Figurative launches pilot Impact Health Check for creative and cultural sector

An Impact Health Check for Arts and Culture Organisations

Impact practice refers to the practical ways in which an organisation seeks to understand, articulate and improve its ability to effect positive social change. Good impact practice is essential to any organisation looking to make a positive difference in the world. Adhering to good impact practice can help an organisation to:

• Ensure activities delivered are well aligned with strategy
• Articulate and demonstrate organisational value
• Build an effective case for support and attract further funding
• Learn where to best place efforts in order to effect most change

Many organisations struggle to know whether their impact practice is serving their objectives effectively. Ever-increasing pressures on the cultural and creative sector leave organisations stretched between competing priorities and requirements, making it hard to find the time to build an overarching perspective.

Figurative’s Impact Health Check is designed to help organisations understand where their impact practice is and isn’t serving their objectives. It enables arts and cultural organisations to take ownership of how they understand, articulate and demonstrate their social impact. The comprehensive impact audit process provides high quality and impartial feedback about an organisation’s impact practice, identifying strengths and areas for development.

The elements of good impact practice

How it works

The three-stage process builds on 10 years of experience supporting, assessing and understanding the social impact of organisations operating in the cultural and creative sector. We’ll seek to understand your current impact practice, strategic priorities and aspirations for development, and by reviewing your existing process and procedures we’ll conduct an objective assessment of your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses. We’ll then provide you with a comprehensive report highlighting areas for development, and equipping you with tools and guidance on practical next steps.

Who is it for?

The impact health check is aimed at organisations in the creative and cultural sector with limited to moderate experience of impact practice. It is ideal for organisations that feel stretched between the competing requirements of external stakeholders, and find themselves being reactive rather than proactive in the articulation and measurement of their impact. It is intended to help focus attention inwards to make the time and space necessary to identify areas of development and improvement. There is no pre-requisite to have direct experience of impact management or measurement, however to get the most out of the service it is beneficial to have made previous attempts to describe, measure or report on the impact enabled by your services.

Process

The 3-stage process typically takes between 2-3 months to complete from the point of initial consultation to reporting, although a faster turnaround is possible depending on availability. The impact health check is designed to meet organisations ‘where they are at’ and as such requests will be made for existing documents and procedures, but there is no requirement to generate additional material in support of the process.

Upon completion, a full report will be produced containing recommendations to provide practical next steps tailored to each organisation’s circumstances and experience. Further support will be signposted (within and beyond Figurative), and where appropriate, organisations will also be provided with tools and templates developed as part of Figurative’s social investment work.

How to Apply

Applications for the pilot Impact Health Check are now closed.  If you would like to know of any other similar opportunities in the future, please sign up to our quarterly newsletter here. 

Three elements of effective impact practice

The Impact Health Check takes into consideration three essential elements of good impact practice to provide structured and practical guidance on how to better articulate your impact, and embed the necessary ways of working.

The report is structured around these elements of good organisational impact practice, and will address each as a matter of course.

Organisational Culture & Capacity

How your organisation is structured and the way it functions on a day to day basis is the bedrock of embedding impact practice. The impact health check considers the following parameters to gain a clear understanding of the day to day strengths and limitations of your organisation.

• Skills, experience and capacity of staff team
• Engagement with impact at leadership/governance level
• Embedding learning and sharing practice
• Alignment of impact measurement with business plan or strategy

Strength of Evidence

The strength of evidence produced by an organisation needs to be appropriate to the internal and external requirements it has. This takes root in an organisation’s theory of change, but extends through the depth and scale of its intervention right the way to the stakeholder and audiences it is seeking to engage.

• Understanding of need
• Impact model and articulation
• Suitability of frameworks and methodologies
• Appeal of evidence to key stakeholders and audiences

Impact measurement & management 

At its heart, good impact practice is grounded in the processes and mechanisms in place to measure and manage impact. This is tailored to specific organisational needs, but typically expects to explore some of the fundamentals below.

• Data storage and hygiene
• Inclusions and service user voice
• Efficiency and proportionality of processes
• Quality of analysis and interpretation