Alliance 4 Useful Evidence

Webinar, 1 September 2015

Collaborative Programme – UK wide

Northern Ireland programmeBuilding Change Trust - £500k + DSD - £188kTwo year Programme: 2014 - 2015Leaders for Impact - Planning for Impact Practice

VC&SE• 13 Network

Organisations supporting groups

Funders• 5 Public Sector

Demonstration Projects

• 1 Independent funder project

Impact Exchange• Learning papers• Dissemination• conferences events

Inspiring Impact promotes:

Impact Practice - A way of workingChanging a culture by systematically working

through the stages outlined below:

PlanClarify impact

we want to achieve and

develop impact practice plan to

capture this

Do Identify and

apply measures & tools that best suit our evidence

needs

AssessAnalyse data

and draw conclusions

about impact (or otherwise)

ReviewLearn from & communicate

findings to improve future programmes/

practice

Systems not aligned for useful evidence gathering

13 VCSE organisations - Cascade• 13 Infrastructure orgs supported to

understand cycle and use resources• They then support client groups to:

‐ understand impact practice‐ Use resource to self-assess against

plan/do/assess/review

Focus on Planning stage• Prepare groups to plan for impact: ‐ identify their impact practice needs‐ focus on collecting relevant and

proportionate evidence

5 Public Sector Funders• Identify discrete funding programme• Review current practice and barriers

to impact i.e. culture, systems

Focus on Planning stage• Engage key funder personnel• Develop Theory of Change• Draft of Outcomes & Indicators• Consult funded groups • Co-design final outcomes framework• Co-design plan for data collection inc

evidence, methods required

Demonstration Projects

Context

• Grant programme < £250k

• Providing Infrastructure support on thematic area

• 51 objectives - Lack of clarity on what it meant to achieve

• Application & monitoring focussed on compliance

• Internal systems not designed to handle outcomes

• Therefore no focus on or means to generate useful evidence

Public Sector Funder: Case study

Support Process• Internal process to develop a Theory of Change

• Draft of outcomes framework & indicators

• Engagement with Funded stakeholders

• Co-design of final framework and data collection plan:‐ monitoring evidence and design of forms‐ outcome evidence required ‐ Data collection methods and support needed

Planning for Impact / Evidence

Means to generate useful evidence to demonstrate impact & inform future programming