{"id":11528,"date":"2022-03-01T11:59:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T09:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/capsulab-1-mark-cabaj-gives-us-5-ideas-on-how-to-evaluate-labs\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:54:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:54:02","slug":"capsulab-1-mark-cabaj-gives-us-5-ideas-on-how-to-evaluate-labs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/capsulab-1-mark-cabaj-gives-us-5-ideas-on-how-to-evaluate-labs\/","title":{"rendered":"CAPSULAB 1: Mark Cabaj gives us 5 ideas on how to evaluate labs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4235\" src=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo_blog_2-300x95.png\" alt=\"logo_blog_2\" width=\"149\" height=\"47\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo_blog_2-300x95.png 300w, https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo_blog_2.png 879w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 149px) 100vw, 149px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Capsulab<\/strong> is Coboi lab&#8217;s monthly knowledge capsule. We want to share our internal research on topics such as innovation, labs and multi-actor projects, among others, creating concise and practical content and materials that share the key learnings.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>In this capsule we talk about:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4247 size-large\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Aigua-i-llimona_Mark-Cabaj_CAT-677x1024.png\" alt=\"Water and lemon_Mark Cabaj_ENG\" width=\"677\" height=\"1024\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Aigua-i-llimona_Mark-Cabaj_CAT-677x1024.png 677w, https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Aigua-i-llimona_Mark-Cabaj_CAT-198x300.png 198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Describing the lab&#8217;s theory of change<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although there is often a certain incompatibility between the level of detail required to develop a theory of change and the level of uncertainty in which a lab operates, Mark Cabaj suggests conceptualizing a generic theory of change initially,\u00a0 which can be progressively clarified and detailed as time goes on.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Being clear about the purpose of the evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Labs should evaluate their activity with a dual objective: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Generate internal strategic learning<\/strong> to develop, improve and adapt the lab. It&#8217;s important not lo let day-to-day demands derail the evaluation process.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Fulfill external responsibilities<\/strong> (such as showing the lab&#8217;s progress, justifying funding, etc.) Avoid communicating only the positive aspects with a marketing approach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Defining the unit of analysis of the evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A lab could potentially evaluate many aspects of its activities and operations. It&#8217;s important to choose what we want to evaluate and why. Following the <em>Overall Outcome Framework<\/em> (min 20 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/199238214\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a> ), we could focus on the following elements:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lab operation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participants&#8217; reactions<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Changes in participants<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Actions taken<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Results of actions<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Structural changes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Using frameworks instead of one-size fits-all recipes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is no universal solution that allows us to evaluate any type of project -labs included. It&#8217;s advisable to build a personalized evaluation model (with methods, questions and basic principles) that adapts to our needs and constraints (resources, time, preferences, capabilities, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Applying an agile and adaptive approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The evaluation should be adapted to the preferences of those carrying it out and should evolve alongside the lab itself. To strengthen this adaptive capacity, it&#8217;s important that the evaluation is carried out as an internal function of the team (not outsourced), so that it can be done in real time and that the lab&#8217;s activities and nuances can be better understood.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: Mark Cabaj. (2017) Evaluation and Labs. Labwise initiative <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/199238214\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(available online here)<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffec5f;\"> If you want to receive the latest news from <strong>capsulab<\/strong> , you can subscribe through this <a href=\"https:\/\/share.hsforms.com\/141OGQw1gSZ65XmVJxXkydw4aquz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">form<\/a> . <\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the support of:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4102\" src=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Generalitat.jpg\" alt=\"Government\" width=\"188\" height=\"50\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4104\" src=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Feder.jpg\" alt=\"Feder\" width=\"301\" height=\"50\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Feder.jpg 428w, https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Feder-300x50.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capsulab is Coboi lab&#8217;s monthly knowledge capsule. We want to share our internal research on topics such as innovation, labs and multi-actor projects, among others, creating concise and practical content and materials that share the key learnings. In this capsule we talk about: 1. Describing the lab&#8217;s theory of change Although there is often a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-11528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-en","tag-capsule"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11528"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11995,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11528\/revisions\/11995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coboilab.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}