The Foundations toolkit supports organisations to step back and clarify why they want to measure change, what they are trying to achieve, and how they want to work together. It creates a strong, shared based before exploring outcomes, data, and evaluation.
This toolkit is best used at the start of the your Measuring Change journey.
- You’re new to measuring impact or want to reset your approach
- Different people hold different views about purpose, outcomes, or success
- You want to build shared language and buy-in before designing evaluation
- You’re unsure where to start or what level to measure at
You don’t need to have evaluation expertise – this toolkit is about clarity, not complexity.
- Clarify your purpose for measuring change
- Learn the basics for measuring change
- Explore and create outcomes and indicators
- Identify ways in which you will measure your outcomes and indicators
- Create a simple evaluation framework
The toolkit is designed for:
- Volunteer-involving organisations
- Community and not-for-profit organisations
- Program leads, coordinators, and managers
- Teams at early or exploratory stages of impact measurement
It works well for:
- Small organisations with limited resources
- Those wanting to establish a solid baseline for developing their impact measurement
- Organisations seeking simple and practical evaluation
The Foundations Toolkit includes:
- Guided reflection activities
- Practical discussion prompts for teams
- Simple worksheets to capture thinking
- Examples to support sense making
- Tips for working collaboratively and ethically
Measuring change is not a linear or one-off process. The toolkit encourages reflection, dialogue, and learning – not perfection or compliance. Your foundations should be useful, flexible and grounded in your context.