Public Benefit & Outcomes Public Benefit Reporting Measuring Impact –
Prove it! Where to start Tools and sources of
support Communicating Impact
and Public Benefit
Agenda
Around 35-44% of charities in NI registered with the Commission
Full reporting required from 2016 Scope for confusion (language and terms) Importance of Outcomes
Public Benefit – What we know
To be a charity in Northern Ireland an organisation: must have purposes which fall under one of 12
descriptions of purposes listed in the Charities Act and
the purposes must be for the public benefit.
Public Benefit – What we know
Starting a charity
Registering a charity
Running your
charity
Reporting on your charity
“Effective public benefit reporting within the trustees’ annual report will tell a story that
explains the links between the charity’s purposes, beneficiaries, activities and
resulting benefits.”CCNI – Public benefit reporting
Public Benefit – What we know
What a report would include
Purposes
Activities
Achievements
Beneficiaries
Harm & Private Benefit
Measuring Impact – Why?
“Unless you measure something, it doesn't really exist in the minds of decision-makers.”
John Beard, World Health Organization
Internal /
Manage
ment
Performance ManagementDemonstrate valueCommunication & MarketingAttracting investment
External / Funders
Impact of grants, mission fitAccountabilityDemonstrate return on investmentAssess value
External /P
olicy
Build a case for investment Accountability
Measuring Impact – Your audience!
Growing rationale for Outcomes & Impact
Strong and improving policy context and demand
• Number of high profile fundraising scandals and charity closures in 2015 have rocked public confidence & emphasised importance of accountability
• Inspiring Impact project is putting impact practice at the heart of the sector
• Launch of The Code of Good Governance in Jan 2016
"Both outputs and outcomes measurement has been poor in the past, relying on anecdotes and case studies. Even accessing basic numbers of users has proved extremely problematic.“
Where do I start?
Understanding the changeStakeholder Employee - Workplace Health initiative
Activity OutputsWeekly weigh inProvision of diet & physical activity change techniques – NHS Choices guidanceCharitable giving
20 businesses recruited 875 employee participants were engaged 6,645 lbs lost (equivalent to 475 stone) 1,390 inches lost from waists £30,000 raised for charity
Outcome(s) Participants were fitter as result of improved levels of physical activity and improved diet Improved mental healthIncreased motivation and productivity
• Size
Capacity
Tools
Volunteer Toolkit- designed to assess the impact of volunteer stakeholders
Outcomes Star - utilise scales to measure progress Social Impact Tracker -monitor and report on engagement
maintain session records for group-based and one-to-one activities Social Auditing – focuses on corporate accountability & responsibility LM3 – economic value in the community (Local Multiplier 3) Prove IT – was specifically designed to manage small and medium sized
projects and evaluate impact Outcomes Based Accountability – planning and assessing performance of
services Social Return on Investment (SROI) – can be used to evaluate or forecast
the impact of a project providing a financial value
Gauge NI – What we can do for you
Research and Evaluation
Social Impact Specialists Social Return on
Investment Impact Cards and
Communication Training and
Mentoring
Example Framework
Economic development & Regeneration
Social capital
Jobs
New enterprises
Collaboration and partnership
Reduction in the number of NEETS
Vocational training
Increase in tourism activity
Example of recent social value
framework based on four key themes and
subsequent outcomes
SROI is based on seven principles:
Involve stakeholders
Understand what change is
Value the things that matter
Only include what is material
Do not over-claim
Be transparent
Verify the result
SROI Principles
Six Stages of SROI:
Establish scope & identify
stakeholders
Map outcomes
Evidence outcomes and give
them a value
Establish a value
Calculate
Report, use and embed
Theory of Change
Inputs
Activities
OutputsOutcomes
Strategic Impact
Ongoing Needs
Awareness
Ongoing Evaluation
Our Work
Utilising Impact Cards
“Rather than just tell people how great we are and how important we are to the individuals and families we support, we can actually show them and prove it.”
“We actually launched the report at an event in Stormont and have been back there twice to talk to politicians about our work and how valuable it is. We’ve also been to other events with MLAs and the first thing we give them is our impact card because it really does have an impact.”
Community Transport Network NI
“SROI makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the work we do; when you are trying to have a conversation about the benefits of your work it is a great tool to have to hand.”
Tips & thoughts
It's impossible and unnecessary to measure and assess everything you do.
You should only collect data you will use.
Some outcome indicators could be deemed subjective and influenced by external factors.
Credibility and accountability are two cornerstones of any monitoring and evaluation.
Communicating the not so positive. ‐ ‐
Useful resources
• www.gaugeni.co.uk • www.inspiringimpactni.org• www.socialvalueint.org• www.globalvalueexchange.org• www.hact.org.uk • www.socialimpacttracker.org• www.neweconomics.org • www.proveandimprove.org• www.socialimpactscotland.org.uk• www.ces-vol.org.uk• www.ceni.org
Stephen McGarry02890 23441407823 446122
@gauge_impact@steviemcgarry
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”