A new Third Sector report looks at how leading charities measure report and share their results.
Third Sector writes:
You know that the organisation you work for does great work. You see it first-hand. Unfortunately, most people won’t simply take your word for it. In all sectors, organisations come under pressure to prove to stakeholders that their work is effective. For charities specifically, the impact measurement and reporting pressure is heightened by trends including tight public finances increasing the need to show value for money; squeezed corporate donors scrutinising their partnerships; increasing social need; and, of course, extra requirements under the impending new Sorp.
Rigorous impact measurement is important: it enables organisations to track progress against their goals and identify activities that failed to produce the desired results. And sharing lessons learned can be of great benefit to peer organisations working to address similar challenges. To better understand current practice, Third Sector asked 100 of the UK’s biggest charities eight questions about their impact measurement and reporting. About one-third (33) agreed to share details of their practice.
Key Takeaways:
- Practice varies widely(but Theory of Change is common)
Impact measurement approaches range from sophisticated multi-layered frameworks to minimal output tracking. Theory of Change is by far the most common framework, paired with various related dashboards, tools, evaluation loops and outcomes frameworks in continuous improvement cycles. - Resources constrain extra external sharing
Charities all share their impact reporting externally, primarily through annual reports but also through conferences and networks. However, it is often hard to find the time and resources to share lessons to enable peer learning – even charities with a strong commitment to impact measurement struggle. Preparing these documents or presentations takes considerable additional work, and often seems consigned to the ‘when everything else is done’ box.
- Fear of misinterpretation or criticism can stifle transparency
Charities worry that complex, nuanced impact stories will be flattened into misleading headlines without proper context, leaving them vulnerable to unfair comparisons or criticism. But there’s also anxiety about discussing underperformance, and a worry that this could jeopardise future funding.
- There can be uncertainty about what can be shared
Some charities feel unable to share findings without explicit permission, particularly when it comes to restricted grants or partnership-delivered programmes. Charities that provide funding say they encourage grantees to be candid in the name of peer learning – but it’s easy to say in principle, and harder to achieve in reality.
- The sector knows what would help
- Charities want dedicated funding for impact work, standardised requirements across funders to reduce burden, and infrastructure for shared learning. They also know that they need to foster transparent and learning-driven cultures, in order to ensure that impact measurement and reporting creates a virtuous cycle of improvement.
