Follow these five steps to agree on how to monitor and evaluate the results:

1. Review the earlier summaries of the desired outcome, the labour situation and the action plan. Clearly define success – with as much detail as possible. Remember that success will be interpreted differently by different stakeholders. For example, a remote First Nation community might be happy that three individuals received some training – they might not have completed a full program, but this was a start. Try to be flexible and incorporate and accommodate the diversity of these variations.
2. Brainstorm a list of various measurements that are easy to collect – it is best to have multiple sources.   
3. Ensure there is a variety of information:  qualitative and quantitative, subjective and objective, activity-oriented and outcome measures.
4. Involve all of the partners and stakeholders in collecting the evaluation information, interpreting and validating the results, and planning for next steps.  Meet regularly to review the information, get everyone’s perspective, and reach consensus on actions to take (if any).
5. Start collecting information right away.  This will allow for immediate response or adaptations to challenges being experienced during implementation.  Having ready access to information also helps you to keep various stakeholders aware and up to date about progress.  Finally, when you have “success stories” and testimonials to share with others it makes it easier to encourage broader participation.

Consider these ideas and add your own:

Awareness:

• Number of job fairs held or job ads posted in the Aboriginal community
• Number of meetings or community dialogues held between construction employers and the Aboriginal community
• Response rate to an advertisement, announcement, etc. in a recruitment campaign
• Number of inquiries after a town hall session or job fair in a local Aboriginal community
• Types of responses to a recruitment campaign or job fair – how skilled are the job seekers?  What is the level of interest in the community?

Access:

• Materials developed such as training program, interview questions, information material for job seekers, etc.
• Number of referrals from local Aboriginal agencies
• Number of job openings offered by construction employers
• Test scores at the beginning and end of a training program
• Number of trainees who dropped out (and why)
• Feedback on the training program, hiring process, etc. – from Aboriginal workers, trainers, construction employers, other stakeholders
• Lessons from exit interviews or ongoing dialogues – for example, challenges experienced, reasons for dropping out of training, quitting a job, or the employer’s reason for not retaining a new hire after a probation period, etc.
• Types of problems, complaints – during the recruitment process, during training, on the job

Action:

• Agreements reached; funding proposals developed and accepted; funding received
• Number of Aboriginal workers trained; number of Aboriginal workers hired
• Retention rate of Aboriginal workers hired – how many stayed employed for six months?  One year?
• Employer feedback on new hires; worker feedback on the new job
• How involved is the local construction industry?  The Aboriginal community?
• Spin-off benefits such as other employment opportunities or training programs created as a result of this initiative
• Success stories and testimonials