university of essex

Making It Count Project

The Essex Alliance is sharing this on behalf of the Making It Count Project, a partnership between Essex County Council and the University of Essex.

In speaking with many community and voluntary sector organisations, a key challenge they face is evidencing the impact of their work. Many have told us that the issue is not counting activities, but demonstrating outcomes such as:

  • Increased confidence
  • Reduced isolation
  • Sense of belonging
  •  Improved wellbeing
  •  Long-term change

These outcomes matter deeply, but they can be difficult to measure consistently and meaningfully.

Addressing this challenge is at the heart of the Making It Count project– a partnership between the University of Essex and Essex County Council. This project aims to support Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) organisations by creating a simple, practical toolkit to help them measure their impact. We are looking for VCSE organisations and community stakeholders in ESSEX to join us in developing this toolkit together.

There will be opportunities to contribute through:

  •  Workshops
  •  Feedback sessions
  •  Reviewing draft approaches
  •  Sharing challenges and priorities from practice

Whether you work in a food bank, community organisation, wellbeing service, social prescribing programme, volunteer-led project, or another community setting, your experience could help shape the future toolkit.

Are you delivering services in Essex and interested in getting involved? Contact us below.

 vc26288@essex.ac.uk

#VCSE #CommunityHealth #Evaluation #Outcomes #CoProduction #Essex #VoluntarySector

Author: Niamh Gibson
Posted:
Categories: Article, Consultations, News, Opportunities

Join New Lived Experience Steering Group

The Essex Alliance is sharing this opportunity on behalf of the University of Essex and Essex County Council.

We are inviting people to join the Making It Count Steering Group, a project run by Essex County Council and the University of Essex.

The project aims to develop a practical toolkit to help community organisations, charities, commissioners, and public health teams understand and show the difference their work makes.

We would like to hear from:

• Local residents who have completed feedback forms or surveys about services they have used (such as community groups, food banks, or wellbeing activities)

• People who work or volunteer in organisations that provide these types of services

If you are interested, please take a look at the attached flyer for more information about the role, support available, and payment for taking part.

Click HERE for Flyer

To express your interest, please complete the short online form here: Expression of Interest Form

We would also appreciate it if you could share this invitation with colleagues, community groups, and local residents who may be interested.

We would love to hear from you.

Author: Niamh Gibson
Posted:
Categories: Article, News, Opportunities