. SLSA is headed

by the Chief Justice of the State High Court who is its Patron-in-Chief. A serving or retired Judge of

the High Court is nominated as its Executive Chairman. District Legal Services Authority is constituted

in every District to implement Legal Aid Program and Schemes in the District. The District Judge of

the District is its ex-officio Chairman. Taluk Legal Services Committees are also constituted for each

of the Taluk or Mandal or for group of Taluk or Mandal to coordinate the activities of legal services in

the Taluk and to organize Lok Adalats. Every Taluk Legal Services Committee is headed by a senior

Civil Judge operating within the jurisdiction of the Committee who is its ex-officio Chairman.

Functions

1. Payment of court fee, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection
with
any legal proceedings;

2. Providing Advocate in legal proceedings;

3. Legal awareness

4. Preparation of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal

proceedings etc.

5. Pre-litigation settlement by mediation/conciliation etc.

 Lok Adalat2

One of the functions of Legal Services Authority is to conduct Lok Adalat and Lok Adalat (people’s

courts), established by the government settles dispute through conciliation and compromise. The

First Lok Adalat was held in Gujarat in 1982. Lok Adalat accepts the cases which could be settled by

conciliation and compromise, and pending in the regular courts within their jurisdiction.

The Lok Adalat is presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairman, with two other

members, usually a lawyer and a social worker. There is no court fee. If the case is already filed in

the regular court, the fee paid will be refunded if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalat. The

procedural laws, and the Evidence Act are not strictly followed while assessing the merits of the

claim by the Lok Adalat.

Section 89 of CPC deals with the settlement outside court which includes:

 Lok Adalat;

 Mediation by a neutral 3rd party facilitator or mediator; and

 A judicial settlement, where a Judge assists the parties to arrive at a settlement.

If the case is simple which may be completed, Any eligible for Lok Adalat. In case where the

questions are case pending before any court or any dispute which has not been brought before any

court and is likely to be filed before any court, it may be referred to Lok Adalat by parties

themselves or court if found that the dispute is complicated or cases which may require several

rounds of negotiations, the court may refer the matter to mediation. Where the facility of mediation

is not available or where the parties opt for the guidance of a Judge to arrive at a settlement, the

court may refer the matter to another Judge for attempting settlement.

Main condition of the Lok Adalat is that both parties in dispute should agree for settlement. The

decision of the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties to the dispute and its award is capable of

execution through legal process. The award of Lok Adalat will be deemed as a Decree of civil

court. No appeal lies against the Lok Adalat decision. 3

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3
RIGHT TO INFORMATION -NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICE AUTHORITY
12/11, JAM NAGAR HOUSE, SHAHJAHAN ROAD
NEW DELHI.
PERMANENT LOK ADALAT

In 2002, Parliament brought about certain amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

The said amendment introduced Chapter VI-A with the caption Pre litigation Conciliation and

Settlement. Section 22-B envisages establishment of "PERMANENT LOK ADALATS (PLA)" at different

places for considering the cases in respect of Public Utility Services (PUS) Public Utility Services are

those services which are provided to the people as infrastructure and regulated by the government.

For example, electricity, water, post etc. There is an exception to railways as it has its own Tribunal.

If there is a dispute with respect to PUS, as per Section 22-C (1), any party to such a dispute can,

before bringing it to a court of law for adjudication, make an application to PLA for the settlement of

that dispute. The party making such application need not be a party who raises a claim against a

public utility service.

Relevance of outreach activities of Legal Services Authorities in the community

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in January 2018 proclaimed new initiatives, counting

holding legal service camps and opening of legal literacy clubs in all districts, to increase outreach

and accessibility of legal services institutions. The then Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Apex Court, also

Chairman of NALSA, after holding a meeting with chairpersons and member-secretaries of numerous

state legal services authorities via video conferencing, announced the new initiatives.

"New initiatives will not only increase NALSA's outreach but also increase the accessibility of legal
services institutions so as to bring appreciable changes in the lives of poor and weaker sections of the
society," Gogoi said.

 He informed that by the end of first quarter in March, 108 legal service camps would
be

organised across the country.

 The SC judge also proclaimed opening of 3,200 legal literacy clubs, which will make

students aware of their rights and duties and sensitise them on legal issues. Under
the initiatives, NALSA will also open 700 legal service clinics in jails, which will help
prisoners get real-time information with regard to status of their cases.
  As part of the creativities, NALSA will install 1,250 LED monitors and LED screens in

various court complexes with an objective to make public aware of their legal rights and

conduct a 30-day outreach campaign in various cinema halls where digital streaming of

NALSA theme songs will be played to make people aware of the free legal services

programmed.

 Besides, with the help of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and others, NALSA

would work for protecting rights of children through a programme, called All India Legal

Service Cell on Child Rights.

2. To spread the legal education and free legal aid the NLSA with the help of the district legal

services authorities have conducted many activates like holding legal service camps and opening

of legal literacy clubs in all districts, to increase outreach and accessibility of legal, services

institutions and many more initiatives. Ex-chairman of NSLA Justice Ranjan Gogoi once stated

that “these initiatives will not only increase NALSA's outreach but also increase the accessibility

of legal services institutions so as to bring appreciable changes in the lives of poor and weaker

sections of the society," In view of the Section 4(b) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, NALSA

has promulgated the following schemes as strategic and preventive programs and to educate the

weaker sections of the society about their entitlements and empower them to get redressed their

grievances in accordance with the law of the land. One of the functions as per Section 4(e) of

National Legal Services Authority is to organize Legal Aid Camps especially in rural areas, slums,

labour colonies with the dual purpose of educating weaker sections of the society as to their right

as well as encouraging the settlement of disputes through Lok Adalat's.

 More than 100 legal services camps have been organized in the country every year
to help and educate people legally and more camp are being set up every single day
by different

legal services authority. In 2018 Around 2,000 persons from poor background attended a

model legal services camp that the Telangana State Legal Services Authority (TSLSA),

affiliated to National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), had organized here on Saturday.

The camp was supported by the City Civil Court Legal Services Authority. Construction

labourer’s, mothers who have not received maternity benefits of the State government,
people with disabilities and girl children who are eligible for financial assistance from the
government attended the camp.

 For the first time, the TSLSA organized its legal camp in the city on Saturday. It had
earlier conducted 12 legal services camps in which 36,492 people had taken part. At
the camps that concluded, 12,191 applications were filed and 3,621 were resolved
with benefits. Anjani Kumar, Commissioner of Police-Hyderabad, said, “In Lok
Adalat's, we have resolved 3,000 cases which needed litigation. The present legal
services camp is expected to create the much-needed awareness on legal rights
among people. Mostly, elderly citizens benefit from such camps". 4

 In the same year The Delhi State Legal Service Authority (DSLSA) organized a Mega
Legal Services Camp on Saturday, which saw participation by over 2,500 people who
were given assistance on various government schemes.

 The camp was a part of an initiative under the National Legal Services Authority
(NALSA) to connect people with their entitlements under various Central and State-
sponsored welfare schemes or legislations. Stalls for Aadhaar Cards enrolment and
updating, PAN card, ration card, pension, and schemes related to senior citizens,
women and laborers were popular among those who visited the camp.

 More than 300 persons enrolled for Aadhaar and PAN cards during the day-long
camp.

 The health camp, which was also a part of the event, was a huge success, with more
than 1,200 people availing free medical aid and services.

3. Another step taken by the legal services Authorities to spread legal knowledge in the youth
has been promoted by opening legal literacy clubs, in different school and collages.

 More than 3200 legal literacy clubs have been opened across the country which will
make students aware of their rights and duties and sensitive them on legal issues.
Moreover, through these clubs' students are not just attaining legal knowledge but
are also implementing that knowledge and helping those in needs through their
COMMUNITY

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 OUTREACH PROGRAMMES programs where volunteers walk through the area and
interact with residents, enquiring about their problems, legal or welfare related.

4. Another problem which had little or no solution was taken into consideration by the legal
services authorities was helping prisoners.

Inmates in the jail are most of the time are unaware about their legal right or are unknown
with the fact that how they will get out of the prison legally, seeing this legal services
authority has taken some steps to help those inmates to exercise their rights.

Seeing that more than 700 legal services clinics has opened in jails, which will help prisoners
get real-time information with regard to status of their cases.

In 2019 the Tihar Prison department, in association with the Delhi State Legal Services
Association, has set up a legal services clinic outside one of its jails to provide legal
assistance to the family members of inmates. The legal services clinic outside Central Jail No.
4 aims to provide counsel to the family members of the inmates, explain the pivotal points
and would also help the family engage counsels as per their needs, they said.

5. Another step takes up by the legal services authority to outreach the legal awareness was
done:

through installing 1,250 LED monitors and LED screens in various court complexes with an
objective to make public aware of their legal rights and conduct a 30-day outreach campaign
in various cinema halls where digital streaming of NALSA theme songs will be played to
make people aware of the free legal services program.

6. All these above initiatives have helped so many people to come out and get justice, and still
many are left who are waiting for justice, which can clearly depict the relevance of
outreaching activities conducted by the legal servicer's authorities.

As above stated, the Constitution of India obliges the State to make laws for the provision of
legal aid. Enactment of the Legal Services Authorities Act and the creation of Legal Service
Authorities (at the national, state, and district levels), along with Legal Services Committees
(at the Supreme Court, High Court, and Taluka Courts) was an important step towards
meeting the constitutionally mandated obligation with regards to the provision of legal aid.
However, lot more is required to

be done in the area of legal aid and empowerment. As said before mere presence of law is
 not enough until and unless people are not aware about them, and that is why Legal

Services Authorities, led by the National Legal Services Authority, are taking several steps to

enhance people’s access to justice by providing improved legal services. It was once said by

Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Hon’ble Minister for Law and Justice that “Access to justice is not only a

constitutional directive, but a core part of the current government’s ideology, in that the

rule of law can only be secured if there is timely and affordable justice for all”. 5

HOW TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE DURING COVID?

We know how important human connections are. And we know how hard the challenges

and experiences of the past one and half year have been for many people. During this time,

we have to make ourselves and others feel confident supporting themselves and others who

may be struggling. Now, more than ever, we need to stay connected with others. It might

feel difficult to mention that we’re worried about them if we haven’t seen them in person or

talked for a while. That’s OK. If we think somebody might need help, trust your instincts and

strike up a conversation. Reaching out to someone can make a big difference if they’re going

through a tough time. It can be a video call, a phone call, a text, a DM or a walk in your local

park. We can write a letter or an email. Starting a conversation and showing we care can be

the first step to helping someone feel less isolated. There’s no right or wrong way to get

started. We should trust our instincts and remember that we chat with people in lots of

diverse ways every day. It's also OK if we don’t get a response straight away. If they don't

answer, they may still have read your message or seen our call. That notification buzz can be

enough to let them know we care and may encourage them to reach out for support.

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 HOW TO GET CONVERSATION STARTED?

If we're worried about someone, we sometimes might feel that reaching out could make

things worse. If someone isn’t ready to talk, offering them space to share how they are

feeling is a powerful way of letting them know that we care for and support them. Even if we

are very close to the person, it may take time and a couple of attempts until someone feels

comfortable talking openly about how they’re feeling. If we can, find a place where we can

talk free of too much background noise or distractions. During the conversation, it is

important not to rush. Try not to talk about ourself and our personal life during the

conversation. This could mean not offering advice or comparing what they’re going through

with your own experiences. Instead, try to listen without judgement. Using open questions like ‘How

are you feeling today?’ or ‘Could you talk more about that?’ can encourage someone to talk about

how they’re feeling, in their own words. If there is a pause in the conversation, give the other person

space to think about what they might want to say. It can be difficult not to fill these silences with our

own thoughts. Remember that you are there to listen.

Technology has made it much easier for us to keep in touch now that we can’t always talk

face to face. There are loads of free and easy-to-use tools to help us reach out to someone

and show them that we care. That virtual dinner, chat or cup of tea could make all the
difference.

1. If they speaking on the phone, use video if people can. It can make it easier to read
people's body language and can help build trust.

2. Try and find somewhere quiet, free of background noise and distractions that might
interrupt our conversation.

3. We can text or leave a voice memo too. It's best to use whichever method of contact we
usually speak to them on so they feel comfortable.

In the 21 century we are living a digital world where everything and everyone is connected
which is a bane and boon, but is it the best source to reach out people who are in dire need
in help.
  According to the recent reports the number of active internet users in the country is
likely
to grow nearly 45 per cent to 900 million by 2025 compared to 622 million as of last year

which shows, that almost everybody is connected through the internet and being a platform
where a person does not have to present physically has even made it more accessible to
those people who are bit introvert or, are just afraid of the society.

 With the help of latest technology different apps and websites it is has become very
easy to reach out people.

 One thing that can be done is organizing online session of free legal aid, which are
been conducted but can also be done through large scale, which will not only
educate people about their rights but will also be able to help people to come out
and seek for help who are in dire need off.

 Another thing that can be done to spread awareness about legal aid and legal
literacy can be done through social media influencers. Social media influencers have
a large number of followers which not only listen to them but also try to act upon
what they are saying which can be an easier way to not just spread knowledge about
legal rights and duties but will also help to make people use that legal knowledge, so
different legal services authority can get in touch with different social media
influencers which can help to promote about different legal awareness programs
conducted by different legal services authority.

 Another outreaching activity that can be done by legal services authorities during
this pandemic is gathering data from the on-ground help workers and NGO who
were working in the and helping people in need before covid out spread.

Those people or NGO might hold some data regarding how many people they have helped

or how many people were in need of help and then different legal services authorities can

get in touch with those people and can an update about their problems, were they solved or

do they still require some legal assistance.

This will not just help people living in the urban areas but it can also help people living in

rural areas. As we are aware that internet is a common thing in the urban areas but it is a

luxury in some of the rural areas as it is still not completely accessible in those areas so in

those areas small organization alike NGOs are the only source of hope for the people who

are in need of any kind of assistance.

Impact Assessment

Impact Assessment is a means of measuring the effectiveness of organisational activities and

judging the significance of changes brought about by those activities. It is neither Art or

Science, but both. Impact assessment is intimately linked to Mission, and, in that sense,

ripples through the organisation. Being able to assess and articulate impact is a powerful

means of communicating, internally and externally, the contribution of activities to the

Mission of IFRC and NS. Impact is seen as the positive and negative, intended or unintended

long-term results produced by an IFRC operation or National Society, either directly or

indirectly. Impact should be seen as the contribution of the intervention to the overall goal.

The Problem of Impact

Impact assessment is straightforward in development projects. There is a large literature

underpinning impact, a wealth of experience and accepted norms and practises. This is not

the case for the humanitarian sector. The rationale for impact arises from the introduction

of Results Based Management techniques and a mindset that sees impact practice in the

developmental sector as transferable to the humanitarian sector. It is not. And this is the
nub of the problem. Until there are agreed norms and standards across the humanitarian
sector then impact assessment will remain a contentious issue. A start has been made with
SPHERE.

And how should this problem be addressed? Firstly, both the donor community and the
humanitarian sector have to recognise the problem and agree to look at impact from a
different perspective. Given the difficulty of measurement in complex and chaotic
environments a more intuitive approach is needed. Impact is a function of the effectiveness,
relevance and sustainability of the intervention. Evaluation for impact should be directed at
looking across projects as a whole and asking, quite simply, “Did it meet real needs?” This
raises the problem of verification and brings me to the second point. The simplest way of
verifying is to ask the beneficiaries. Participatory approaches must be embedded within the
humanitarian sector, but done in a way that gives confidence to donors. This raises the
problem of norms and standards. Humanitarian organisations could demonstrate this by
showing how much of the budget is used to develop this capacity. But in the longer term a
standardised approach to training with external accreditation would give confidence to both
donors and the humanitarian sector. Trained field workers will have
 the confidence and ability to make project changes as and when needed. Evaluation will

then be able verify the efficacy of changes. Impact assessment comes down to developing

two proxies. The first is asking if the intervention met real needs and the second is

accredited training in participatory techniques for field workers. Impact assessment is

concerned with making judgements about the effect on beneficiaries of humanitarian

interventions. It is a function of the results chain and is an integral part of Monitoring and

Evaluation and should be incorporated into the design of a Monitoring and Evaluation

framework. In order to consider the full extent of impact, questions have to be raised

internally and externally.

Internally:

1. Assess the relevance of strategies – are current strategies contributing to the overall goal?

2. Evaluate the effectiveness of organizational structures and management systems – are

there areas where structures impede the realisation of the overall goal?

3. Evaluate communications – are messages effectively communicated throughout the

organisation, is information being fed to appropriate places at the right times, is everyone
aware and informed, is the need to ensure significant and positive impacts embedded within
the culture of the organisation, are we doing all that we can to ensure that we are effective?

Externally:

1. Show donors the impact of their contributions – make the link between donation and
changes in the lives of beneficiaries.

2. Show the wider public the effectiveness, relevance and efficiency of operations – impact
can generate wider support.

3. Demonstrate to potential funders the focus of the organisation – that is on realising

change as opposed to a focus on process.

4. Increase advocacy – be an effective voice for the vulnerable in ensuring that their “voices”
are heard.

5. Embrace transparency – to show an effective and well-functioning organisation, able to

mobilize support and realize the overall goal.
6. Open up to scrutiny – for independent verification.

Evaluation provides a feedback mechanism for ongoing improvement of your outreach effort.
Many people don't think about how they'll evaluate the success of their outreach program
until after the program has been implemented. Building an evaluation component into the plan
from the beginning, however, will ensure that at least some accurate feedback on outreach
program impact is generated. Ideally, feedback generated during the early stages of the project
will be used immediately in making preliminary determinations about program effectiveness.
Adapting elements of the outreach effort continually as new information is received ensures
that ineffective components are adjusted or scrapped, while pieces of the program that are
working are supported and enhanced.

Why evaluate?

Outreach programs often involve a tremendous amount of effort and resources, and

evaluation will help you build support for ongoing funding and save you time and money.

Justifying the program—showing how it supports achievement of the overall goals and

objectives—means identifying what worked, fixing what didn't, and ensuring that outreach

continues to enhance the watershed program. You need to know what worked and why so you

can build on it or make adjustments in the future. Perhaps you used foundation or other funds

that require a demonstration that water quality actually improved or other measurable

progress was made. Evaluating success is not difficult if you initially develop concrete,

measurable objectives against which your achievements can be compared. In addition,

focusing the outreach effort on discrete target audiences provides a manageable approach for

both implementing the outreach program and measuring its success.

Types of evaluation:

An outreach program evaluation should include the following types of evaluation:

Process evaluation: This type of evaluation relates to the execution of the outreach
program itself. Process evaluations focus on implementation of activities as they relate to
budget requirements, schedules, staff resources, and tasks or activities. Process evaluation
occurs as the program is being implemented, early enough in the outreach delivery process to
allow
modifications before too many resources have been expended. Some typical questions asked
during process evaluations include the following:

 What effect did the effort have on the process?

 Did people attend the meetings?

 Did the message get to the media?

Impact evaluation:

This type of evaluation relates to achievement of the goals and objectives of the
program. Impact evaluations assess the outcome or impacts produced by the outreach
program and are directly tied to the original objectives. This type of evaluation
measures the effect of an outreach program on the target audience by asking, "To
what extent did we achieve our objective?" Typical performance measures under
impact evaluations include increased awareness, knowledge of an issue, changes in
perceptions or behaviour, repeat participation in a targeted activity, and goal-oriented
measures of water quality improvements.

Context evaluation:

This type of evaluation relates to how the project functions in the community as a

whole, how the community perceives the project, and the economic and political

ramifications of the project. Context indicators can provide some background and

perspective on why certain approaches appear to be working well while others are

not. Examining contextual information related to the audience, the outreach program,

and the watershed issues under study can provide some perspective on what's

working, what's not, and why. Assessing how the project functions within the

economic, social, and political environment of the community helps to uncover

aspects of the objective, message, audience, format, or distribution mechanism that

might be affecting results. Focus groups that examine the social, economic, political,

and cultural context of your project can identify problems that weren't noticed during

the planning or execution phase.