News

Inspiring Impact website goes live1

Finance | Kirsty Weakley | 3 Jul 2012

The Inspiring Impact website which collates existing information on impact measurement from charity bodies went live yesterday, as the group of sector bodies revealed the projects members would be working on over the next year.

A coalition of eight organisations (ACF, Acevo, Building Change Trust, Charities Evaluation Services, Evaluation Support Scotland, NCVO, NPC and Substance) first came together in December 2011 with the aim of providing the sector with clear leadership on impact measurement over the next decade.

Inspiring Impact states that its “main aim is that in three years time impact measurement is easier, cheaper and more useful for a typical charity or social enterprise”.

Benedict Rickey, an impact measurement consultant at NPC added: "Our long-term goal is that charities and social enterprises have real incentives to measure their impact well, and find it easier and cheaper to measure.

"Year one will lay the foundations for achieving these objectives. We will be focusing on getting consensus on what ‘good’ measurement looks like. We’ll be doing this through engaging with the sector, including through our Inspiring Impact network."

The group’s plan is divided into five areas, under which the following projects have been announced:

• Impact leadership – work is being led by NCVO and Acevo and projects include developing a code of good impact practice and researching the costs and benefits of measurement to “build the case for an impact approach”.
• Coordinating support – the Charities Evaluation Service is working on an impact measurement diagnostic project to develop an affordable system to help organisations identify what they need to do to improve impact measurement.
• Data, tools and systems – Substance is researching new tools that can help measure impact and compiling a feasibility study of different ways of comparing different tools, such as an online directory or wiki.
• Shared measurement – NPC is leading the work developing “common indicators and tools for specific fields or interventions to help share and compare results, methods and lessons”. It is working on a review of current tools and researching different methods to produce a study of shared measurement approaches.
• Funders, commissioners and investors – ACF will set up a working group to develop ideas about how funders can support impact measurement. It will develop resources for the funder community and link-up with other areas of the Inspiring Impact programme.

In March the group announced that it had teamed up with Ipsos Mori to carry out a major new study into impact measurement. The report will be out later this year.

Directory: Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) | Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) | Charities Evaluation Services | National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) | New Philanthropy Capital