Still Not Tracking the Impact of Your Engagement?
Wednesday 14th of June 2017
The Tpas National Tenant Engagement Survey told us that:
'Many organisations do not track the impact of engagement'
Two years on from the Tenants Leading Change Report 'An investment not a cost: The business benefits of tenant involvement' which highlighted not tracking the impact of engagement as a major issue for housing providers and little has changed. Why is this?
The need to plan involvement to achieve outcomes and evaluate progress has been high on the agenda for the last 10 years. The issue was raised - to a stunned 'what do they mean' from the sector when the long since defunct Housing Corporation released their report 'Measuring Change' in 2007.
Having run training on impact assessment for Tpas from 2007 onwards I have seen people struggling year after year with the whole concept of demonstrating impact - but really it's not that complicated - honestly! A days training or a little intensive mentoring and staff and tenants alike can change their mindset and approach to planning to ensure they focus on impact. I have see it happen again and again.
For too many people impact assessment has become an irrational fear, just like that wrongly held belief that many people have about not being able to understand figures (we tackle that one on the Understanding Performance Information course if you are a sufferer!)
So where does it all go wrong? Often staff arrive into a busy post and are thrown in at the deep end to doing lots of things - no one explains why they have to do what they do or how it links to anything else. They get even busier, people leave, the organisation restructures, involvement restructures - and they continue night and day to do, do, do.
So what do we suggest? Simple, just take a day off from doing, book yourself onto our revamped impact assessment course and reflect on why you do what you do.
Impact Reporting - Showing the Value of Your Engagement Projects
Can't find a course near you? Hold one in house or just get us in for the day to talk you and other staff and volunteers through the process.
A day out of doing and into learning and thinking will make all the difference to your evidence. Don't take our word for it - have a look at the article staff from DCH wrote to feedback about their eperience.
