Evaluation Exchange - Looking to the future

The Evaluation Exchange brings together voluntary and community sector groups wanting to improve their capacity to evaluate their work, with postgraduate students and researchers who want to put their research and evaluation skills into practice in a real-life setting. It is a collaboration between UCL and Compost London. At the heart of everything the Evaluation Exchange does is supporting organisations, students and researchers to work together, to break down barriers to accessing different evidence and build evaluation and research skills that work in the real world.   

Ruth Unstead-Joss, Impact and Learning Manager at the Evaluation Exchange explains how a conversation with WRKWLL Partner Emily Lomax immediately highlighted the value of a fresh outside perspective to support the team’s strategic planning around the development of a sustainable funding model.

“Emily just listened to our story…and she was already looking at it from a fresh perspective, advising things about that piece of work that I never knew would be what we needed.”

The Evaluation Exchange therefore decided to commission WRKWLL to lead a strategic review designed to:

• Develop a clear purpose and ambition for Evaluation Exchange, understanding where it adds value and to whom. 
• Produce a topline strategy to deliver that ambition including prioritisation of activities and projects, resources and enablers.
• Design the best organisational model and fundraising strategy to develop a sustainable income base to fund this work

The project team combined the expertise of WRKWLL associates Fionnola Geaney, an innovation consultant  and highly experienced facilitator with depth of experience developing change frameworks and Ilana Jackman, a coach and consultant supporting not-for-profit organisations to boost their income. Ruth highlights WRKWLL’s flexibility in strategically deploying the time allocated to the project to provide support over an extended time period as well as adapting the design and delivery of the project as it developed. She also praises the skill and experience of the WRKWLL team and highlights the sensitivity, tenacity and confidence they brought to the role.

“That combination of confidence to push back, but also to respect and listen and adapt, all at the same time…I have appreciated that.”

An initial team workshop informed the development of a draft vision for the Evaluation Exchange. This set out key strengths such as the team’s strong belief in and ability to deliver its core model. Ruth explains that this process has increased the team’s confidence in articulating to others their preferred ways of working. The vision also highlighted areas for development, such as articulating impact in a way that’s attractive to potential funders. 

“Our understanding of the way we work is based on what people tell us and their reports or evaluations that we've done, but translating that into something that funders find attractive is different. They've helped me understand the importance of articulating the ‘so what?’”

Fionnola’s support for the team has also included mentoring, providing external challenge and support in preparation for key stakeholder meetings and pitches. 

“It's so important for us to have someone external challenging us…we're a relatively close team, who works well together, and so to challenge us and expose our differences or underlying beliefs amongst us is helpful and Finn is someone who does it in a way that's sensitive.”

Some impacts of the work, including the development of new ways of working with funders, are still in development and will be launched later this year.  Ruth highlights some immediate and tangible changes that have resulted from the work, such as new monthly meetings to ensure dedicated space for the development of the Evaluation Exchange’s strategic vision alongside the team’s existing focus on implementation. 

The Evaluation Exchange’s reflections on getting the most out of a project of this kind include “be flexible about how the support from WRKWLL might be structured and delivered as your own needs develop through your work together” and “balance this with an honesty to share what you're really feeling about things and be confident in your knowledge of what is appropriate for you and your team.”

“I’d sum up my experience of working with WRKWLL as a really valuable one for myself and the Evaluation Exchange. I’ve appreciated the fresh perspective Finn and Ilana brought to our work. They both have a wealth of experience that has informed our strategy development and fundraising plans. Their experience, coupled with Finn’s personal qualities of being able to listen to our needs, our context and our aspirations, alongside her ability to push us and be flexible in her approach have made our collaboration with WRKWLL worthwhile."

If you’d like to know more about the Evaluation Exchange, contact r.unstead-joss@ucl.ac.uk or visit their website at www.ucl.ac.uk/evaluationexchange 

If you’d like to explore how WRKWLL can help your team, why not book a confidential discovery call by emailing info@wrkwll.org?