The methodology utilised in the course of this evaluation has been essentially qualitative.  The study has been exploratory and inductive in order to elicit the attitudes and perceptions of as wide a sample of participants as possible.  The primary form of data collection has been formal semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of project participants including regular interviews with the Project Manager and END project team.  The study has been inductive in the sense that END is a project in development with ever shifting dynamics, the sample has been purposive because in order to capture this shifting dynamic, the nature of the relevant sample was constantly changing.  The end result was a data mountain that took a considerable amount of time to decipher.
In addition to interviews with the above stakeholders, the evaluation undertook direct observation of the project environment.  That is to say that the evaluation sought to be present at most of the significant events during the project, including promotional events, Steering Group meetings, project team meetings and dissemination events.  By observing the activities of the project it was expected that a deep understanding of the depth of the projects integration into the diverse contexts of the partnership would be felt by the evaluators, in order to feed the interpretation of all collected data. 
At the outset of all interviews it was explicitly explained that the study was independent of the project and that for the purpose of a full understanding of the dynamics of the situation it would be valuable if the interviewee could be open and candid.  As the project progressed and data was analysed, the understanding of the evaluation team developed and questioning around emergent themes became more directed.  Thereby, the study was subject to a progressive focussing, where the build up of information directly informs future investigation.  This forms part of the underpinning philosophy of the study, namely grounded theory, the idea that the evaluator is able to account for their presence in the context.

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