YI+ Digital Training Course

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MODULE 3

Collective/individual impacts on stakeholders

YI+ Digital Training Course

Menu index & Legend

Timing

Individual

Group

Theoretical

Practical

Writing

Watching

Listening

Conversating

Reading

Brainstorming

Problem Solving

Session 1 Individual & Collective Impact on Stakeholders https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bPB5Fv1EhityjLTxZnSNOGuZ5H3DJF7a/edit#slide=id.p25

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Session 2 Impact on organization level

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bPB5Fv1EhityjLTxZnSNOGuZ5H3DJF7a/edit#slide=id.p31

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Session 3 Theory of Change

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bPB5Fv1EhityjLTxZnSNOGuZ5H3DJF7a/edit#slide=id.p34

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Module 3 Session 1 Collective/individual impacts on stakeholders

Initial Assessment

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkaFDnfWMATd2aUGXqVSXSUDjSuhALa4B95wWIDaYt57GJtA/viewform

1. Overview Session 1

2. Introduction Session 1

Through the module the participants will be able to evaluate the variables of the impact of the projects at individual and collective level. This impact evaluation is essential to understand the real impact both in the writing and design phase of the projects, and in the implementation phase of the planned activities. It has to be relevant to the needs of project’s target groups and must enable them to benefit from its results.

4. What is the Stakeholder impact

Stakeholder Impact are thoughts, beliefs, needs, feedback, etc., communicated by individuals defined as stakeholders for a given impact area, determined by the implementation of projects.

Principally, social sector stakeholders are the target beneficiaries of an intervention. However, in general terms, a stakeholder is any individual or entity that stands to be affected (positively or negatively) by the activities undertaken by an organization. The success of an impact-driven initiative is nearly always bound by the extent to which those designing and implementing the initiative take into account the perspective of key stakeholders, especially those beneficiaries who are the reason for the initiative.

5. The impact at individual and collective level

It is important to highlight that the impact acts simultaneously on an individual level and on a collective level (but also at organization level – Session 2). The levels are somewhat superimposable, as individuals are part of, and relate to, within a larger group. Individuals can affect a group and a group can affect an organization.

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The impact at individual level

When talking about impact at the individual level, it is important to consider the different levels a project has to influence in terms of soft outcomes. During the main activity of a project, the evaluator have to be able to determinate if the outcomes had an impact in developing and improving the skills and competences of those who took part into the project, or their well-being, expectations, etc.

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The impact at collective level

Collective impact evaluation should assess the progress and impact of the changemaking process as a whole. This process includes the initiative’s context; the quality and effectiveness of the initiative’s structure and operations; the ways in which systems that influence the targeted issue are changing; and the extent of progress toward the initiative’s ultimate goal(s). 

6. Why monitoring and evaluation of the impact

In project management, monitoring and evaluation of the impact is a key element to success of every project. Indeed, it gives the team the opportunity to analyse the project outcomes and effect as well as the impact on various levels. Moreover, most of the NGOs often concentrate on measuring the impact of each project in terms of the beneficiary group and forget the important element-the impact of each project on the operational capacity of the organization. There are various analytical tools that could be applied in order to help project managers to successfully evaluate the effect of their projects (for further information see Module 4).

7. Clusters to consider for the impact at individual and collective level

Decide on a framework: During the project design, before execution of intervention, analyzes the context factors that can positively or negatively influence the impact of the project;

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Managing Risk: Understanding how local beneficiaries live, the particularities of their culture, and what difficulties they encounter in their day-to-day not only serves to improve program design but also serves to illuminate potential negative externalities an intervention could cause or exacerbate.

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Assessing Impact: Understanding whether the impact is being created is almost impossible without considering what stakeholders are telling you.

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Relationship Building: Driving impact is usually a long-term endeavor, long-term relationship-building efforts must be included in the project scope.

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Exercises Session 1

The exercises is a simulation of the real 5 steps the organizations follow in order to map their stakeholders. Using Google Jamboard or a pencil and sticky notes, users can try to design a Stakeholder Identification Analysis Matrix, like the sample in the next pages, and keeping in mind the following 5 steps:

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1. The identification process is where you brainstorm all your possible stakeholders;
2. Once identified, you can prioritize your stakeholders according to their level of interest and influence regarding your project;
3. After prioritizing your stakeholders, you want to better understand their perspectives and opinions towards your organization and your project;
4. Next, you’ll decide how best to engage based on what you’ve learned from Session 1 and the previous exercise steps;
5. Finally, once you begin engaging and learning more about your stakeholders, you’ll want to repeat this process periodically.

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1. Overview Session 2

2. Introduction Session 2

Through the module the participants will be able to learn importance of measuring impact for the organizations and staff and how the impact affect their work but affect also other stakeholder organizations involved in the project. This impact evaluation measuring is essential to understand the real impact both in the writing and design phase of the projects, and in the implementation phase of the planned activities. It has to be relevant to the needs of project’s target groups and must enable them to benefit from its results.

The success of an impact-driven initiative is nearly always bound by the extent to which those designing and implementing the initiative take into account the perspective of key stakeholders, especially those beneficiaries who are the reason for the initiative.

5. Impact on organization level

We live in a social world shaped primarily by organisations. Our links to organisations and professions confer or create personally important identities, often stimulating strongly rooted processes of identification with the places and teams where we work, and the projects we work on, where ‘mission commitment’ is an important incentive.

The group level includes any groups within an organization. Groups can range in size from a couple people working together, to a large group with dozens or hundreds of members. As we just discussed in Session 1, individuals can affect a group and a group can affect an organization. And at the same time, a group can affect individuals and an organization can affect a group. Imagine organizational behavior as a large spider web over each organization. The spider web connects each level of influence with the two others, creating a pathway between each one.

5. Elements to analyse for the impact on organization level

In order to understand the importance of measuring the impact for the organizations and staff and how the impact affect their work, we have to consider the following elements:

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• Sustainability of the concrete action/project for organization and staff;
• Social effects the project produces in relation with organization aims and mission;
• How impact can improve the organization and staff experience, knowledge and competences.

Exercises Session 2

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Users can try to answer the following questions, training themselves to evaluate the projects impact in their own organization and staff. After the exercise is completed, users can take time to compare the answer with the Stakeholder Identification Analysis they completed in the Session 1. It aims to reflect on the overall project process analysis, and to understand if the Stakeholders identification matches with the organization mission, expertise and resources.

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1. What is your organization’s mission?
2. What are your organization’s goals?
3. What progress is your organization making toward its goals?
4. What sources are available to increase my confidence in your work?
5. What are you aiming to accomplish?
6. What are your key strategies for making this happen?
7. What are your organizational capabilities for doing this?
8. How will you know if you’re making progress?
9. What have you accomplished so far, and what’s next?

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1. Overview Session 3

2. Introduction Session 3

Through the Theory of Change as an approach for good impact, the module shows a sample of method adopted. In particular, the Theory of Change as a sample to produce and evaluate impact. The module also focus on what is Theory of Change and why use it, and its method: Focus, Change analysis; assumptions and risk, partners and key actors identification.

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6. What is Theory of Change and why use it;

Theory of Change is essentially a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. It is focused in particular on mapping out or “filling in” what has been described as the “missing middle” between what a project or change initiative does (its activities or interventions) and how these lead to desired goals being achieved. It does this by first identifying the desired long-term goals and then works back from these to identify all the conditions (outcomes) that must be in place (and how these related to one another causally) for the goals to occur. These are all mapped out in an Outcomes Framework.

A theory of change provides a framework for learning both within and between programming cycles. By articulating the causes of a development challenge, making assumptions explicit on how the proposed strategy is expected to yield results, and testing these assumptions against evidence—including what has worked well, or not, in the past—the theory of change helps ensure a sound logic for achieving change.

When you have a complete Theory of Change, you will have: a clear and testable hypothesis about how change will occur that not only allows you to be accountable for results, but also makes your results more credible because they were predicted to occur in a certain way.

6. Generating a Theory of Change

The goal of the participatory planning process is to generate a Theory of Change that is viewed by its stakeholders as plausible, doable, and testable.

The theory of change approach seeks to accumulate rigorous tests of links between an initiative activities and their expected outcomes. Therefore, it must have compelling measures of both activities and outcomes and then link, through causal interference (risk assumptions), change in one to change in the other, repeatedly and cumulatively over the early, intermediate, and later stages of the initiative. Thus, in this approach, process is recast into activities, and outcomes are expanded to include results occurring over the entire course of the initiative, not just the long term, and at multiple levels, not just the individual level. Some of those activities might relate more to the creation of the conditions or capacities for achieving outcomes, and their outcomes might be indicators of readiness to continue with the next set of activities.

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The next exercise is helpful to give you a starting point view of your project in relation with the context you want to improve.

Exercises Session 3

Using Google Jamboard or a pencil and sticky notes, users can try to answer building the diagram below:

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You can experience what you have learned in the Youth Impact+ interactive tool

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https://www.youthimpactplus.eu

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How the tool works? 

The functions of the tool with a shape

Module 3 Collective/individual impacts on stakeholders

Final Assessment

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkaFDnfWMATd2aUGXqVSXSUDjSuhALa4B95wWIDaYt57GJtA/viewform

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Google form Initial and final Self-assessment (Session 1)

The stakeholders are individuals and organizations who are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of project execution or successful project completion.

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1. True; (True)
2. False;

Involving stakeholder in the strategic planning process helps the organization to successfully move towards a better implementation and sustainability of their mission.

1. True; (True)
2. False;

Self-assessment (Session 2)

1. True;
2. False; (False)

Measuring the project impact on organization level can help create systemic, sustainable change and it also drives value creation for an organization.

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1. True; (True)
2. False;

The social effects that the project produces have no relation to the aims and mission of the organization.

Self-assessment (Session 3)

A theory of change is a method that explains how a given intervention, or set of interventions, is expected to lead to specific development change, drawing on a causal analysis based on available evidence.

1. True; (True)
2. False;

1. Define the problem; Define the end-goal; Identify the assumption/risks; Define outcome and output results (impact); Design the activities;
2. Define the problem; Define the end-goal; Define outcome and output results (impact); Design the activities; Identify the assumption/risks; (B)
3. Define the end-goal; Define the problem; Design the activities; Identify the assumption/risks; Define outcome and output results (impact);

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Choose the correct sequence of analysis:

Module 2 Referencing

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The London School of Economics and Political Sciences Impact Blog: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/the-handbook/chapter-8/

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Theory of change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDN0cpxJv4

Social Impact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oukQ4uirFkg

Hanleybrown F., Kania J., Kramer M., ”Collective Impact’’ Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2011

https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/toolbox_tool_download-file-2008/e-Guide-English.pdf

https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/collective-impact

Connell J. P., and Kubisch A., ‘Applying a Theory of Change Approach to the Evaluation of Comprehensive Community Initiatives: Progress, Prospects, and Problems’ Aspen Institute, USA 1998

https://cnxus.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/08071320ApplyingTheoryofChangeApproach.pdf

United Nations Development Group ‘Theory of Change’ https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/UNDG-UNDAF-Companion-Pieces-7-Theory-of-Change.pdf

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Tools4Dev: https://tools4dev.org/resources/stakeholder-analysis-matrix-template/

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Impact+ Exercise materials: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/impact-and-evaluation.html

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Erasmus+ Project Number: 2020-3-UK01-KA205-094370

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.