We recently ran a social impact workshop for our members. Here is a review of how it went, why it’s important and what’s to come.
There's an interesting emphasis on community and mental well-being following the impact of the pandemic"
On Thursday, 3 February 2022, we ran a social impact workshop for organisations across London in receipt of City Bridge Trust funding. Dozens of organisational leaders gathered via Zoom to learn more about creating social value and articulating that offer through a Theory of Change, a model of how organisations work to effect long-term social change in their local communities. The workshop guided them through social impact measurement and demystified the process of generating a Theory of Change. When linked to sustainable development goals, such a theory supplies critical context in which to measure and manage impact.
Conversations at the event uncovered shared areas in which community organisations add value—communicating this impact is critical for continued good work. “There’s an interesting emphasis on community and mental well-being following the impact of the pandemic,” one attendee noted. Covid recovery has deepened interest in the health, environmental, social, and economic impacts of work being carried out within communities. This workshop provided a framework that can be applied easily in articulating how community organisations build resilience considering these changes. We know that impact measurement generates a plethora of benefits: appealing to funders, tracking and evaluating social impact, and highlighting clear activities to achieve goals.
Yet communicating impact can be daunting. There never seems to be the time to reflect, and impact is difficult to measure. “We’ve started [a Theory of Change],” one participant admitted in the workshop, “but it’s something I keep dropping down to the bottom of my to-do list because there’s always practical stuff that needs doing.” Others questioned if the move toward impact measurement was even feasible for small-scale organisations in the voluntary sector, or if funder preferences for “sophisticated” Theories of Change are merely “a way for the smaller groups to be excluded while bigger groups swoop in.”
We wanted to overcome these barriers, so we facilitated “speed clinics” during which participants were invited to walk through a draft Theory of Change relative to their current projects. Responses were overwhelmingly positive: “You’ve simplified the process a bit,” one participant expressed, “It does seem overwhelming and like there’s a huge task ahead, but just doing this exercise has made me feel that even as a small team, we could have a stab at it.” Other participants praised the framework as more “approachable” for their organisations. One attendee said, “I can’t believe I’ve done all of this in one minute. It gives me a wee bit of hope that we can do this, create a theory of change”, while another expressed, “I feel much more empowered”.
There was definite interest among participants in continued support from Locality and City Bridge Trust. We discussed the idea of hosting “mini-clinics” for small clusters of organisations. One participant suggested that these could be themed around common service areas so that organisations with similar aims — such as to support young people, boost mental health or create community cohesion — could benefit from sharing Theories of Change with one another. “It would be great to find out more about the mini-clinics,” one person concurred, and another explained that “the 1:1 sessions would be a lifeline for our organisations.”
After this beginners’ workshop, a number of the participants were ready to go into more depth. We partnered with Chelle Coulton from Compost London to present a workshop on digital tools that are available to help organisations measure their impact. Chelle guided people through what’s available, features to look out for, and top tips for getting started. Locality will continue to offer support beyond this workshop and keep building on relationships with various community groups.
Get in touch with the Locality London team if you have questions about (or suggestions for) our impact work: david.ahlquist@locality.org.uk.
