Tools to help you gather and use evidence and learning

On this page you’ll find tools and resources we’ve funded.

We have some webpages and reports that highlight the different themes from projects we’ve funded.

You can also find research and evaluation reports from different projects we’ve funded in our evidence library.

This website from Happy City Thriving Places Index gives you data on the strengths and challenges of different local areas in England and Wales. It covers three main subject areas:

• equality
• sustainability
• and city conditions.

You can download our outcome frameworks and standalone measures guide
This is a list of tools and resources that you might find useful for measuring the difference your project’s making. You can filter it to find tools and resources for your work.

These online tools can help you compare your data with other organisations
Using the same tools that lots of other organisations use can help you to compare your data. So if you want to share your results, you can show the bigger picture – and how your activities fit into that.

It’s easier to use tried and tested tools
Using online tools that other organisations use is easier than starting something from scratch.

You can use the Happiness Pulse survey to measure wellbeing
This is an online five-minute survey that measures the wellbeing of any type of group.

It organises all your results into a dashboard. And you can download graphic reports too.

Guide to measuring wellbeing
A step-by-step online guide from the What Works Centre for Wellbeing. It will help you understand if and how your activities affect the wellbeing of the people you work with. It includes guidance on how to choose what questions to use and a survey builder tool.

Brief guide to measuring loneliness
This guide from What Works Centre for Wellbeing provides advice and guidance on how to understand and measure your impact on reducing loneliness. It sets out the national loneliness measures that projects can use. It includes a questionnaire template for a loneliness evaluation.

Inspiring Impact offers two self-assessment tools. These can show you how to improve your impact, practice and data collection. After answering the self-assessment questions, you get a personalised report giving telling you what to do next.

The Confidence Framework also provides a review tool to help ensure your service is delivering the very best impact that it can. The review results in a ‘heat map’ that clearly shows areas of strength and areas for development.

Inspiring Impact

What they can support you with:

• Practical support for all stages of data and evidence work.
• Planning, understanding and improving your impact.
• Communicating, comparing and sharing your results.
• Exchanging practice.

How they can support you:

• Financial support.
• Online resources.
• Online training.
• Self-assessment tools.
• Peer learning networks.

How they can support you:

• Face-to-face and online training
• Online step-by-step guide
• Access to databases

Charity Evaluation Working Group (Linkedin group)

What they can support you with:

• Peer support network for charity evaluation professionals.
• Exchanging learning and practice.
• Access to Communities of Practice (Health and Wellbeing)

How they can support you:

• Face-to-face and online learning
• Online step-by-step guide
• Access to databases

Statisticians for Society

What they can support you with:

• Matching expert statisticians with Voluntary, Community or Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
• Practical support to data collection and analysis.

How they can support you:

• One-to-one tailored support

Alliance for Useful Evidence - Nesta

What they can support you with:

• Advice on how to use evidence effectively.
• Advocating and building alliances and strategic partnerships for smarter use of evidence.

How they can support you:

• Peer networks
• Evidence masterclass
• Training events
• Resources
• Advice.