We ask all our grantees to report on the impact of their projects and what they have learnt. This learning should benefit grantees and allows us to make informed decisions about how to support our community.
In most cases, we expect grantees to report on both the outputs and outcomes of their projects.
Outputs are the things that your organisation did with the funding you received (such as running some workshops). Outcomes are the changes observed in people, places, organisations and systems that result from these outputs (such as a reduction in loneliness or an improvement in skills). Impact is the longer-term and broader change resulting from those outcomes (such as a more resilient community).
There are many ways that you can measure outputs and outcomes. Below you will find further guidance on choosing the best approach. We also offer a database containing examples of measures that grantees might wish to consider.
Most impact measurements require you to collect data from your beneficiaries. When using these measures, we expect you to collect data from most (if not all) of your beneficiaries.
We also suggest that you consider using case studies to add detail and context to your data-based measures. A case study is detailed description of a person or organisation who benefitted from your work, used to illustrate the change you made.
How much reporting is needed?
The number of measures that we expect grant recipients to report on will generally depend on the amount of funding they receive:
- Small grants (up to £5,000): You should provide evidence, normally in the form of data, of the outputs you achieved, including the number of people who benefitted and their demographic data if possible. We would also like to know about your outcomes, even if it’s just one or two key pieces of evidence.
- Larger grants (totalling over £5,000): You should send us data evidencing your outputs, including a breakdown of the people who benefitted – their age, gender, ethnicity etc. You should also tell us about the outcomes you achieved, normally through a range of measures, especially for the largest grants (over £20,000). Where possible, you should include case studies.
What should I report on?
Both outputs and outcomes should be agreed with our Grants Team during your application process. We expect all grant recipients to present a clear picture of the outputs that they produced using our funding, including the number of people who benefitted. This might also include other data on outputs, such as events held. If your project involved building work, we would expect to receive evidence that the work was done. Photographs that illustrate your outputs are always welcome.
There are no fixed rules about what outcomes should be reported – it depends on the nature of the project and here are some tips:
