What pumpkins tell us about impact measurement

The upside of not being able to sleep some nights, is that I get to listen to random features on the wonderful BBC World Service. Around Halloween there was an interesting programme all about pumpkins. And mainly about the huge amounts of waste involved when there is such high demand for pumpkins over a very short period. Did you know the majority of pumpkins bought at Halloween are carved up and then go to waste? Around 5 million pumpkins end up in landfill each year in the UK.

Pumpkin carving used to be the by-product of the edible pumpkin season but now the market has flipped on its head with decoration driving demand. The result is that pumpkins grown to be carved no longer taste nice. As one chef puts it: “Decorative pumpkins are grown with colour, structural strength, a flat bottom, and a sturdy stem as their main attributes. The flesh tends to be bland, watery, and fibrous. No one cares because they're going to be carved, not eaten.”

So what on earth has all this to do with impact measurement?

Measuring your outcomes and impact started off as an internal tool. It is a useful way for charities to decide where to allocate resources; where services can be improved; how your model benchmarks against others. It can also motivate staff and volunteers as they can see the difference they make. The by-product is that it is a good way to demonstrate to funders and other supporters the impact of your work. Funders often ask about how a charity measures its outcomes and how it uses this data to determine if this is an organisation that is still meeting a need, learning and adapting.

But just as with pumpkin carving, the situation is in danger of being flipped on its head with the wish to demonstrate the outcomes and impact externally now driving the process. Some charities are monitoring their outcomes not because they want to learn from this but because they know it is what they are supposed to do to get certain funding. I know I have been asked “what do you want us to measure?” And some commissioners are directing which frameworks or outcomes a charity must use.

If the external driver for impact measurement dominates, then we could end up with considerable waste as charities spend time gathering data that they don’t use, or implement systems in a token way. As funders, we need to convey the message that, whilst being able to understand the difference a charity makes is important to us, it is even more important that the charity adopts impact measurement systems that are appropriate for their clients and the nature of their work; proportionate to their size and resources; and that helps inform and improve their service delivery. We want our tasty soup first and then the lantern.

http://www.redindustries.co.uk/2016/10/scary-waste-facts-released

Emma Beeston Consultancy advises funders and philanthropists on giving strategies and processes; researching and scoping options; selecting causes and charities; assessments and impact monitoring. www.emmabeeston.co.uk ; emma@emmabeeston.co.uk; @emmabeeston01

Reasons to be cheerful

Depending how you get your news, it can easily feel that we are living in gloomy and uncertain times. So, as the evenings get darker, it is important to keep looking for the positives that are all around us. Not to delude ourselves (as my teenage son puts it when I endeavour to be cheerful, “life is not all rainbows and butterflies”) but to give us hope that positive change is possible.

These are the reasons to be cheerful that I have gathered over the past few weeks and that give me cause for optimism:

I attended a training session for small charities supporting refugees across the SW, which was co-hosted by Unbound and Lloyds Bank Foundation. I was very impressed by the fact that, despite the considerable difficulties they face to deliver vital front line services, all the charity leaders were also working to achieve systemic change. And one of the advocacy trainers reminded us all that the campaign to abolish the slave trade was started by just 12 people coming together.

The Funding Network held a live crowdfunding event in Bristol. The pitches were excellent – getting your case for support across in six minutes is no mean feat – and over £25k was raised for the five good causes. These were all small organisations where this level of funding, and the recognition, will make a big difference. But what struck me was the positive energy in the room created by people coming together and wanting to help.

I got to visit Exeter CoLab as they hosted the latest meeting of the Funding SW funders forum. This is such a good example of bringing services together to tackle social issues. I liked the focus on relationships, with those in difficulty telling their story just once and then being introduced to the individuals who can help them, rather than being constantly referred from one organisation after the next.

I have started using 360Giving. After so many years of talking about data sharing and transparency, it is fantastic to have this open resource where you can see who has given grants to who. Do take a look (www.threesixtygiving.org) and if you are a grant-maker, add your data.

The millennials are coming and they are going to change things. I have been reading lots of research showing how millennials want to combine working with doing good. And this includes their activity in philanthropy and investment e.g. a World Economic Forum study surveyed 5,000 millennials in 18 different countries and found that their overall top priority for any business should be “to improve society.” This is one article with some examples of what the next generation are up to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/10/26/millennials-changing-world_n_4440539.html?utm_hp_ref=social-change

And these are just some examples. I have also visited and read about lots of other excellent charities who are working really hard to bring about positive social change. Thanks to all of them for giving me hope for our collective future.

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_II_FromMarginsMainstream_Report_2013.pdf

Emma Beeston Consultancy advises funders and philanthropists on giving strategies and processes; researching and scoping options; selecting causes and charities; assessments and impact monitoring. www.emmabeeston.co.uk ; emma@emmabeeston.co.uk; @emmabeeston01