Measuring Impact - Nicva

54 Measuring Impact – Case-studies of impact assessment
Lessons learnt and
guidance for future work
8
Karl Wilding,NCVO and Marion Lacey,SCVO
This final section draws together a few conclusions about our experience of assessing the
impact of the voluntary sector, from sector level through to individual organisation level. It
also highlights the common approaches to impact assessment that worked for us. However, it
is first worth summarising some of the impact themes uncovered in our findings, and these
are the focus of the next section.
Summary of the main impact themes 8.1
One of the main issues highlighted by the four studies is the diversity of impacts achieved not
only by the sector as a whole, but also by individual organisations. The studies also highlighted
how organisations impact on other organisations, individuals, and the environment.
The process began by thinking in terms of social, economic and political impacts, but organisations
highlighted themes using quite different language: quality of life, improved health and
well-being, enhanced cultural life, improved local environment, new skills and opportunities,
and community involvement and cohesion. The different language suggests that organisations
are not output-oriented.
However, there was also evidence of hard thinking about the economic impact of organisations’
activities. The case-study organisations recognised that their work indirectly reduced
demand for government services or welfare benefits – although no quantification of these
impacts was undertaken.
Given the diversity of areas where the sector and organisations can achieve impact, an overall
summary is problematic. Table 8.1 attempts to summarise areas of impact by looking at the
relationship between voluntary and community sector functions, and three main groupings of
those impacted upon (a typology developed in Chapter 4).