What we did

We designed a framework to guide the Australian Department of Health’s formative evaluation of the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Hearing Health Program. The program involved a 10-year investment aimed at reducing the prevalence, incidence, severity, and impact of ear disease among Aboriginal children. A key strategy within the program was to contribute to an integrated hearing health system across the continuum of care, particularly over the primary/specialist care interface. The framework had to respond to dual needs: what was achieved at a programmatic level, through the investment; and how has the program contributed to an end-to-end hearing health system.

How we did it

The framework development involved interviews with key informants in the Northern Territory, workshops to identify the program’s theory of change and the development of a framework that describes the evaluation parameters (purpose, evaluative criteria, key evaluation questions, etc.), proposes evaluation activities (identifies data sources and methods of data collection and analysis), and proposes an implementation plan.

Benefits for the client

The framework developed was received well by the Department and was used to guide the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Hearing Health Program evaluation work as intended.