Impact round-up: Summer 2023

Anti-oppressive principles

Anti-oppressive approaches aim to challenge the structure of society and address power imbalances. They focus on improving the quality of life and wellbeing of individuals, groups and communities. They’re based on the intrinsic value of a diverse society.

Following the brutal murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, NCVO’s evaluators wanted to develop an anti-racist approach to evaluation. The team explored the concept of anti-racism and anti-oppression more broadly in a series of workshop sessions.

In 2022, we launched our five anti-oppressive consultancy principles (pdf, 98KB).

After a trial period of six months, the team has now adopted the principles to embed equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across all of our work.

We’ll be presenting on our ethics journey at the UK Evaluation Society Annual Conference this autumn.

Launch of internal research ethics committee (REC)

At NCVO, we’re committed to ensuring the highest ethical standards in our work. To support us in this aim, we’ve established an internal research ethics committee. The committee will review how we collect and use data in our research and consultancy teams, and more widely across NCVO.

Helen Kara has supported the development of the REC and is mentoring the core REC team. We'll share more information soon on how we set up the REC, how it’s impacted our work, and the lessons we’ve learnt along the way. Watch this space!

Co-op Foundation theory of change

We recently supported the Co-op Foundation to co-develop a theory of change.

We used a participatory process which involved young people, funded partners, staff and trustees. This included:

• a consultation to gather a wide range of perspectives about:
  • the long-term impact the foundation would like to have
  • what they should be doing
  • who they should be working with and why.
• exploring how change happens and revising a straw theory of change. We did this in two workshops with the Foundation team and trustees
• narrowing down outcomes and activities and creating a visual representation of the theory. We also co-authored an accompanying narrative with the foundation.

If you or your work could benefit from a similar process, contact us for a free discussion with one of our consultants.

Fuelling Positive Change

Our sector works to create a better world, but the climate crisis is threatening the future of our communities. Fossil fuels are the biggest cause of this, but all charities can be part of the solution. Through our investments, many charities are unintentionally funding the fossil fuel industry.

We can help put a stop to this. Every charity, big and small, can drive the change to a more sustainable world. Together we can support our sector to take charity money out of fossil fuels. Together we can fuel positive change instead.

Our consultancy team worked with colleagues to co-create a theory of change and evaluation framework for Fuelling Positive Change. Watch this space for insights and evidence of impact from the campaign!

Community Reporting training

Our Vision for Volunteering team is running one-day Community Reporting training sessions.

Community Reporting is a storytelling movement. It uses digital tools to support people to tell their own stories in their own ways. This training introduces the Community Reporting methodology and prepares you to gather stories of lived experience in your own context.

The training is free. You'll also need to attend a sense-making session and collect three volunteering stories to contribute to the Vision project.

Find out more about Community Reporting training

Whether you’re at the beginning of your impact or strategy journey, or just looking to brush up on your skills, take a look at our accessible and affordable training courses.

Our courses focus on key topics to help support you and your work. We’ll ensure your learning needs are met through interactive live sessions with knowledgeable trainers

NCVO members also receive a 30% discount on training.

Upcoming training courses

• Tools and methods for measuring outcomes (online) – Wednesday 20 September, 10:00 – 15:00.
• Creating a theory of change for your charity (online) – Thursday 21 September, 10:00 to 15:00.
• Outcomes and impact measurement (online) – Wednesday 27 September, 10:00 to 15:00.
• Strategic planning: processes and tools for direction and decision making (online) – Friday 29 September, 10:00 to 15:30.

Can’t make these dates? Browse all upcoming impact and evaluation training course dates.

Bespoke in-house training

We can also come to you! All our training courses can be delivered in-house.

We’re happy to discuss your needs and provide quotes for bespoke training solutions for staff, trustees or volunteers. Please contact us for more information.