The Impact of Community Work : How to Gather Evidence

This book provides essential guidance for professionals and pre-qualifying students on how to gather and generate evidence of the impact of projects in the community. Including case studies from diverse community settings, it provides easy to implement, practical ideas and examples of methods to demonstrate the impact of community work. Considering not only evaluation, but also the complex processes of evidence gathering, it will help all those involved with work in the community to demonstrate the impact and value of their work. The book provides: •guidance for how to present different findings to different audiences; •methods for effectively demonstrating the value of your work; •how to demonstrate the scale, quality and significance of impact. Front Cover The Impact of Community Work: How to Gather Evidence Copyright information Table of contents List of figures and tables Notes on the authors Acknowledgments Introduction References Part I Thinking about impact 1 Impact, evidence and transformation Introduction: three case studies The intended audience for the book Social change or transformation Working in the community Principles underpinning community work Statistics and Stories Defining change and impact Transformation The bigger picture Challenge questions References 2 Power, empowerment, impact and voice Introduction Values and virtues Ethics Rights Power and empowerment Voice Trust Community engagement Participation Quality Hermeneutics Challenge questions References 3 A challenging context in which values matter Introduction Challenges in the social professions Epistemological considerations Knowing in a complex and changing environment Reflexivity Self-awareness and values Challenge questions References Part II Methods of gathering evidence 4 Presenting findings to different audiences Introduction Planning your presentation Formality/informality Triple hermeneutic The voice of participants Why present evidence? How to present evidence? Celebration and competitions Choosing what to say Self as author Ethics Visual presentation Distribution of knowledge Challenge questions References 5 Planning and evaluating Introduction Evaluation Planning Radical and freedom research Types of evaluation Stakeholders Critical reflection and self-evaluation Judgement Formative and summative evaluation Mixed methods Cost–benefit analysis On-the-spot evidence gathering Acting on recommendations Challenge questions References 6 Anecdote and observation Introduction Different ways of observing Reasons for using non-participant observation Attribution Challenges Recording observations Analysis of observations Theory Anecdotes Challenge questions References 7 Questionnaires Introduction Pros and cons When to use a questionnaire Questionnaire design Attitudes Question design Language in questions Leading and loaded questions Checklists, rating scales and other structures for responses Coding of data Challenge questions References 8 Interviews and focus groups Introduction Planning interviews Conducting interviews Self-awareness and reflexivity External interviewers Balanced questions Focus groups Clarity of purpose Focus group questions The focus group process Analysis and interpretation of focus groups and interviews Challenge questions Reference 9 Narrative inquiry Introduction Truth Forms of telling How to conduct narrative inquiry Ethics Data analysis Identity Learning Wellbeing Social presence Longitudinal impact Challenge questions References 10 Collaborative and participatory approaches Introduction Children, young people and vulnerable adults Inquiry as empowerment Participatory action research Establishing the focus of the inquiry Training and support Implementation Ethics Analysis and interpretation Reporting Challenge questions References 11 Social impact studies Introduction Some definitions Reasons to use these approaches Theory underpinning social impact studies Some examples of social outcome approaches Outcome wheels Impact mapping Social return on investment and social accounting SROI Social accounting When to use SROI or social accounting approaches Choosing the right tool Measurement Theory of change Attribution Participatory approaches Challenge questions References 12 The long haul: longitudinal studies Introduction Theory Methods Retrospective studies Strengths and limitations Challenge questions Reference 13 What everyone needs to know: management information systems Introduction MISs and the community worker: how to use the system Ethical considerations Legal considerations Pros and cons of MISs Who should use MISs? Challenge questions References 14 Using others: secondary data Introduction Secondary data and secondary literature Secondary data: using information and data to inform community practice Quality, relevance and usefulness Who, what, where, when and how Being critical Secondary literature Networks Presenting your primary and secondary data Challenge questions References 15 Knowing ourselves: self-evaluation Introduction The pros and cons of self-evaluation Identity Judgement Process Challenging ourselves Improvements in performance Impact on participants Impact on the local community Peer review Evaluative writing Self-evaluation leading to improved community service delivery Key messages Challenge questions References Part III Conclusion 16 Reflections: valuing community work Index Back Cover Ongoing conflicts between neoliberal and post-neoliberal politics have resulted in growing social instability in Latin America. This book explores the cultural dynamics of neoliberalism and anti-neoliberal resistance in Latin America as a complex set of interrelated cultural forms, examining the ways in which neoliberalism has transformed public discourses of self and social relationships, popular cultures and modes of everyday experience. 0Contributors from an international range of different disciplinary perspectives look at how Latin Americans construct subjectivities, build communities and make meaning in their everyday lives in order to analyse the discourses and cultural practices through which a societal consensus for the pursuit of neoliberal politics may be established, defended and contested The failure of a number of programmes and ongoing conflicts between neoliberal and post-neoliberal forces have resulted in growing social instability in Latin America. This book examines cultural responses to this instability. It looks at a wide range of cultural forms, such as literature, underground cinema, street fairs and self-help books to explore how Latin Americans construct subjectivities, build communities and make meaning in their everyday lives during a profound crisis of the social. In this context, the book emphasises the role which neoliberal and post-neoliberal narratives of self and social relationships may come to play in popular culture and everyday experience. This book provides practical guidance for professionals and pre-qualifying students on how to gather and generate evidence of the impact of projects in the community. It includes case studies from a range of community settings and is full of easy to implement ideas, tools and examples of methods to demonstrate the impact of work in the community This book explores neoliberalism in contemporary Latin America as a set of interrelated cultural forms, offering a transnational and comparative perspective on the ways in which neoliberalism has transformed public discourses of self and social relationships, popular cultures and modes of everyday experience