Alliance 4 Useful Evidence Webinar, 1 September 2015

Collaborative Programme – UK wide

Northern Ireland programme Building Change Trust - £500k + DSD - £188k Two year Programme: Leaders 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 working Changing a culture by systematically working through the stages outlined below: Plan Clarify 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 Assess Analyse data and draw conclusions about impact (or otherwise) Review Learn 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 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 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