Right to Succeed

The challenge 

Right to Succeed (RTS) is a UK-based charity that supports communities in areas of high deprivation to give children and young people the best start in life. They adopt a place-based, collective impact approach to tackling complex social problems, bringing together residents, professionals, and decision-makers to co-design bespoke programmes. 

In 2021, RTS developed a Shared Measurement Framework to understand the impact of their place-based programmes. It has since been used to collect timely outcome data for reporting and decision-making. NPC was commissioned by RTS to undertake a review of the framework and provide recommendations for further development. Of particular focus was refining systems change outcomes and helping RTS to communicate the impact of their work. 

The approach 

NPC began by reviewing RTS’s current framework, their theory of change, and measurement tools. This initial review identified positive elements of the existing framework, such as broadly capturing RTS’s desired impact, a logical and coherent structure, and data collection methods that appeared feasible for partners to undertake. Areas for further development included: ​restructuring the lead outcomes, outcomes and indicators​, removing outcomes outside RTS’s scope, and further defining RTS’s ‘spheres of influence’ regarding systems change. 

The NPC team worked closely with a core group of RTS staff to refine their outcome themes into a shortlist of ‘lead outcomes’. NPC then supported RTS to begin drafting more granular outcomes relevant to specific programmes, and provided guidance on selecting indicators and measurement tools to ​fur​​ther develop their ​robust data collection. 

NPC then held a workshop with staff across RTS to gather feedback on the lead outcomes. NPC also introduced two systems change frameworks, FSG‘s Six Conditions of Systems Change and The Systems Change Maturity Model (developed by NPC and Collaborate) to support in refining RTS’s systems change outcomes. The findings from the workshop were written up with guidance on sharpening the lead outcomes, crafting systems change and programme outcomes, and selecting indicators and measurement tools to support robust data collection. 

The result 

Since the review took place, RTS has identified the system levels that are within their scope to positively impact. The two systems change models have been used to determine the relevant conditions of systems change, and then agree upon the scale used to measure outcomes (‘emerging’, ‘developing’, ‘maturing’ and ‘thriving’). RTS have also been refining their ‘community’ and ‘child’ outcomes and ​removing​ any outside of their scope of work. 

RTS will use the lead outcomes to build upon their communication plan and make it simpler to communicate their intended impact. They are also developing live dashboards to present their impact data in an accessible format for stakeholders to use for reporting and decision-making. 

NPC’s review has allowed us to take a step back and see our framework from an external perspective. The recommendations have supported us to focus on our lead outcomes and develop system level outcomes that reflect both the change we want to see and can influence through our collective work with the communities we serve. Undertaking this work with NPC will make it easier to communicate our impact externally and we can be even more confident that this robust framework can provide a blueprint for future place-based programmes.

Rita Pilkington, Senior Data and Insights Manager