Monitoring and evaluation

Alliances must monitor their activity against both strategies and action plans. This is important for demonstrating progress and can also highlight if new partners need to be engaged, new targets set and workplans updated.

Monitoring activity also gives a reason to report to senior strategic boards on progress and puts tobacco control on their agendas.

Examples of approaches include:

• Durham County Council who use a scorecard approach; and
• Newcastle City Council who include SMART objectives in their action plan which are reported against quarterly as part of their meetings

The CLeaR self and peer assessments provide a framework for local authorities to assess how they’re delivering against different tobacco control priorities. It focuses on three key elements:

1. Challenge for your existing tobacco control services, based on the evidence set out in NICE Guidance and the Tobacco Control Plan for England
2. Leadership for comprehensive tobacco control
3. Results demonstrated by the outcomes you have achieved measured against national and local priorities

CLeaR can be used by alliances at many different stages. While establishing new alliances it can be a useful tool for engaging partners, assessing where action is happening and where further activity is needed, it can also be used by more established alliances to reinvigorate particular activity or identify new priorities.

CLeaR Deep Dives are also excellent ways of reviewing activity in key areas. The four deep dives focus on:

1. Acute hospital settings
2. Illicit tobacco
3. Mental health
4. Smoking in pregnancy

Roadmap stops: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12