We talk a lot about how important it is to measure outcomes and sometimes impact – and to share these results widely. But when you look closely at what organisations are really putting up on their websites, it is often just numbers or percentages. Numbers are great. Numbers are important. Read more…
I’d like to think that we are all working in civil society because we want to see a better world: fairer, equal, sustainable communities that have a better quality of life and opportunity to fulfil their purpose in life; a sustained environment that protects biodiversity and manages climate change. I’d Read more…
We all respond to the situation that we find ourselves in, and that is true of any intervention that you might design: it is a response, framed in a particular way to a situation that you and others have identified as needing improvement, challenge, changing. But how much do you Read more…
Ok, I know, most consultants wouldn’t really like to be referred to as glue or ‘stuff’ (stuff is currently my favourite word). But it is a useful way to think about the value that consultancy can bring to an organisation. Most external consultants will work across a broad range of Read more…
Once again it was my honour to host the EUConsult Autumn Congress, this time in Edinburgh. This year we focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how they are being implemented in Europe. It is easy to think of the SDGs as just being relevant for the developing world, Read more…
I can see you sitting there thinking “yes I know my stakeholders, what is he on about?” It is one thing to know who your stakeholders are, but do you know why they are involved in your project – what’s in it for them? I had the privilege recently of working with Read more…
It is easy to think that an evaluation is an all-or-nothing kind of service, that you’re buying in expensive skills and expertise and that it is going to take three to six months of detailed data collection and analysis. Well, yes, evaluation can be that and even more. And sometimes Read more…
Participation is increasingly important. Let me clarify that. Participation in design, development and sometimes implementation of interventions designed to improve a community’s wellbeing is increasingly important. We have seen how the slogans ‘not in my name’ ‘not in our name’ ‘not without me’ ‘not for us without us’ and other Read more…
You might have seen from my social media activity that I participated in the FSI Big Advice Day during Small Charities Week. We also did something similar at our last EUConsult conference in March in London. These sessions can be quite intense. You get assigned organisations based on your skill Read more…
We talk a lot about positive impact: the positive impact that a programme or project is having, a positive impact delivered into someone’s life, etc. But we all know that things don’t always go swimmingly. Sometimes, in fact, our interventions don’t have the anticipated results. Sometimes people are actually worse Read more…