Building confidence in evaluation: practical tools for impact

Are you looking for practical ways to collect and use data that genuinely reflect the difference your organisation makes?

This 3‑hour online session is for SVE members who want to strengthen how they capture, understand, and share their impact, without adding complexity or relying on external consultants.

Delivered by Ilaria Pina, founder of Empirica Research & Consulting Ltd, it is built around a simple idea: evaluation should work for you, supporting decisions and helping you tell your story with confidence. The focus is on building internal skills and everyday systems that fit limited time and resources. The session is practical, participatory, and grounded in the realities of third sector organisations.

What we’ll focus on

The session starts by clarifying what impact means and how tools such as logic models or theories of change can support understanding. Participants then revisit an evaluation question to clarify what they want to learn or evidence. The focus moves to practical data collection, choosing methods that are realistic, proportionate, and useful. Core approaches such as surveys, focus groups, and participatory workshops are explored, with an emphasis on when to use them, and how to use them well.

The session also covers what makes data meaningful, including inclusivity, accessibility, credibility, ethics, and common challenges like low engagement, or unused data. A light touch introduction to analysis follows, focusing on identifying patterns, drawing out key messages, and linking findings back to original questions.

The final section looks at communicating impact clearly and responsibly, for funders, communities, and partners, using data and stories. Throughout, participants will be encouraged to apply learning to their own work and begin shaping a simple, realistic plan for collecting, analysing, and sharing impact.

What you’ll take away

• A clearer understanding of what meaningful impact looks like in your context
• Practical, low-cost approaches to collecting useful and relevant data
• More confidence in choosing and using a small number of methods well
• A simple way of approaching analysis without it feeling technical, or overwhelming
• Tools and ideas to communicate your impact clearly to different audiences
• An understanding of ethical and trauma informed approaches
• A starting point for a practical evaluation and reporting plan

Who it’s for

This session is for SVE members who want to build confidence and capability in evaluation, particularly if you’re working in small teams, wearing multiple hats, or trying to make evaluation feel more useful and less like a tick-box exercise.

Please give at least 48 hours’ notice, if you are unable to attend this workshop, so people on out waiting list have the opportunity to attend.

Please note that organisations must be members of SVE to participate in the training. Membership is free, you can access our membership form by clicking here.