Sector think tank NPC has published a free guide to help charities, funders, investors and public bodies evaluate the impact of systems change initiatives.
The publication aims to help organisations assess initiatives that seek to transform the systems underpinning social and environmental problems rather than traditional service delivery.
In it, NPC argues that traditional approaches to measuring success may not adequately reflect how increasingly complex social and environmental challenges are addressed.
Rather than prescribing a single methodology, the guide draws from several practical approaches, methods and considerations to help charities and funders make informed decisions.
This includes setting expectations; agreeing overall aims; identifying evaluation questions; choosing methods, and planning approaches.
Erwin Hieltjes-Rigamonti, co-author of the guide, said better ways of assessing impact were needed as more organisations embraced systems change.
He said: “Our hope is that this guide gives practitioners, funders and evaluators practical tools to learn, adapt and build confidence in what works.”
Fellow co-author Elliot Trevithick said: “We see this guide as a contribution to a much wider body of learning.
“We hope it helps organisations make informed choices about evaluation and adds to the sector's collective understanding of how systems change happens.”
