Evaluation, Impact and Outcomes: What does it mean for Us?

This document reports on the deliberations of workshops jointly organised by the Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD), ESRC-funded Civil Society Research Centre and the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS). The aim of the two workshops held in Cardiff and Llandudno was to re-start a Welsh national discussion about the evaluation, impact and outcomes of youth work in Wales. They sought to respond to what was perceived as fog and confusion facing youth work organisations regarding evaluation and outcomes, including the varying requirements from different funders as to how to go about evaluating and demonstrating the impact of youth work. The workshops built upon collaboration between WISERD and CWVYS, which has developed as part of a comparative project within the research centre on the identities of young people in Scotland and Wales.1 Bethia McNeil from the Centre for Youth Impact also led a workshop session on evaluation and impact measurement in the youth sector. (Please see programme in the appendix).

This document summarises the main elements of the discussions that took place during the two workshops, including points raised during group work sessions by attendees. The presentations themselves have also been shared with the workshop attendees. All materials are available on the CWVYS website (under ‘Our Work’, ‘Measuring Impact’ menu list).