Entries by Alison Hodson

Step 1: Using a Theory of Change to plan your impact

The Theory of Change is a planning tool that encourages you to reflect on your aims and plans, to discuss them with others, and to make them explicit. A clear, concise, and convincing explanation of what you do and the difference you aim to have is a vital foundation of any organisation’s strategy, evaluation, and […]

Step 2: Collecting data

In this step you need to consider how you will go about collecting the data to help you understand if your programme or service is working towards the outcomes you identified in your Theory of Change. Your data will fall into 2 types: Quantative Qualitative Below are some of the methods most frequently used for […]

Step 3: Making sense of your data

Information and data you collect will either be: Quantitative – Quantitative data uses numbers to count or measure. For example, we can count the responses to multiple choice or rating scale questions in a questionnaire. Qualitative – Qualitative data is descriptive data that is not numerical; for example, feedback collected through open-ended responses to surveys, […]

Step 4: Using your data

Communicating Impact When thinking about sharing your outcomes you need to think about your audience – how might they want to see your impact communicated? There are lots of ways you can communicate your impact: Spoken word – this can be engaging and give the opportunity to hear the voice of your beneficiaries, which can […]

Guide to starting a small voluntary or community group

If you are thinking about starting a new community group this guide will help you decide the best way to proceed Before you start Before you start you will need to think about what you want to do, why, how and who will benefit from your group. You may need to do some basic research […]

LawWorks

LawWorks is a charity working in England and Wales to connect volunteer lawyers with people and VCSE organisations in need of legal advice. The Not-for-Profits Programme brokers legal advice to small not-for-profit organisations on a wide range of legal issues, to support the continuation and expansion of their services to people in need. The advice […]

Running an organisation – Templates and Policies

These templates and samples, created by VIN or found online, provide a practical starting point for your group’s documents. Employing people ACAS offers free templates for workers and employers, including: letters forms and HR templates policies