Funders need to be more clear about what outcomes they want charities to produce and help those organisations in their ability to measure their impact, according to the findings of a report by New Philanthropy Capital.

The recommendations come in the Improving Prisoners Family Ties report released today based on a six-charity pilot of a shared measurement programme in the arena of developing better relationships between prisoners and their families. The pilot brought together the charities to look at how their different actions impacted on improved family relationships.

But, the report authors found, the charities came up against difficulties in accessing data and clarifying precisely what the government funders’ objectives were. The report found that in the area of criminal justice in particular, this confusion over desired outcomes means that charities can waste time collecting irrelevant data.

Government, and indeed private trusts and philanthropists, said the NPC, need to be mindful of charities limitations when requesting impact measurement information. The organisation went further and suggested that funders should pay charities for their high quality measurement, potentially funding a specialist staff member to do the job.

“The government is the biggest player in the criminal justice system, but it can do more to help  charities improve prisoners’ family relationships,” the report reads.