Meeting a need, influencing a decision and strengthening belonging are different outcomes. Match the evidence to the outcome you are judging, then use what you learn to improve the work.
Money raised, meetings held and hours volunteered show what people put into a project. A count of visits may include repeated use by the same person or household. To judge whether the project meets a need, ask what changed for those affected. To judge influence, look for a connection between public input and a decision or response.
Belonging needs evidence about connection and experience, such as what people say about relationships and whether they feel valued. Continuing participation can add useful evidence, but does not measure every person's feelings by itself.
A partnership may achieve one outcome more strongly than another. Gather feedback from participants and people who could not take part, identify remaining gaps and agree who will respond. Recognising a limitation helps improve the work; it does not mean every contribution has failed.
An interviewer outside the organising team who collects their own evidence can add an independent perspective. However, users who agree to interviews may not reflect those who refuse or never attend. Organisers seeking support may emphasise success; that purpose does not by itself make their records false.
Worked example: Looking beyond attendance at a repair workshop
Thirty residents attend a community repair workshop. The records show that eighteen household items were made usable again. Five participants later say they made new local contacts. The organisers have not collected feedback from residents who could not attend.
- Attendance records participation. The eighteen usable items provide more direct evidence that the workshop met some practical repair needs.
- The five accounts suggest new connections for those participants. They do not show that all thirty residents feel a stronger sense of belonging.
- Ask non-attendees about access barriers and check whether the repaired items remain usable. These questions can guide the next workshop without dismissing the results already recorded.
Watch out for this
If a project meets a practical need, it must also have changed public policy and strengthened everyone's belonging.
Judge each outcome using relevant evidence. A successful service, a decision change and a stronger personal connection require different support.
Check your understanding
A partnership helps twelve residents complete applications for a service. What can that result establish on its own?
- The residents all feel a stronger attachment to the country.
- The partnership changed the government's eligibility rules.
- Twelve residents completed applications with the partnership's help.