Read our 2018-19 Social Impact report here.
The question in the title above is one we posed to ourselves in summer 2019 as our financial year ended.
We had produced our first Social Impact report in 2018 (read it here). It was useful to go through the process of gathering data and choosing how to present it clearly. The resulting document also proved to be a good tool for summarising to clients and new contacts what we do and its positive effect.
The easiest answer to the question above is ‘repeat last year’s exercise with updated data’. The first report was well received, so this approach would have been ok. But we felt that the year had produced new outcomes which would not easily fit into the original format. We needed to discover:
- What were the most important outcomes of the year, from various angles (personal, organisational, in terms of culture change)?
- How could we clearly and fairly represent these to our diverse readers (use a mixture of formats (visual, numbers, words) in an accessible way?
We were fortunate to have worked on the first report with an experienced designer, Astrid Johnson, who specialises in working with social sector organisations. It always helps when a designer gets to know you and what you do. So it was very helpful to meet her early in the process to discuss what design options could help us get across our messages. If you are embarking on similar work we would recommend finding a designer early in the process.
We assembled our data from the year. As we did this we realised that we had some excellent ‘micro case studies’ in the form of volunteered quotes from happy clients. And we also thought it would be worth saying more about our approach to our work.
So we used our original report format but added various elements, like an upward spiral diagram showing the stages of how we support people to develop.
We have also included an outstanding case study for an individual with diverse experience who transformed herself with our support, plus a set of micro-case studies about how clients developed and changed positively after working with us.
Result CIC’s work supports people who feel excluded to be ‘confidently different’ and also works with managers to develop their inclusive practices with diverse staff. The work is person-centred and starts with the individual in the training room. So we feel the new elements help to get across their stories better. So we are pleased with the report but your views are the most important. Please let us know what you think and how we can keep improving.
Contact us.