Building impact discipline from the inside out
Summary
Sight Support Worthing had strong services and deep roots in its community, but little formal structure for managing or demonstrating impact. With new funding providing space to strengthen practice, we worked together to clarify the charity’s pathway to impact, define what matters in each service, and build simple systems that support learning, improvement and credible reporting.
The challenge: from goodwill to clarity
Sight Support Worthing (SSW) is a long-established charity supporting people living with visual impairment. It is deeply rooted in its community and delivers a wide range of valued services. For many years the organisation had been well funded and did not need to formally measure or communicate its impact externally.
A shift in strategy, supported by new Lottery funding, created a different context. SSW was given resources to strengthen its impact measurement and management, but without conditions on the approach. The leadership team could decide what would be most useful for the organisation.
SSW wanted to grow and strengthen its services. It needed clarity about its purpose and pathway to impact, and practical systems to embed that thinking into day-to-day work. The aim was to align the organisation around what matters most, support learning and improvement, and communicate its value credibly to funders, members and the wider community.
See our services.
The process: starting with the work itself
My approach was tailored to the needs of SSW. I began by getting to know the organisation: its services, its culture, its internal capacity and its ambitions.
We developed a Theory of Change that provided a clear overview of SSW’s overall pathway to impact. This created a simple way to communicate externally what the charity exists to achieve and how its services contribute to that change.
At the same time, we worked closely with staff to map how each service fits into the wider picture and to define what matters for it to be effective. This helped staff see how their work contributes to the whole and where to focus their attention.
For example, in counselling and emotional support, effectiveness depends on a clear assessment process, agreed goals, regular review, and the development of a trusting relationship. In the volunteer matching service, impact depends on the quality and reliability of the relationship between member and volunteer, supported through regular check-ins.
From this foundation, we identified a small number of meaningful indicators linked to activities, outputs and outcomes. We focused on using existing data sources and touchpoints wherever possible to build a simple, practical system that fits the way SSW works. The process fed directly into the charity’s first published impact report in 2023.
Throughout, the emphasis was on building on existing processes and keeping things simple; more can always be added later.
What changed
SSW developed a clearer articulation of its pathway to impact and a shared understanding of how each service contributes. Data collection aligned with service delivery and became part of practice rather than an additional burden. Reflection became more structured. Conversations about improvement were grounded in agreed indicators.
The organisation also strengthened its ability to communicate its value. By 2024, SSW was able to produce a well-structured impact report independently, telling a clear story of its work, outcomes and learning.
SSW now has a clear Theory of Change that guides service design and improvement. It has practical systems to gather meaningful data. It has the confidence to explain its work and demonstrate its value.
As the CEO reflected:
“As a small charity we had little to no experience in this area and learnt a lot through working with Anton. He guided us through the entire process until we were able to collect meaningful data to measure our impact which was demonstrated in our first published impact report. We’re very proud of what we’ve learnt and achieved, made possible by Anton’s expertise.”
The work did not impose a system. It built an approach that fits the organisation, and it is now part of how Sight Support Worthing operates.
