ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the considerable contribution Investors in People can make to understanding and developing evaluation as an essential tool of institutional and departmental planning and development. The origin of the Investors in People is well documented, as is its current popularity within UK higher education. The first opportunity for evaluation of classroom-based training and development activities is at the end of the event, usually before leaving, and this process is therefore managed by the trainer or facilitator. Many higher education institutions require, expect or ask those who attend external development activities such as conferences to present a summary of the event to colleagues. However, it may be reasonable to expect staff whose main function is facilitating learning to be able to use this approach effectively, and it can offer managers the chance to monitor what has been learnt, contributing to the evaluation of training and development.
