Measuring Impact - Nicva

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The development of indicators for impact assessment 47 7.2.3 Interviews and focus groups Background information was collected at this stage. This included data on AFG’s organisational structure, number of employees, funding, and geographical remit; together with project-specific data such as courses available and numbers of people attending courses. These input and output measures provided the contextual information for the impact study. When carrying out a study of this nature, it is vital that the organisation and staff work closely with the researcher. In this case-study it was NICVA who approached AFG to take part in the research. It was important to explain the whole process, from identifying appropriate stakeholders to the benefits that could be gained for their organisation. In the case of an organisation carrying out its own impact analysis the full participation of the staff will be equally important. Focus groups and unstructured interviews were arranged with staff and groups affiliated to AFG. They explored with participants their perceptions of the organisation’s overall impact, focusing on the concepts of human and social capital. 7.2.4 Selecting an existing analytical framework A significant aspect of the voluntary sector’s impact is its contribution to social capital, including trust and civic participation, and to human capital, such as confidence and new skills. In order to capture these different types of impact, an analytical framework was selected which focused on both social and human capital, namely the framework developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF). Another similar framework considered but not used was that developed by Community Evaluation Northern Ireland (a community-based evaluation organisation) which was based upon categories devised by the World Bank, and tailored to the Northern Irish context. One of the advantages of the NEF framework is that it also captured relationships within and between organisations. As the project developed, the framework headings were tailored to meet the needs of individual and group interviews, and extended to include a wider range of possible impacts. Indicators were developed from themes that recurred in the interviews. These were then grouped under the framework headings and under any additional themes identified. Indicators were developed for each of the sets of stakeholders identified in the system. Care was taken to ensure that they were clearly worded and relevant to the organisation and that they covered the full range of the organisation’s activities.
48 <strong>Measuring</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> – Case-studies of impact assessment Findings 7.3 This section highlights the themes that arose from the interviews and in turn facilitated the formulation of indicators. Findings are broken down into categories: human capital, social capital, and other elements of impact. Each category is divided into themes, or types of impact. Each of these themes is represented by three indicators (more indicators were possible, but excluded here for the sake of brevity). Each of these indicators is related to the five sets of stakeholders in the key below. The cells that are ticked show that the indicator is applicable to that stakeholder. KEY R GA GNA GFOC NVO GROUP Residents of Ardoyne Groups affiliated to AFG Groups not affiliated to AFG Groups from other communities Non-voluntary organisations 7.3.1 Human capital Self-esteem and self-confidence: Self-esteem and self-confidence were probably very low due to the continued civil unrest in Ardoyne, a problem AFG has tackled and improved. For instance AFG has helped many community groups to get started. As one stakeholder said, “the greatest thing you can do for someone is to let people think that they have done it themselves”. These indicators summarise how AFG is seen by groups and individuals in terms of building confidence. INDICATOR R GA GNA GFOC NVO I feel less isolated in the community ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ I feel better about the future ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ I want to help improve the area and myself ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Page 1 and 2: Measuring Case-studies of impact as
Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements NCVO - Susan Wainw
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Page 8 and 9: Introduction 7 Introduction: impact
Page 10 and 11: Introduction 9 Figure 1.2 - Pressur
Page 12 and 13: Tools for impact assessment 11 Tool
Page 14 and 15: Tools for impact assessment 13 The
Page 16 and 17: Ideas underpinning impact assessmen
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Page 20 and 21: Identifying & categorising the sect
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Page 62 and 63: References & resources 61 Reference
Page 66: National Council for Voluntary Orga

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