Improving impact measurement across third sector support organisations in Wales
Client: Third Sector Support Wales
Date: September 2022 — March 2025
Work: Impact measurement, training and capacity building
About the organisation
Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW) is a network of support organisations for the whole of the third sector in Wales. It consists of 19 local and regional County Voluntary Councils, and the national support body, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). They came to us seeking help to improve impact measurement across their network.
What we did
In September 2022 we undertook an impact measurement project with all 20 infrastructure organisations in TSSW. This involved reviewing existing evaluation measures, co-dependencies, data collection methods, processes, and tools against current outcomes, KPIs and output measures. We then co-designed an impact measurement framework along with a revised theory of change. We prototyped and tested the proposed new measures with the intended target groups of third sector organisations and volunteers. Piloting and co-designing was an important part of creating a sense of ownership in the process for all stakeholders, who have different degrees of influence and power across the partnership, from leaders to administrators to volunteers.
In March 2023, we delivered a new impact measurement framework with a set of recommended impact measures, including data requirements and survey questions. We also proposed processes, tools and skills required to capture, analyse and act on the evidence. We supported TSSW to develop a clear ambition statement and produce draft terms of reference for an impact management group to implement delivery of the framework.
In 2024, we were commissioned to design and run training sessions for staff across the network to embed the learning and facilitate actions required to implement the new framework.
As a result of the work, TSSW report they have:
Increased knowledge about how to measure impact and improved definition of the data they need
Improved data collection, analysis and reporting processes and ability to act on analysis
Better quality data
They also report improvements in the data culture across the network, including:
An improved shared understanding about data
Better conversations about data
Data assets are better understood and valued
Sara Selleck, Assistant Director of Strategy and People at WCVA, said:
“Data Orchard provided us with a new impact framework and guidance on how best to implement it. The work produced was of an excellent quality and we liked their style of working, being flexible, open, honest, and confident to challenge our thinking.”
Next steps
TSSW have said they will use the outputs of this project to:
Evidence impact and need
Improve services
Inform future planning and strategy
Livia Pietromarchi, Partnerships Officer at WCVA, said:
“The training masterfully delivered by Mads and Hannah was quite a challenge as we wanted to involve as many TSSW staff as possible, but thanks to great communication the training was a success. We are now able to pilot the implementation of the impact framework across a group of early adopters and will roll out to the whole partnership in 2026/27.”