Measuring Impact - Nicva

Assessing the impact of regeneration projects 29
5.2.2 Interviews and analysis
Following agreement with the project managers and partnership co-ordinators, interviews
were held with project managers and key stakeholders for each organisation. These included
intended beneficiaries, local residents and activists, volunteers, staff, project managers of
other SRB-funded projects, and other funders. Not all stakeholders were specific to one
particular project: local residents, local authority and London Development Agency (LDA)
staff for example. Interviewees were selected based on availability and suitability. Contact
details for further potential interviewees were obtained at many of the interviews (particularly
the interviews with project managers).
A total of 28 interviews, lasting between half an hour and one and a half hours, were carried
out. Most were individual interviews, but in some cases it made sense to interview two or
three people in an informal group situation. Many interviews took place in the interviewees’
work places. In the case of volunteers, they were carried out informally on-site, or in the
interviewees’ own homes. Some local residents and volunteers involved in the Lansbury
Festival were interviewed in the informal setting of the post-festival celebratory party. Three
local residents were accessed via a local New Deal provider.
Interviews were loosely structured and varied depending on the interviewee. This allowed the
greatest opportunity to identify the full range of impacts. Importantly, there was no particular
emphasis on anticipated impacts.
Questions were asked based on a number of themes, most of which were common to all interviews.
New themes arising during interviews were used to inform subsequent interview schedules,
resulting in a fuller and more comprehensive interview schedule. Broad themes included:
• social capital (linking 7 , bridging 8 and bonding 9 );
• long-term/future impact and sustainability;
• impact on and relationship with other organisations, including members of the
partnership and other funders;
• negative impact;
• other current impacts, including skills, enjoyment, environmental improvements,
and changes in attitudes.
Interviewees were also asked about their perception of the system or network in which the
organisations operate, and to represent their perception of the system diagrammatically,
explaining the roles and relationships within the system. In addition, some local resident
interviewees were asked to circle on a map the area where they lived. The map was then left
on the table so that interviewees could refer to it throughout the interview.
Analysis was carried out on an ongoing basis, so that subsequent interviews could be
amended accordingly. The transcribed interviews were then coded according to themes.
7 Linking social capital: the connections between individuals and groups in hierarchical or power-based relationships
such as national and local government.
8 Bridging social capital: the links or relationships between people from different groups or networks.
9 Bonding social capital: the strong ties and close relationships within homogeneous groups.