Supported by: Student Hubs is a registered charity in England and Wales, number Impact Measurement Proving and Improving your Social Impact

What is Impact Measurement? “The process by which you measure what effects your project, programme or initiative has had, or is having, on an individual, community or the environment” Evaluation – assessing what effect your project is having Impact measurement – how much social or environmental benefit is being created Monitoring – systematically collecting data

Why is it important to measure your impact? Proving: Be accountable Provide evidence of value for money. Better communicate the strengths and weaknesses of the programme. Build more momentum for greater impact. Improving: Better understand the current impact. Understand the extent and intensity of the impact made. Make comparisons. Areas to improve or develop. See and understand unintended impact Make effective decisions about the future.

How to measure impact Methodologies depend on time and resources. Inputs OutputsOutcomes Impact Resources - staff time, Information, funding, equipment etc. Direct products of activity e.g. how many awards given, how many training sessions run etc. The intended & unintended results of your activity e.g. increased knowledge, skills etc. Wider, long - term social impact of activity/output. Basic measurement standards are often the most effective Importance of creating a consistent, coherent story

Qualitative data – focus groups, case study interviews, observations etc. Quantitative data – questionnaires, cost-benefit analysis, self- reported change etc. Surveys/questionnaires Telephone surveys Observations Interviews/face-to- face surveys Focus groups Participatory learning and action (PLA) Case studies Art work, film and video Research Methods

The more impact measurement the better! Surveys Compile your own questions to measure exactly what you want to know If you have a large group, you could use a smaller sample Responses can be named or anonymous Cheap Baseline surveys Surveys should be… Precise and unambiguous Relevant Direct Consistent Short Simple Thorough

Things to watch out for… Don’t solely focus on metrics – remember to look at the actual social value created. Be sure to measure real outcomes although they are harder. Do not focus solely on ticking the funders agenda. Be aware of doing too much thinking and not enough action. Don’t forget to gather baseline data. Don’t forget to think about achieving impact, not just achieving self-imposed targets.

Impact Measurement at Student Hubs Outcomes QuantitativeQualitative More students Depends on the Hub and/or programme: No. of students engaging with communications No. of volunteers No. of event attendees Variety of methods used throughout the year: Feelings of engagement Knowledge of social issue Doing More No. of brokered opportunities we provide No. of new projects incubated No. of hours volunteered % of students who undertook social action after engagement % of students who felt motivated to set up a new initiative after engagement More effectively No. of students trained No. of collaborations brokered. % of students who are better equipped to take action after engagement % students who have made their project more impactful For longer No. of ethical internship placements No. of alumni who engage with the graduate network % of students whose career choice was positively influenced by the Hub % of students who intend to continue taking action on social issues

Your Impact Measurement Strategy Mission - What are you trying to achieve? How will you define success? Monitoring – What are you going to measure to help you decide if you’ve reached or missed your aims? Evaluation and understanding your impact – What are your successes? What needs to be improved?

1.What need is your project trying to address? 2.How are you planning on addressing this need? 3.What effects do you expect to see straight away? 4.What effects to you expect to see in the future? 5.Explain the long-term changes for people, the environment or the economy from your project. 6.For each effect you identified in 3) and 4), ask yourself why this is important – how will this contribute to long-term impact? 7.What barriers do you foresee which could prevent any of these from happening? Assessing what your inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact could be…

How will you know that an input has been delivered? How will you know that an activity has successfully produced a particular output? How will you know that an output has successfully produced an outcome and impact? A ction focused – does knowing about this help your organisation/project become more effective? Sandwiches? I mportant – is it important to key stakeholders? Sanwiches? M easurable – can you get information that tells you something about the effects? S imple – It is clear enough to be understood? Is it easy to get information? How do you know what to measure?

Top Tips Get everyone involved Think impact Frequent monitoring Consistency across the organisation Be the expert Keep an eye out for relevant research/facts/figures Check how other similar projects measure their impact Always remember that your efforts create more impact!

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