WEvolution
Anthill Collective partnered with Scottish community-led empowerment group WEvolution on an impact analysis of their Small, Powerful Group initiatives. Pairing people-centred research methods with economic analyses of impact led to a comprehensive impact report, an economic return on investment analysis, and case studies that bring community stories to life.
Client
WEvolution
Community-led change
Gender-based empowerment
Microfinance and micro-entrepreneurship
Sector
Social return on investment analysis
Impact measurement
Evaluation framework design
Our services
Our aim was to measure the impact of WEvolution's community-led empowerment groups, using research methods that prioritize voices of the women WEvolution supports and bring participant experiences to life.
Project goals
A social return on investment analysis showing significant economic benefits from WEvolution’s work. Plus, a series of case studies bringing impacts to life, a longitudinal survey modeling wellbeing and positive impacts against national statistics, and a comprehensive impact report, sleekly branded.
Outcomes
Many women in Scotland experience economic and social stressors and, while individually resilient, are not always provided the structural support needed to address them. This can lead to increased individual stress isolation and reduced cognitive bandwidth, and can exacerbate economic hardship. WEvolution believes that community-based support can give women across Scotland the support they need to deal with hardship, to learn new skills and take on entrepreneurship and, ultimately, to thrive.
Anthill Collective led a year long partnership with WEvolution to measure the impact of their Small, Powerful Groups (SPGs) initiative—an innovative model empowering women in Scotland to lead community-driven collectives focusing on microfinance, skill-building and micro-entrepreneurship. Our goal was not only to measure WEvolution's impacts, but to explore sustainable growth for community-led models.
People-powered research
A core tenet of WEvolution’s work is putting change in the hands of the community. With that in mind, we designed a set of research methods that was people-powered, meaning it centered the perspectives of our participants. Our research focused on understanding the lived experiences of WEvolution participants, and using that to create a backdrop for measuring impact.
Interviews and diary studies
Through one-to-one interviews and diary studies we gathered direct input on the lived experiences of the people WEvolution supports. These interviews offered unfiltered insights into the daily lives, challenges, and aspirations of SPG members, while the diary studies provided a longitudinal view of their journeys, capturing their experiences of change based on thematic questions asked over a seven day arc.
Most Significant Change evaluations
Using a novel Most Significant Change (MSC) research method, we worked with SPG members to identify, group and prioritize narratives of change from their lived experiences. This qualitative tool allowed us to prototype solutions that were directly informed by the most impactful changes experienced by the community members, ensuring our interventions were both relevant and transformative.
Longitudinal impact surveys
Through longitudinal surveys and comparison against national statistics we used quantitative tools to track the impact of SPG participation over time, helping us track impacts broadly, over time. By mapping the length of time participants had been taking part in WEvolution initiatives and mapping impacts against length of participation, we were able to show an increase in positive impacts over time for many of WEvolution’s key outcomes. Plus, we were able to map WEvolution participant data against data for comparative groups across Scotland to show big impacts in a robust way. These surveys helped us take a broader lens to the impact of WEvolution’s work, bringing a wider perspective to the deep and personal qualitative learnings gathered through methods like one-to-one interviews.
Measuring the social return on investment
We calculated the social, environmental, and economic value created by WEvolution's initiatives and compared it to operating costs and income to build a social return on investment. This measurement approach allowed us to assign monetary value to the impact of WEvolution’s work, and framed the positive value of WEvolution’s impact economically.
Mapping new models for community-led change
In our work with WEvolution, we set out to understand the impact they've made in communities across Scotland. From supporting women in Scotland as they step into entrepreneurship to building community-led groups that support each other's economic and personal development, we aimed to capture the real effects of these initiatives. Our findings showed the power of community-led work, and we used these findings to design recommendations for how WEvolution can continue to expand and improve, and how community-led models can become more sustainable over time.