Impact measurement, evaluation and data
How do I know if I’m making a difference? What should charities measure? How can charities make the most of data? How can I use data ethically?
Whether you’re a charity or funder, impact measurement and evaluation is all about helping you improve the good work you’re doing. By understanding what’s going well, and learning from what’s not, you can take steps to better serve the people and causes you support. What’s more, you can pool insights together through shared impact measurement. This helps you get the bigger picture on what is often a complex story.
You might be just starting out on all this. Or perhaps you need in-depth advice on a specific area, like handling data or conducting qualitative research. Whatever your situation, we have guidance for you.
Our Understanding Impact guide takes you through how to create an impact measurement framework. To dig deeper, we run regular training events, and our consultants can provide independent measurement and evaluation services.
Featured resources on measurement, evaluation and data
Understanding Impact
How to turn your theory of change into a plan for measurement, the five types of data you will need to pay attention to, and how to prioritise what to measure.
Theory of change in ten steps
This new guide is a ten step handbook to creating a theory of change, built on many years of developing them for charities and funders. It will teach you the basics, our core approach, with the information you need to do any theory of change.
Inspiring Impact
Inspiring Impact supports people who work and volunteer for charities, funders, and social enterprises across the UK. We provide free online resources, peer learning networks, and grant funding, so you can plan, understand, and improve your impact.
What does ‘impact measurement’ really mean?
We use the terms ‘impact’ and ‘impact measurement’ a lot. But what do they really mean? James Noble breaks it down for us.
Five types of data for assessing your work: An explainer
NPC has worked with many charities and social enterprises over the years to help them work out what data they need to understand and improve their work. It can be a confusing question, and sometimes even the word 'data' puts people off. Here our head of impact management James Noble introduces the different kinds of information organisations can collect.
Listen and learn: How charities can use qualitative research
Qualitative research is focused on what things mean to people, and so it sits very naturally with the questions that a charity asks. This paper explains why we think qualitative research approaches offer real benefits to charities seeking to understand and improve their work.
Balancing act: A guide to proportionate evaluation
What constitutes a proportionate and meaningful way to evaluate a programme? It’s a difficult but crucial question. This paper will help you think through the options and make a decision that reflects your organisation’s needs, available resources and the operating context.
Result! What good impact reporting looks like
How charities can plan and produce a good impact report.
Data with destiny: Turn your charity’s data into meaningful action
In this short practical guide, we outline how charities can turn their raw data into wisdom and informed action.
Latest updates
Theory of change in ten steps
A theory of change process encourages us to reflect on our aims and plans, to discuss them with others and to make them explicit. We see this process as the foundation of charity strategy, evaluation and communication.
Measuring volunteer impact on the Covid-19 frontline
Since the beginning of the pandemic, St John Ambulance volunteers have been supporting the NHS. Now they are involved in their biggest ever peacetime project: assisting with the UK's Covid-19 vaccine roll out.
Evaluation: Better lives for older people
Our evaluation strengthens Octavia's evidence base and will inform future decisions on creating better lives for older people.
YIF6: Lessons learnt from conducting a shared evaluation of open access youth provision
In our sixth Learning and Insight paper we reflect on what we have learnt from the experience of the YIF learning and evaluation project, with a view to informing future open access youth provision learning and evaluation initiatives.
The influence of Covid-19 on people applying for benefits
This paper shows the impact of the coronavirus crisis on people seeking benefits and people on low incomes. The data comes from surveys of users of the Turn2us Benefits Calculator and a survey of 900 frontline practitioners from Buttle UK.
NPC to help evaluate impact of Coronavirus Community Support Fund
We are working with Ipsos MORI, who have been commissioned by The National Lottery Community Fund to evaluate the Coronavirus Community Support Fund.
Using a learning culture to build back better
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, we’ve all had to adapt our services and try new things. How can charities continue to develop a learning culture beyond the crisis?
How will social distancing change charity evaluation?
Evaluation is tough at the best of times, but the practical barriers of social distancing and the financial pressures of economic slowdown may have significant implications for what we prioritise and how we go about it.
Evaluating and learning during Covid-19
How do you evaluate when everything around you is constantly changing? We're shifting to a developmental evaluation approach for our work on the Building Connections Fund. Elizabeth Parker explains how.
NPC awarded Fulfilling Lives Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, Research and Evaluation Partner contract
NPC is pleased to announce it will be leading a consortium of partners on a two year research and evaluation partnership for Fulfilling Lives Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham (FLLSL)
How much should charities measure?
Doing evaluation well is often about getting that balance; not too little data that you don’t get any insights, but not so much that you’re reinventing the wheel.
Understanding Impact
How to turn your theory of change into a plan for measurement, the five types of data you will need to pay attention to, and how to prioritise what to measure.
Get support with Inspiring Impact
Inspiring Impact supports people who work and volunteer for charities, funders, and social enterprises across the UK. They provide free online resources, peer learning networks, and grant funding, so you can plan, understand, and improve your impact.
Find out more