Bigger isn’t always better
in innovation evaluation

Do organisations always need a big evaluation agency? Often, the answer is no.

Large agencies can bring scale, breadth and established infrastructure. In the right context, that can be exactly what is needed. But for many organisations, particularly those working in health, care, innovation and the third sector, bigger is not always better.

Sometimes what matters most is closeness.

Good evaluation is about more than a methodology: it’s about understanding context, building trust, asking the right questions and adapting intelligently as the work evolves. BetterEvaluation’s guidance on utilisation-focused evaluation makes this point clearly: evaluations are more likely to be useful when they are shaped around intended users and intended use, rather than treated as a detached technical exercise.

That’s where smaller, more agile teams can have a real advantage.

A closer relationship often makes it easier to design evaluation that is proportionate, responsive and genuinely useful. It allows evaluators to stay connected to delivery, understand shifts in context, and help clients interpret emerging findings rather than simply reporting them at arm’s length. The Health Foundation has arguedthat evaluating complex change requires approaches that support learning and adaptation while programmes are still developing, not just retrospective judgement at the end.

At Future Care Capital, that is central to how we work.

We are small enough to be agile, but senior enough to bring deep expertise. Clients have direct access to our Evaluation Lead, Professor Andy Jones, throughout the work, not just as a name on a proposal, or someone who appears at the inception meeting and then disappears. That matters, because good evaluation depends not only on process, but on judgement, experience and thoughtful interpretation.

It also means our support doesn’t stop at evaluation alone. Because Future Care Capital also brings expertise in innovation management and impact investment, we can support organisations in a more joined-up way: understanding whether a project is working, helping promising ideas develop, and thinking about how evidence can strengthen future adoption, scaling or investment conversations.

There is a broader principle behind this. The OECD’s evaluation criteria stress that good evaluation should be relevant to stakeholder needs and used thoughtfully in context, rather than applied mechanically. In other words, good evaluation is not just technically sound; it is useful, proportionate and grounded in the realities of the organisations it is there to support. OECD

That is often where a smaller partner can make the difference. Not bigger. Closer. Not more process. More partnership. Not evaluation as a distant judgement, but evaluation as part of learning, improvement and strategic development. For many organisations, that’s exactly what is needed.

If you’d like to discuss how Future Care Capital can support your organisation with thoughtful, collaborative and credible evaluation, drop an email to our Evaluation Lead, Professor Andy Jones, at andy@futurecarecapital.org.uk.