Strengthening impact in sensory disability care
We assessed how the EZG contributes to development of knowledge, collaboration, community involvement and improved care practices. The evaluation shows a solid knowledge infrastructure, while highlighting the need to further strengthen implementation, use, and impact. With fourteen recommendations, we provided ZonMw and involved sub-sectors with concrete tips to sharpen focus, make impact more visible, and ensure knowledge is structurally embedded in practice and society.
From evaluation framework to actionable recommendations
Evaluating the Expertise Function for Sensory Disability Care (EZG) required an approach that addressed both content and process. At the heart of the evaluation was a bespoke evaluation framework developed by us. This framework builds on ZonMw's knowledge cycle and was enriched with elements that are essential for understanding real-world impact, such as collaboration, involvement of people with lived experience, knowledge use, and societal impact.
Our approach consisted of five interrelated phases:
- Development of a framework as a foundation for the evaluation
- Document review of program plans, progress reports, and previous evaluations
- Broad consultation through an online survey among professionals, researchers, managers, and representatives of the target groups
- In-depth insights gained through interviews, focus groups, and group dialogues with sub-sectors, the program committee, and ZonMw
- Analysis of all qualitative and quantitative insights into conclusions and fourteen recommendations for the future
During the analysis, we brought together a range of perspectives – from those with first-hand experience to managers – and distilled them into a single clear and actionable narrative. The result is a substantive evaluation, a process evaluation and a set of fourteen recommendations that provide guidance for the next phase, in which knowledge is not only developed but also has a real impact.
