The Lincoln Impact Evaluation Framework (LIEF) provides an essential introduction to the strategic and operational benefits of employing impact evaluation for all academic and professional services colleagues looking to undertake and improve the quality of staff, student and/or stakeholder-facing projects and other relevant activities across the university and beyond. As a user-guide aimed first and foremost at those individuals and teams who find themselves in the position of needing to know more about the language, terminology and process of impact evaluation as a whole, LIEF should also be of value to more experienced staff who might never have considered the benefits of impact evaluation as an integral component of their work.
While impact evaluation is not a pre-requisite for all projects, it should, nevertheless, form a central part of all planning discussions and incorporated wherever appropriate for the purposes of supporting project management, decision making and getting results, and when the transferability of ‘what works and why’, in conjunction with, for example, building a case for excellence in teaching, learning, assessment and other pedagogical and operational practices, is involved. The adoption of LIEF is therefore recommended for use in all instances where impact evaluation rather than project or process evaluation is considered more beneficial and when the widespread implementation of findings is anticipated.
An introductory bibliography and reference guide where further reading around impact evaluation can be found has also been prepared. As working documents, both the framework and the bibliography are expected to evolve over time with the ongoing input of colleagues engaged with their use.