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Guidance on Measuring Economic Outcomes

March 1, 2016

This guidance has been produced to assist applicants in preparing their detailed (Stage 2) applications to the Coastal Communities Fund.It provides guidance on identifying, assessing and monitoring the economic impact potential of projects using an Indicator Framework, against which individual projects will be appraised.

A Guide to Evaluation

January 1, 2016

At Big Lottery Fund, we work with the sector, those we fund, other funders and policy-makers to deliver high-quality projects and share best practice and learning.Doing this together helps us to maximise the impact of our work. It also helps us to achieve our mission, to support people and communities most in need.One way we do this is through evaluation. We believe evaluation is a key part of any project that is serious about making a real difference. This opinion is not just unique to us. Most funding agencies place an emphasis on understanding what impact projects may or may not make and understanding why.This guide will help you think about the benefits of evaluating your project and how to get started. It is not meant to be a comprehensive 'how to' document.At the end of this guide, we provide you with links to some organisations that provide more in-depth information about how to conduct an evaluation and potential tools you could use.

A New Funding Ecology : A Blueprint For Action

December 1, 2015

This work is the result of partnership between Collaborate, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) and the Big Lottery Fund. It is based on UK-wide research with 40 structured interviews, a number of group sessions and informal conversations with a wide range of leaders within the independent funding sector (including a workshop held at the Association of Charitable Funders annual conference). It draws on Collaborate's wider work across public services, and reflects expertise and analysis from a number of organisations and commentators looking at the sector from the outside in. The purpose was to substantiate the initial thinking developed in a first paper, work with a wider range of funders, and develop lines of inquiry and practical solutions using the framework which had been set about the funding ecology.

The AdvantAGE Programme in Wales: A summary of key themes and learning points from befriending projects

September 1, 2015

In response to a lack of evaluative evidence about befriending services for older people, the AdvantAGE grant holders identified the need to bring together monitoring information and evaluation evidence from their respective projects in a collective and strategic way to help inform policy and practice.This is the fourth and final iteration of this paper, the first of which was completed in July 2014. The aim of this final iteration is to take a more summative approach to answering the following research questions:1. How much have AdvantAGE befriending projects achieved? 2. How well have they delivered their services? 3. What difference have they made?

Summary of the Commissioning Better Outcomes Evaluation

November 1, 2014

The aim of the evaluation is to improve the understanding of SIBs, by capturing learning at all stages of the development process and building an evidence base for the SIB model and its application in different contexts. The contract is divided into two parts: delivering a robust evaluation that provides evidence on the impact of SIBs and highlights good practice; and disseminating the learning from this evaluation through a range of outputs and sharing processes. The evaluation is also being undertaken throughout the nine year life of the CBO Fund in order to ensure that learning from the evaluation process feeds into the continuous improvement of the Fund, its processes and its impact.

Social Investment Explained

July 1, 2014

The aim of this guide is to give an overview of the UK social investment market and help to work out whether and how it's relevant to an organisation - it's for anyone involved with a voluntary and community organisation or social enterprise (VCSE) as a trustee, chief executive or member of staff. An infographic that introduces social investment in a minute is included, along with a suite of insightful case study videos featuring Birdcage, My Time CIC and Fordhall Organic Farm. It has been produced by programme partners, Social Enterprise UK for Big Lottery Fund.

More than Money: The potential of cross-sector relationships

October 1, 2009

Collaboration and co-funding between foundations has seen strong and consistent development. However, less has been done to explore and document the opportunities that collaboration across sectors between foundations, public and private sector funders may provide. 'More Than Money' provides a valuable insight into what it means for funders from different sectors to work collaboratively. Examples include the Pears Foundation working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to turn a school linking project from a small pilot to a national project, or the development of the Evaluation Support Scotland project which began through informal discussions between a small group of funders from the statutory and voluntary sector, and continued to develop through funding from the Scottish Executive.We hope that this publication will help inform and encourage funders from all sectors as they continue to explore the exciting opportunities that cross sector collaboration can offer.