Impact demonstration: Three Simple Ways for Social Development Organizations to Simplify Data Collection to show Impact
As a social development organization, demonstrating clear outcomes is key for improving programs, securing funding, and sharing your impact story. Social development programs often start from a good place.
In my years of doing development work, this area continues to be challenging for program implementers regardless of their size, length of time in operation, their systems, or even their team’s technical acumen and experience. I have also had positive experiences. Some entities are exceptionally good with their impact reporting because they understand why showing positive transitions, articulating negative experiences as lessons learned, or engaging with their target audiences matter. In this piece, I am sharing three simple research-backed steps to easily evaluate and showcase the impact of your programs and achievements.
Pre and Post Assessments - Pre- and post-assessments can involve using surveys to quantitatively measure changes before and after a program. For literacy programs, you could have participants self-assess reading skills on a 1-5 scale before starting and take the same survey after completing the program. Compare averages to show growth. Now if you show negative changes, it might be an opportunity for you to understand the ‘whys’ and if you make an effort to genuinely engage, you will position yourself to improve.
For low-literate audiences, you can use visual scales with symbols like stars or thumbs up/down. Ask participants or volunteers to fill out the surveys for those unable to self-report. For virtual programs, send web-based polls or SMS surveys. Completion rates can be another metric you can to track.
Interviews and Focus Groups - Hearing directly from program participants provides qualitative insights into outcomes. Schedule phone or in-person interviews to get feedback. Ask open-ended questions like "What changes have you noticed in yourself after completing the program?"
For low-resource areas, recruit local volunteers to conduct interviews. Provide questionnaires with prompts like "Describe a new skill you have gained." For virtual settings, use free conferencing tools to hold focus groups. Have participants reflect on accomplishments, challenges and you can also allow them to share innovative ideas for improvement.
Participant Journals - Journals encourage ongoing reflection during a program. Provide notebooks and encourage brief daily entries on lessons learned, growth, and future goals. Review journals to find common themes on outcomes.
In low-literate settings, use visual journals with drawings or dictation to volunteers. For virtual programs, set up private blogs or discussion boards to capture reflections. Do a weekly review of entries to identify trends.
Proactively using these simple steps and ideas which can be tailored to you will allow you to demonstrate impact while continuously improving programs. Let robust research tell your story of meaningful change.
At Uwàmìto Consulting, we understand this interesting terrain of social development, we continue to tailor impact measurement strategies to suit diverse audiences, sectors (public health, renewable energy, social enterprise), and settings. If you're seeking simple and implementable ways to improve your organization's ability to demonstrate impact, we're here to help. Reach out to us, and let's embark on a journey of meaningful change together.
With some adjustments to tools based on audience and setting, any organization can easily do this. Demonstrating impact will strengthen your profile.