Позитивные изменения. Том 2, №4 (2022). Positive changes. Volume 2, Issue 4 (2022). Редакция журнала «Позитивные изменения»

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and Educational Programs Department of the Social Projects Support Fund of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

NO MATTER WHAT, WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE IN THE FIELD OF EVALUATION

      There are four winners in the Development of Practices for Implementation of Evaluation of Social Projects category. The first award went to the Timchenko Foundation for developing a standard of evidence-based practices for evaluating social impact in childhood and for shaping approaches to assessing the effectiveness of community development.

      In 2018, with the strategic participation of the Timchenko Foundation, the Standard for Evidence-Based Social Practices appeared in Russia[22]. It was developed by specialists from expert organizations, including Center for Evidence-Based Social Design of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Association of Program and Policy Evaluators, Process Consulting company, Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family, and Education of the Russian Academy of Education.

      10 organizations from Moscow, Penza, Cherepovets, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ivanovo provided descriptions of their social practices (model, technology, methodology, service, etc.) in an evidence-based format and were professionally verified. The format of the practice description implies its brief content, information on the achievement of social results, the quality of the available evidence on the achievement of positive changes in the lives of the beneficiaries, the regulated nature, the validity and good elaboration of the practice concept.

      The standard is now a document that is evolving both methodologically and practically. In particular, the provisions of the standard are taken into account by the relevant ministries when developing methodological recommendations for organizations in the field of childhood, and the academic community makes extensive use of the standard's developments.

      Another area of the Timchenko Foundation's work is the development of approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of local community development. In 2022, the foundation launched the Solidarity Communities project competition, which aims to solve small area problems by local communities, organizations, and initiative groups[23].

      Maria Morozova, General Director of the Timchenko Foundation, told the Positive Changes Journal how the foundation created, approved, and independently audited a system for monitoring and evaluating programs.

      “We use the ‘theory of change,' assuming how change will occur in the short, medium and long term. As part of it, we developed our own system of indicators, which helps to see the results. Each program has a different one, but they are all governed by the same standards and principles. The monitoring and evaluation system includes all participants in the activities – the foundation, regional operators, and beneficiaries – and this helps all of us develop, make informed strategic and management decisions, and achieve significant social changes,” says Maria Morozova.

      The system has a pyramid structure:

      • the lower level is the direct results of the foundation's work (number of events, trained specialists, newly developed methodological materials, etc.);

      • the middle is the results achieved by the supported projects (changes in the lives of the people for whom the foundation works – children saved in their families, jobs, co-financing for the development of the city, etc.);

      • the third, uppermost level is the long-term social impact, the change at the societal level of the situation that underlies the program. This is usually determined through external independent research.

      Another winner in this category was the Help Needed foundation for creating the Core IT service, which allows socially oriented non-profit organizations to create reports, plan goals, and measure social impact[24].

      Elizaveta Yaznevich, head of research at the Nuzhna Pomosh (Help Needed) foundation, told about other projects that the foundation developed in 2022. For example, the foundation's team of experts prepared a guide on creating and evaluating impact projects for the Sistema Charitable Foundation[25].

      “We studied the experience of Sistema JSFC Group companies – the experience is varied in many ways, and together we formulated the criteria for classifying a project supported by business as an impact investment. The goal of such investments is to achieve a positive, measurable social or environmental effect – simultaneously with the business result; all the expected results of the project are measurable and attainable; the effect achieved is long-term. In addition, based primarily on the literature dedicated to monitoring and evaluation of social projects, we have prescribed methodological guidelines for all stages of the impact investment project cycle. In its final form, the guide is designed for a wide target audience: from the shareholder making the decision to invest to the employee generating the project idea,” says Elizaveta Yaznevich.

      The prize was also awarded to the Way Home Charitable Foundation for introducing systemic monitoring and evaluation tools into the practice of grantmaking organizations. 2022 saw several significant events for the foundation. Thus, as part of the Association of Program and Policy Evaluators conference, the Way Home foundation specialists shared their experience with colleagues from all over Russia in implementing and using monitoring and evaluation of socially significant projects, including the experience of those who are just beginning to use monitoring and evaluation. For the first time in the eight years of the conference, one of the sections was devoted entirely to the experience of the Way Home Charitable Foundation.

      It is also worth noting the victory in the Corporate Philanthropy Leaders contest held by the Donors Forum. In the Best Program Promoting Sustainable Development through Grant Competitions (Best Grant Competition) category, 1st place was won by Severstal with the Way Home Charitable Foundation grant competition.

      “This was only achieved through a two-year implementation of the results of an independent external evaluation of the foundation's grant competition conducted in 2019. It is important that despite all the events happening in the country and the world, we continue to develop the theme of evaluation, increasingly promoting the principles of evidence-based social design, emphasizing that positive changes in the lives of beneficiaries, communities and territories is the main purpose of NPO activities,” – says Alena Bogomolova, head of the Resource and Methodology Center of the Way Home charity foundation of the Severstal company, member of the Management Board of Association of Program and Policy Evaluators.

      According to the expert, specialists from the foundation's Resource and Methodology Center traditionally work with all new grantees on logical models or chains of social results of projects at the beginning of their implementation. In 2022, the level of training for beginners has increased significantly and the time for this work took half as much as in previous years.

      “For us, the question of how to implement a culture of evaluation in an organization is always relevant. This year we added blocks about monitoring and evaluation to the social design training seminars. Thus, when working on social design skills, even those entering the topic for the first time immediately perceive monitoring and evaluation as integral processes in their work. We tested this program in seven districts of the Vologda Region,” said Alena Bogomolova.

      The fourth prize in this category was won by the Our Future Foundation for systematizing methods and programs in the field of evaluating the social and economic effectiveness of social enterprises and impact investors. In 2022, the foundation conducted a sample study of the social impact of social entrepreneurs' projects in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra[26]. Three projects were selected for the study: X–Land computer club (Nizhnevartovsk), Seven Dwarfs kindergarten (Nefteyugansk) and Botanica Bar (Nizhnevartovsk). In 2016–2018, these companies

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