NGOs and Development
The impact was real. It was trapped in a 90-page report.
A community development organisation in the Free State
Illustrative engagement
- Evidence label
- Illustrative engagement
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- Diagnostic hierarchy
- Levels 6 and 9
- Frameworks applied
- GoTo Insight™, GoTo Academy™
01
Evidence statement
What this page claims, and what it does not
Structurally representative of the firm’s work in this sector. Client identity withheld. Figures shown are the kind of measures agreed at the Define stage, not reported results.
02
The brief and the diagnosis
02The presenting request
Design an annual report that would improve donor confidence.
“Our annual report is not attracting funders. It needs to look better.”
What we found
The report was not badly designed. It was structurally unusable: the evidence of impact was present but buried, the method was not stated, and a funder could not extract a defensible figure in under twenty minutes. Design would have made an unusable document attractive. The problem sat at level six, systems and data, and level nine, measurement.
Diagnostic hierarchy: Levels 6 and 9
03
Approach
03How the work was run
Approach.
- 01Impact evidence extracted and structured before any design work began.
- 02Method and sample stated alongside each figure, because results without a stated method are opinion with charts.
- 03A one-page funder summary designed to be extractable and forwardable.
- 04A reporting rhythm a two-person team could sustain without a specialist.
- 05Capability training so the next report does not require the supplier.
Delivered
Structured impact evidence base
Annual report and one-page funder summary
Reporting rhythm and templates
Capability training and training record
04
Measures
04Success measures
Specific, sourced and dated. Agreed at the Define stage.
The figures below are illustrative targets of the kind agreed at Define. They are not reported results, and this page does not present them as such.
| Measure | Baseline | Target | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time for a funder to locate a defensible impact figure | Over 20 minutes | Under 2 minutes | Structured walkthrough with three external readers |
| Figures published with a stated method and sample | 0 of 14 | 14 of 14 | Editorial checklist |
| Reports produced without external support | 0 | Next cycle produced in-house | Follow-up at 90 days |
Handover
Templates, evidence base and training record handed over. Development sector pricing applied, approved as a decision and recorded as an investment.
05
Related
Frameworks applied
Services involved
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