It has been some months since the completion of the Evaluating Social Impact training which I developed and delivered for University of Bath, alongside Nigel Fryatt.

It was a great pleasure working with Dean Veall and Laura Steen to scope what was needed and a really enjoyable experience to put the hours into planning both the content and facilitation methodology. And now I am re-working the methods and approach to teaching to make it workable online.

I am an evaluation nerd. I really, genuinely believe that if you plan it right it can not just offer you the information you need to know if you’ve been successful and to help you get funding [ both crucially important things], but it can also offer you:

• An opportunity to make sure any participants in your project feel valued

• A deeper understanding of what value means to you, your project and your participants [not only your funder or investor]

• An opportunity for reflective practice for everyone involved

As a group of learners, organisers and facilitators the three days we spent together in person, working through Theory of Change, the Centre for Cultural Values 5 step Evaluation Framework, and Communicating Impact were a genuinely wonderful experience. Learners really appreciated the content and opportunity to get hands-on in the sessions, many of them created documents which now form the basis of project plans, evaluation strategies, partnership working practices and bid writing toolkits.

But perhaps even more importantly, they appreciated each other, and the opportunity to connect, share and support each other. Something that people working in the 3rd sector rarely get the opportunity to do.

We should never discount the impact of human connection and shared experiences and how they help us to learn, develop and grow.

So now I wonder, how does an online learning experience present connection and meaning? Can it do so, or is it a different animal altogether? We will soon find out!

By Stacey Pottinger, 17/07/24

“Ally: one that is associated with another as a helper; a person or group that provides assistance and support in an ongoing effort, activity or struggle.”

I’ve done a lot of thinking and learning over the years about what it is to be an ally. Obviously, as you can imagine, a lot of changing and growing in order to work my way towards being a better ally as well. A trajectory I’m still on.

What it means to me, is….

• to work to create spaces which are as safe as I can make them for all people

• to name who is missing, who isn’t at the table, who hasn’t been invited

• to challenge comments and behaviours I understand to be damaging and unsafe, even when and perhaps especially if those who are effected are not in the space / room / conversation

• to actively seek to reduce the opportunity gap for underrepresented people wherever, however and whenever I can, including my uplifting the voices of the most marginalised people

• to always consider inclusion and belonging in all things

• to turn down opportunities to speak on or engage in certain things and to offer those opportunities to others

• to hold myself accountable and to learn the hard lessons when I have to, even if no one else asks me to

I’m not saying I’m perfect, I’m really not.

I’m not saying I’m an exception or that I’m exceptional, because I’m really not.

I definitely make plenty of mistakes and missteps, but I hope I hold myself to account and learn from them without causing too much harm.

What I am saying however, is that we can all be allies, we can all keep learning, and we can all think about how we show up. Wherever we are.

And personally, this is the way I’m going to also think about how I’m going to vote in the UK General election as well.

I’m going to vote (as best I can) for the people most affected by austerity, racism, war, the climate crisis and so many of the other confilicts and challenges our one beautiful world is facing.

But that’s enough from me!

I’m sure you’re all bright people but I’d urge you to follow people like Shaista Aziz, Nova Reid, G Sabini-Roberts Sal Naseem FRSA, The Three Hijabis & Gem Turner amongst many others who tireless campaign and raise awareness of social injustice and the challenges faced by so many.

Peace and opportunity for all. 

One of my passions is supporting anyone who supports people facing challenges, works in participation, with communities and/or around social challenges and social justice issues.

Heaven knows they [we, if I may be so bold] spend so much of their time supporting others that they deserve a safe space to talk through their challenges and worries. Certainly it seems to me that the level of complexity and multiplicity of support needed out their in the world is only increasing.

But regardless of the context we work in - community development, business to business, business to consumer - we are all experiencing a world full of 'wicked', complex problems. Now more than ever we need each other; we need to work alongside and for the benefit of each other. In my opinion, even in business spaces, we need to be able to:

• Hold space for each other,

• Allow one and other to exist with our full complexity and full humanity,

• Respect each others boundaries and lived experience,

• Offer the best of ourselves to the world.

Allowing others to be their full selves whilst keeping our own boundaries in place is hard in a world in which we are bombarded with the push and pull of emails, messages and social media as well as the people we interact with on a daily basis.

I know I have struggled over the past few years [having worked from home for many of them as I expect many of you have also] to separate myself from my work.

As my life has become more and more crowded I have struggled at times to allow the people I interact with to speak without leaping to judgement - whether for my own self-protection or because I have disagreed with their views and actions.

Here are a few of the things I have worked on to ensure I allow people space and don't bring to many pre-conceived ideas into a meeting or workspace:

• Plan ahead - not just what I want to say but even more so how I want to behave and be perceived.

• Take a breath - or even a walk - before a meeting I think might be challenging or after a challenging meeting to allow space for reflection.

• Assume people mean well - I don't mean that we don't challenge poor behaviour because it might be well intended, but go into a meeting assuming you all want to work together.

• Be clear of my boundaries - Somethings are just non-negotiable and others I feel I can be more flexible about. Being honest about this leads to better relationships.

• Hold myself accountable - If I expect others to be accountable for their words and actions then I need to be also, even if that makes me feel vulnerable at times.

It has taken me years of work and reflection to learn that holding myself to account and doing the same to others is a positive. It takes practice, it takes vulnerability, and it takes authenticity. I have to be prepared to make mistakes and to bear the consequences of those mistakes with humility. I don't always get it right but as the great Brené Brown says “I’m here to get it right, not to be right.”

In group settings this might mean the following:

• Setting a co-designed group agreement or contract to refer back to,

• Learning coaching or co-mentoring skills,

• Working out which behaviours are truly reflective of you personally and your organisations values [and the tough bit.... living them].

If any of this speaks to you, then please join us for one of our Social Art Network meet-ups, or contact me to find out how we can help you facilitate groups or hold space for complexity for your organisation.