Uncovering the impact

The Magpie Project began in 2017 with a group of around 15 mums, grandmas, daughters and members of the public who were concerned about the challenges that mums with children under the age of 5 were having whilst in temporary/insecure accommodation in their local neighbourhood. They made it their mission to develop a space for these women and children to go where they could get the necessary essentials and support, as well as a safe, clean and fun space to be with their children during the day.

Fast forward 5 years and the organisation has grown their programmes, services, and community of mums. As such, they engaged with us to carry out an impact evaluation of their past activities to see where and how they had the most impact. This was to inform the future design of their programmes, understand what makes their approach unique, as well as use the evidence of their impact to apply for further funding.

Challenges

While The Magpie Project had collected a lot of data and had an existing theory of change, they didn’t have the capacity to look back across all 5 years to uncover the real impact of their work. They wanted to identify what specific elements about their programmes work, how they were contributing to the organisation’s overall key outcomes, and what specifically makes their approach unique. In addition to this, they wanted us to help them understand the reach of their impact and the change that they had contributed to in women’s lives.

In light of this information, the team at The Magpie Project wanted to explore various ways in which they could collect data and evaluate their work, which didn’t require endless forms and surveys. They wanted to ensure that any methodology was sufficiently robust to withstand the scrutiny of their service outcomes and needed help in designing this.

How we made a difference

Habitus ensured that our approach mirrored that of the organisation, ensuring that the voices of the women were at the centre of the evaluation. This meant connecting with the “Mum’s Leadership Group” (Service User Involvement Group) to identify the scope of the evaluation questions, as well as let them guide us to the areas of most significant change and importance before looking at the data within the system. In taking this approach, the evaluation was first and foremost centred on lived experience and on impact.

Our work centred on uncovering the vast amount of work that was being done, and the impact being achieved that was not being captured, but lay at the heart of their success. Identifying their wider impact (beyond the more practical resource, legal, and housing supports) helped to inform the team of the activities and types of support they should be doing more. This meant they could make an evidence-informed choice on what they could focus less of their attention on, ultimately freeing up more of their resources for what was found to be most impactful. We were also able to capture the finer details of their relational and trauma-informed approach. We documented the “hows and “whys” behind this approach so that they had something tangible to inform other organisations and partners of its efficacy and validity.

Additionally, we developed some simple, practical, and fun outcomes tools that could be embedded in their day-to-day activities. This meant that the team could capture data without impeding on the experience and environment they had created—areas essential to their success. This included using some innovative tools to track the changes seen in the children from their first entry into the programme through to their leaving the service. This was something that the team had not considered capturing before as they had always focused on the mums.

Ultimately we left them not only with a report that showcased their impact, but with the tools to track, monitor, and measure their impact for the longer term, aligned to a refreshed theory of change.

Results

• We conducted a contextual analysis to help the organisation more fully understand the local context of its work and impact. This included a strategic analysis and strengths and opportunities report to help with key decision-making and act as an evidence base for current and future funding applications.

• An internal report with a greater level of detail was created to support the internal team with programmatic decisions. An external impact report for key stakeholders and funders was developed to evidence the need, the impact, and future areas of improvement and growth.

• We created a data visualisation of their impact for them to share publicly with service users and partners, at key events and on social media.

• We designed bespoke impact measurement tools, an evaluation framework, and a refreshed theory of change.

Ultimately, we created a user-friendly evaluation for current/future funders demonstrating the real impact of their work both through data and stories. As a result of our partnership, The Magpie Project understands the importance of capturing "softer" outcomes and their impact on longer-term success measures - and they now have the data to back this up. They also have evaluation tools that seamlessly embed into their programme activities reducing the need for surveys and traditional outcome-tracking tools.

Habitus has a track record of supporting non-profits, charities and social enterprises to scale, identifying their impact and source funds. For more information on how Habitus can help your organisation increase your impact and ability to achieve your mission, click on the button below.

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