Measuring Outcomes and Impact

How well are we doing?

It is important to consider the outcomes of your work and increasingly commissioners are requiring organisations to demonstrate impact. Below is an overview of tools which provide support in this activity.

Charities Evaluation Services, (CES).

See website www.ces-vol.org.uk

Measuring real value: A guide to Social Return on Investment

nef (the new economics foundation) has pioneered the use of 'Social Return on Investment' in the UK as a method of proving the wider social value created by companies and organisations with a social purpose.

This is the second edition of nef's detailed guide setting the standard for the sector. The guide can be used by everyone from social enterprises and third sector organisations

nef's guide, Measuring real value: A guide to social return on investment, provides easy, step by step instructions for organisations who want to prove and quantify the social returns that they deliver.

See website http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=241

Briefing: Putting impact at the heart of the tendering process

This briefing shows how to put outcomes and impact at the heart of tendering and commissioning for public services. By doing this can meet the needs of people and communities more effectively. By following the steps in Part I, third sector service providers will have done a great deal of the work towards a complete process of Social Accounting, recording the outcomes and wider impact of their work.

Download document from http://www.financehub.org.uk/uploads/documents/Impact_Briefing_final_185.pdf

Commissioning Outcomes and Recovery

Commissioning and procurement have been accused of ignoring service users, going for the cheapest option irrespective of quality, squeezing out small providers, and playing safe. To address this, Camden Council has teamed up with the new economics foundation (nef) to develop outcome based procurement that will support sustainable communities, and demonstrate the added community value from third sector service provision.

See website www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset?asset_id=1364965

Sustainable Commissioning Model - briefing

nef (the new economics foundation) was commissioned by the London Borough of C to design a Sustainable Commissioning Model to help public sector organisations to:

Better understand the longer term impact of their spend and identify ways in which more sustainable, joined-up procurement can help their triple bottom line objectives (positive social, economic and environmental outcomes) - Stimulate innovation amongst providers of services (whether third sector, independent or in-house) related to the delivery of the organisations' social, economic and environmental goals (e.g. for a local authority those detailed in the Community Strategy and the 198 national local indicators.)
By recognising the importance of wider community and social outcomes, increase the opportunity for third sector organisations, service users and communities to be involved in design and delivery of services - coproduction'.
Achieve their sustainable procurement objectives, as outlined in 'Procuring the Future: The Sustainable Procurement Action Plan'.
Align their spending with the Sustainable Communities Act which gives additional devolved powers to local council representatives to solve the problems within their local communities.

Download from http://www.procurementcupboard.org/Files/Sustainable%20Commissioning%20Model%20-%20briefing%20June%2008.pdf