Measuring real success in your community work Statistics, anecdotes and transformation

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Measuring real success in your community
workStatistics, anecdotes and transformation
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• This day will help you
• Assess and measure whether your community project
  is being as effective as it could be
• Communicate more effectively and authentically
  the success of your project to stakeholders and
  funders
• Grow in confidence about the overall
  effectiveness of your community work

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• Session 1 10.00am 11.15am
• Building a culture of evaluation
• Session 2 11.30am 1.15pm
• The cycle of good evaluation
• Session 3 2.00pm 3.30pm
• Putting it all into practice

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• The way that we want to run the day
• Fun
• Interactive
• Honest and real
• Practical - focused on helping your work
• Appreciative of the Christian context

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• Encouragement for those labouring on the front
  line

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• Session 1 10.00am 11.15am
• Building a culture of evaluation

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• Question for groups
• What does success look like in your current
  context?

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• Three types of evaluation
• Evaluation that helps you be accountable
• helps you give to Caesar what is Caesars
• Evaluation that validates your work against an
  external benchmark
• e.g. Ofsted, statutory inspections e.g Health
  safety
• Evaluation that helps you assess whether you are
  achieving what you have set out to do

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My project focus
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• How do you currently evaluate?
• Why do you evaluate? (motivation)
• Because you have to, required as part of funding,
  self discipline, because you suspect slack
  practice
• Who do you ask?
• Users, those who dont use your project, staff,
  volunteers
• How do you evaluate?
• Gathering statistics, gathering feedback,
  reporting systems, feedback (questionnaires,
  focus groups, listening exercises)

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• Group question
• How is the effectiveness of your work currently
  measured?

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• Question
• What benefits should a good evaluation process
  give?

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• Benefits of good evaluation
• Helps you see what is really going on
• Affirms the good work done
• Highlights the weaker aspects
• Brings focus on meeting real needs - combats
  mission drift
• Helps set direction and give goals
• More deeply it can..
• Show what is driving the work - the calling or
  the contract?
• Help identify unhelpful sacred cows
• Breed a culture of openness and honesty
• Reality is liberating

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• What are the particular challenges of good
  evaluation within the Christian context?

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• Challenges in a Christian context
• Mr Jackanory (he loves a story)
• Ms Busy (shes out there, on the frontline)
• Mr Bottom-line (he lives for stats)
• Ms Sentimental (if it helps just one)

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• We need to avoid
• Blagging - exaggerating for the kingdom
• Defensiveness especially in busy people
• Worldly views of success - numbers, money,
  influence
• Other-worldly views of success - willing to
  accept mediocrity
• Only able to communicate in Christianise
• Heavy administration - unrealistic for small
  projects
• Mission drift focus and purpose becoming vague

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• Introducing
• Ms
• (aka Ms Integrity)
• Her project does
• exactly what it says
• on the tin

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• The view from the other side
• What are funders really looking for?
• Dan Chapman
• Grant Coordinator, Church Urban Fund

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• What are funders looking for?
• Number of people helped (unique nos. and
  averages)
• Type and frequency of support offered
• Stories of transformation
• Feedback from beneficiaries
• Projects with clear focus
• Sense of a safe pair of hands
• Staff/volunteers with passion and commitment

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• Q A
• Anything you have always wanted to ask a funder?

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Break
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• Session 2 11.40am 1.15pm
• Great evaluation Its in your hands

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A theology of good evaluation

• 1 Kings 22
• A dramatic story
• Countercultural prophetic truth
• Embracing reality
• Building on a sure foundation

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Great evaluation Its in your hands
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Using the MIMOO tool to plan
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Think about a tree one you know
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Inputs Rain, sun, good soil, protection. seed,
gardening skills and time
Outputs Growth branches, leaves, fruit, water
transpired, shade, building materials firewood,
insect and bird life Countable
Methods Photosynthesis, drawing moisture
nourishment, pollination, transpiration
Outcomes Social gathering, friendships, childrens
play, shelter, inspiring and beautiful. Sometimes
unseen or unexpected.
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A Christian community youth project
Motivations to make a difference, reduce
violence, build self esteem, share the gospel,
build the church
Outputs Number of young people attending
engaged, number of sessions projects run, trips
out, good conversations.
Inputs Staff volunteer time, money, buildings,
creativity, faith, historic connections
Outcomes Improved self esteem, better choices
made, impacts on individual, family, community,
church, faith in God and community.
Methods Weekly youth club, drop in, detached
work, counselling, courses, holiday scheme etc
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Try it with your own project now
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Motivations to make a difference, reduce
violence, build self esteem, share the gospel,
build the church
Outputs Number of young people attending
engaged, number of sessions projects run, trips
out, good conversations.
Inputs Staff volunteer time, money, buildings,
creativity, faith, historic connections
Outcomes Improved self esteem, better choices
made, impacts on individual, family, community,
church, faith in God and community.
Methods Weekly youth club, drop in, detached
work, counselling, courses, holiday scheme etc
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• 2. Monitoring
• What gets measured, gets done
• A church in Derbyshire
• Exercise
• Using our training day as an example of monitoring

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How we monitor it Statistics Statistics Budget
review Score on feedback form Score on feedback
form Score on feedback form Score on feedback
form Score on feedback form Comments on
feedback Comments on feedback Comments on
feedback Comments on feedback

• What we monitor
• Numbers of people interested
• Numbers of people booked in
• Amount of costs covered
• Quality of facilitation
• Quality of small group work
• Quality of atmosphere
• Quality of lunch
• Suitability of venue
• Most/least useful
• Suggested improvements
• Identity 1 action you will take
• How did you hear about the day?

Staff teams thoughts and analysis On email and
at team meeting
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• 3. Reflecting
• Dan Chapman Project assessment workshop
• Different ways that you can assess impact and the
  real value of the outcomes you have been working
  for

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• 3. Reflecting
• Takes time and organising
• Need to involve all relevant groups (e.g. staff,
  trustees, volunteers, beneficiaries, church
  members)
• Need to be confident and not defensive
• If possible, have an outsider/critical friend run
  the assessment
• Has positive spin-offs (cohesion, sense of value,
  refocusing vision)

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• Project Reflection Workshop
• Self Assessment
• Participative
• Guidance notes, posters, invitations, forms all
  downloadable (http//www.cuf.org.uk/tools.aspx)
• Cheap and fun

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• Other Resources
• Church Community Value Toolkit a self
  assessment to enable churches to quantify how
  they contribute to their community in terms of
  outputs and outcomes http//www.cuf.org.uk/tools.
  aspx
• Steps in Organising an Assessment and Introducing
  Evaluation (useful if commissioning a consultant)
  Tearfund http//tilz.tearfund.org/Topics/Impact
  assessment.htm

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Lunch
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• Session 3 2.00pm 3.30pm
• Putting it into practice

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• Benefits of good evaluation
• Helps you see what is really going on
• Affirms the good work done
• Highlights the weaker aspects
• Brings focus on meeting real needs - combats
  mission drift
• Helps set direction and give goals
• More deeply it can..
• Show what is driving the work - the calling or
  the contract?
• Help identify unhelpful sacred cows
• Breed a culture of openness and honesty
• Reality is liberating

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• Post lunch warm up exercise
• Catherine wheel circle exercise
• I am proud of my work because

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• Act
• We found out that what we were doing wasnt
  working but no-one could think of any other way
  of doing it
• Monitoring and assessment are a waste of time
  without action. Nothing kills a process more than
  not being acted on dead letter.
• Developing and sticking to an action plan based
  on what needs to change.
• Developing a key way forward from assessment to
  what action will be taken.

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drop
keep
create
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Nothing makes evaluation more pointless than when
its conclusions are not acted on. Community
Mission Wisdom (2009)
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What will be the barriers to acting on what you
find in your evaluation?
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Speaking

• The need to communicate let your light shine
  before men (Matthew 516)
• The different ways of communicating your
  successes Website, Annual report, Newsletters,
  Visits, Interviews, Exercise
• Being aware of 3 cultural challenges British,
  Volunteer sector Christian

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• Communicating your success
• Exercise

• In pairs prepare a 3 min presentation on what
  our project has achieved 10 mins (one you are
  really running or planning) refer to Ronseal
  values.
• 2 from each group move to another pair.
• The host pair assume the role of Daniels
  listening and asking questions on what they have
  heard.
• The Daniels have the power to award chocolate!
• The Daniels give feedback to the presenters
• What was good
• What could have been better
• Come back into groups of 4 to make a plan

DANIELS DEN
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• What does this mean for my project?
• Things I want to commit to as a result of today

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Back page Livability back page notes ie what we
do Story telling on the web Webcard Copy this
to main ppt as well