The document discusses measuring the impact of volunteer work through effective planning, data collection, and communication of findings. It recommends creating a theory of change to understand how volunteer activities create outcomes and broader impact. Data should be collected using methods tailored to volunteers and service users, and findings should be shared creatively using reports, case studies, and presentations to demonstrate impact and improve future work. Measuring impact helps organizations learn, ensures accountability, and strengthens funding applications.

1. MEASURING VOLUNTEER
IMPACT
JOANNA STUART,
INSTITUTE FOR VOLUNTEERING
RESEARCH
AVM CONFERENCE 2016

2. OUTLINE OF SESSION
• WHY MEASURE IMPACT?
• PLANNING FOR MEASURING IMPACT
• COLLECTING INFORMATION
• COMMUNICATING AND USING FINDINGS

3. WHY MEASURE IMPACT?
Learning and
improving
Accountability

4. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘IMPACT’?
• The difference that volunteering makes
• Distinction between the ‘work you do’ and the
‘difference it makes’
• The ‘difference you make’ includes outcomes
and impact
• Outcomes – changes, benefits, learning or
other effects of the programme or project
• Impacts - the broader or longer term effects of
the programme or project

5. Source: NCVO (2015) Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit

6. Can you tell the story of your work and what it
should achieve?
PLANNING – UNDERSTANDING YOUR
PROJECT

7. A project or programme’s story of how change
happens
Often presented as a map, diagram or chart with a
narrative
Useful for planning, communication and evaluation
Emphasis on what you want to achieve rather than
what you do
• Starts with the needs you want to address
• Changes you want to bring about
• The activities you will deliver
THEORY OF CHANGE

8. A BASIC TOC: NCVO CES PLANNING TRIANGLE
For examples of planning triangles from Charities Evaluation Services see:
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/tools-and-resources/outcomes-and-outcome-
indicators/example-planning-triangles.html

9. More clients get and sustain jobs
Improved work experience
Skills
workshops
Improved basic skills
More
appropriate
behaviour at
work
Greater
confidence
Increased
knowledge
of job
market
Work
placements
Peer
mentoring
Reduction in youth unemployment regionally YOUTH
EMPLOYMENT
PROJECT
(Source: adapted from CES (2011) Making Connections: using a theory of change
to develop planning and evaluation)

10. Create your own mini theory of change in three
sentences:
1. Describe what you do
2. The changes you want to bring about
3. The long-term, wider change that your work
contributes to
Max 20 words a sentence!
Share it with your neighbour. Can you help
improve each others’?
SUPER QUICK THEORY OF CHANGE
(Source: adapted from CES (2016) Winning Hearts and Minds, NCVO
Annual Conference 2016)

11. 1. Planning and strategy
2. Communication
3. Evaluation
WHY IS THEORY OF CHANGE USEFUL?

12. Source: VSO (2014) VSO’s Global Theory of Change:
https://www.vsointernational.org/sites/default/files/VSO%20Theory%20of%20Change.pdf

13. • Understand your project and what you want it
to achieve
• Be clear on why you want to assess impact and
who it is for
• Involve others
 Service users
 Volunteers
 Staff
 Other stakeholders
PLANNING – KEY PRINCIPLES

14. Most commonly used methods are:
• Surveys
• Interviews
• Focus groups
But you can also use….
• Observation sheets
• Records and forms (e.g. case notes, feedback
forms)
• Participatory and visual methods
COLLECTING INFORMATION

15. - Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit –
template questionnaires and topic guides
www.ncvo.org.uk/practical support/publications
- Tried and tested scales and surveys in specific
areas e.g. NPC well being measure
http://inspiringimpact.org/resources
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/tools-and-resources
- Volunteer Investment and Value Audit
http://www.ivr.org.uk
- Focus groups and interviews
http://www.evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/resources/evaluation-
methods/
USEFUL TOOLS

16. VIAT – volunteer questionnaire
Source: NCVO (2015) Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit

17. • Mapping (relationships, service use)
• Evaluation wheel
• Voting/sticky dots
• Choosing games
• Photos/videos
See:
http://www.evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/reso
urces/evaluation-methods/
PARTICIPATORY AND VISUAL TOOLS

18. • Focus on what you need to know and choose
methods which help you measure your
outcomes
• Capture unexpected outcomes
• Choose methods appropriate for your service
users/volunteers
• Adapt existing tools to ensure they fit with
your needs
• Test your tools first
• Be proportionate and prioritise - what do
your service users, volunteers or organisation
value most?
COLLECTING INFORMATION – KEY PRINCIPLES

19. • Reports
• Summary bulletin/leaflet
• Case studies
• Videos
• Press releases
• Annual reports
• Social media/blog/webpages
• Presentations/workshops
• Funding applications
COMMUNICATE AND USE YOUR FINDINGS

20. Imperial Volunteer Centre (Imperial
College)
• Used the Volunteering Impact
Assessment Toolkit to identify the
outcomes of volunteering for
student volunteers
• Adapted the toolkit questionnaire
for volunteers
• Communicated findings via:
 Presentations to senior staff
 Poster presentation at
education day
 Report on website
 Workshop at annual
conference
 Short article for in-house staff
magazine
Churches Conservation Trust
• Used the toolkit in their study of
nine case study churches
• 28 page glossy report
- sent to all volunteers
- sent to partner orgs
- presented to MPs
- grant applications

21. • LEARNING!!!! To help develop and improve
your volunteering programme
• To provide evidence of impact to existing
funders
• To develop funding applications and attract
new funding
• To raise the profile of volunteering internally
and externally
• To raise the profile of your organisation
• To recruit volunteers
HOW TO USE YOUR FINDINGS

22. • Think about the audience and what format
will engage them
• Make the most of stories and quotes
• Be creative
• Share findings with participants
• Be willing to learn and act on what you find
• Reflect on your approach and how you would
improve it
COMMUNICATE AND USE YOUR FINDINGS
– KEY PRINCIPLES

23. USEFUL RESOURCES
Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit
www.ncvo.org.uk/practical support/publications
NCVO CES tools on outcomes and impact
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk
NPC (developing a theory of change)
http://www.thinknpc.org/
Evaluation Support Scotland guides and resources
http://www.evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk
Inspiring Impact
http://inspiringimpact.org/resources
NCVO training for Volunteer Managers
www.ncvo.org.uk/training-and-events

24. KEEP IN TOUCH!
www.ivr.org.uk
Joanna.stuart@ivr.org.uk
@IVRtweets

25. NCVO champions the voluntary sector and
volunteer movement to create a better society.
We connect, represent and support over 11,500
voluntary sector member organisations, from the
smallest community groups to the largest
charities.
This helps our members and their millions of
volunteers make the biggest difference to the
causes they believe in.
• Search for NCVO membership
• Visit www.ncvo.org.uk/join
• Email membership@ncvo.org.uk
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