Measuring Impact - Nicva

18 Measuring Impact – Case-studies of impact assessment
Identifying and categorising
the sector’s impact
4
Bryan Collis,WCVA
The first study looks at the dimensions of the impact of voluntary and community sector
organisations in Wales, as reported by people from those organisations. Using a questionnaire-based
method, the study illustrates impact in relation to individuals, organisations,
communities and society in general. Some common themes in the way outcomes or impacts
were described were found.These themes indicate that a large part of the voluntary sector
may be able to benefit from sharing good practice in measuring impact. Problems identified
by the study include the lack of understanding of what impact is and how to enable people
to describe negative impact.
Introduction 4.1
Many intermediary and umbrella organisations support and represent a diverse range of
organisations. In doing so they are interested in the impact of their work and the wider, overall
impact of the voluntary sector in their area. With this in mind, the aims of the study were:
• to identify self-reported impact of voluntary organisations in a geographical area;
• to see if any patterns of impact were evident across the sector which might inform
others who are interested in measuring their impact.
The study was carried out using the resources that might be available to an intermediary
body with no specific research capacity. Therefore, a questionnaire was used, as interviews
were assumed to be too expensive. In total, 161 case-studies of organisations across Wales
were completed. The case-studies were condensed into short descriptions (Garfield & Collis,
2003) that act as concrete examples of the variety of impact of voluntary organisations and
projects. These enable other organisations to compare their own situation with a range of
different organisations to help them identify their likely impact.