image of a pie chartMany funders and organisations are moving away from measuring Outputs to measuring Outcomes. There is a need for some ICT systems to help capture and report on the outcomes information. A small consortium in Warwickshire asked me as the ICT Champion to look at the options available to them and then create a shortlist of suppliers.

NOTE:

• No system will write your outcomes for you
• Check you have the ICT Infrastructure to support your product
• Get demonstrations from more than one supplier
• Systems can only report on the information you enter onto the system. You will need to build data entry and management into the job descriptions of people in your organisation.

The method used was:

• Listen to members of the consortium about their requirements
• Talk to suppliers about their product and match requirements
• Create the report.

Identify requirements of Consortia members

1. Conduct telephone interview with four member organisations. The questions were a mixture of open and closed questions aimed at providing responses that could be easily analysed and inform the base requirements of the system.
2. Identify a long list of possible suppliers
3. Identify a short list of possible suppliers,
4. check the basic requirements identified and
5. compare requirements against supplier.

I was not given any budgetary requirements

Initial requirements from suppliers

• Preference for a web based solution
• Straightforward and easy to use
• Has database functionality
• Supplier willing to present in person
• To meet the requirements identified through discussion with member organisations

Declaration of Interest: one supplier has asked IlluminateICT to develop the support and training skills required to support their product and to become a distributor.

Stage one

In discussion with the members of the consortia the following criteria has been developed

What Data do you need to capture

(Target areas include post codes, ethnicity, age, employment status)

• Contact Management
• Project information
• Numbers of volunteers by target areas
• Numbers of staff
• Numbers of clients seen by target areas
• Number of events/sessions delivered by target areas
• Finance information
• Outputs (examples)
• Qualifications
• Course completed
• Progression to other learning/organisations
• Improved skills
• Outcomes(examples)
• Self confidence of clients and volunteers
• Decrease in social isolation
• Improved social awareness
• Community involvement
• Improved sense of well being
• Reduced stress levels
• Comfortable using a Computer

How do you currently measure the impact of your work?

There is no formal methodology common to the organisations and where questionnaires are currently being used it is too early to show impact. There is a good understanding of outcomes and a desire to include this as a must have.

• No formal methodology
• Some questionnaire type measurement

What would you like the system to deliver for your organisation/project

• Contact Management
• Import data from existing systems
• Reporting by project - able to compare projects
• Measurement by objectives
• Ease of reporting
• Ease of entry
• Outcome evaluation to meet funder requirements
• Recognition that outcomes are valid against staff and volunteers as well as clients e.g. improved confidence, reduced isolation etc.

Who is likely to be responsible for entering data onto any system

Staff/ volunteers - low to medium tech skills

Do you have a good internet connection in your building?

On the whole people are happy with their internet connections into their building. So a web based solution is potentially viable.

Some systems may still require software to be installed on local machines.

What type of information do you want out of the system?

• Contact information
• Activity reports
• Outcomes and social impact reports
• Trend analysis
• Comparative analysis of different projects

Current systems

• Outlook
• Excel
• Access

Notes/ additional requirements

Training and support for software
Assistance with data import

It is worth noting at this point that when working across multiple projects you should ensure at the plannng stage that outcomes etc are measure d on the same scale e.g. 0-7, or 1-10 etc.

Outcomes software suppliers

To identify suppliers I used the ICT Champions network to gain an overview of any systems that they are aware of as having been deployed.

One response identified Lamplight as a "really good product, small simple and affordable. I think NAVCA are looking at it for LIO outcome reporting."

I was also steered towards a product called Social Impact Tracker, developed by a social enterprise volsec from Northern Ireland. This is not a web enabled package but meets all other criteria and is ideal for organisations who store highly confidential information.

The organisations shortlisted were:
www.lamplightdb.co.uk
www.socialimpacttracker.org
www.charitylog.co.uk
www.gallerypartnership.co.uk

Contact details

Lamplight

020 7558 8793 clare@lamplightdb.co.uk

Social Impact Tracker

02871 30816 peter@cunamh.org

Gallery Partnership

02070962800 m.kemp@gallerypartnership.co.uk

Charity Log

01789 763691 dperkins@charitylog.co.uk

Each of these suppliers has highly customisable software that is likely to meet the needs of most organisations in the sector.