Innovative Toolbox pioneers new avenues for not-for-profits
UTS recently launched the Social Impact Toolbox, a free resource dedicated to helping not-for profits measure and demonstrate their positive impact.
In Australia, there is a demand for high quality impact measurement to become the norm in the not-for-profit sector, however there is currently no standardised approach to social impact evaluation. The project undertaken by UTS Business School, in partnership with Community Sector Banking, seeks to democratise this knowledge through the provision of free quality digital offerings to enhance the capacity of the not-for-profit sector.
The innovative project was brought together by a talented team led by UTS Associate Professor Bronwen Dalton and Rachel Bertram. The journey to build the Social Impact Toolbox started in 2017 with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion providing a Social Impact Research Grant to the team, which led to partnerships with Community Sector Banking and PAYCE Foundation being formed.
“The seed funding from the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion was invaluable in getting conversations started and inevitably bringing more funding to the table, enabling us to scale the production of the toolbox.” says Rachel Bertram, Social Impact Toolbox Project Manager and 2016 recipient of the Mark Lyons excellence in Not-for-Profit and Social Enterprise Management Award.
Following almost two years of development, the Social Impact Toolbox team has handed over these resources to allow not-for-profit organisations to evaluate effectively, using validated measures and all for free.
The Toolbox includes an array of online offerings, developed off the back of community consultation and engagement. Through open online courses, users are educated about the basis of evaluation, frameworks for a grant application, strategy sessions or workshops with staff, as well as curated resources of tools and measures to assist in achieving their program outcomes.
“There are many small to medium not-for-profits in Australia that don’t have access to resources like this. Organisations are getting locked out of access to these resources and can’t get access to funding, they can't scale their projects or they can't continue their projects,” said Rachel Bertram.
“By partnering with UTS to develop this game-changing Social Impact Toolbox, we can offer all not-for-profits the means to capture and communicate their positive impact using a meaningful and rigorous methodology," Andrew Cairns, Community Sector Banking CEO.
At the Launch of the Social Impact Toolbox, Rachel Bertram noted the need for further resourcing to address gaps and continue designing resources for the sector,
“We need more research into Indigenous evaluation and tools that are specific to the Indigenous community. We need more resources in terms of arts and culture evaluation. We have a pretty comprehensive tool, but we want to make it even more comprehensive, even more useful” she said.
Access the toolbox here: www.socialimpacttoolbox.com
