Sustaining Impact: Ways to Look After Yourself in Impact and Evaluation Roles

By Verity Buckley, Research Impact Lead (King’s College London) and Coach for impact professionals (The Bright Thread)

Charity impact and evaluation roles are often rewarding, but can also be really demanding. Days are spent balancing competing priorities, delivering with limited resources and handling complex data and evidence to (hopefully) influence others to make informed decisions for a greater good. 

Figure 1 - Seminar participant responses to common challenges

The challenges we face aren't personal failings! They are common realities of working in complex systems. Sustaining our wellbeing in such systems often relies on finding ways to:

• Regain feelings of agency;

• Protect time to think and learn;

• Work in ways that align to our values, needs and preferences;

• Reflect on experiences, rather than moving straight onto the next project;

• Feel connected to others in similar roles.

The good news is that looking after ourselves doesn't always require dramatic change. Often, it's small, intentional changes that make the biggest difference. Here are some ideas you can try.

1. Focus on where you have control vs influence

It's easy to become consumed by the things we can't control: organisational priorities, leadership decisions, funding constraints, or how our recommendations are implemented in practice (if at all). 

A useful way to work through such frustrations is via Stephen Coveys Circles of Control. You may not be able to control whether your report is actioned, but you can control how the report is written and influence how decision makers respond. You may not control organisational priorities, but you can build relationships with decision-makers and leverage connections to influence change. You also get to decide how to frame your challenges within a broader circle of concern – i.e. what do you really care about? What priorities or goals dictate what you do, how you do it, and why? These could be priorities of your organisation, your clients or your own professional development.

Next time you face a challenge, ask yourself:

• What can I control?

• Who or what can I influence?

• What is the broader issue or concern that truly steers or motivates me?

  
  

2. Protecting space, defeating habit

The irony of evaluation is that thinking is our job, yet time to think is often the first thing to disappear from our diaries. Meetings fill every available space, emails bulk out our to-do list, urgent requests crowd out the important ones. We also often rely on familiar ways of working and give little time to seeking out and trying new methods and technologies, or even just reviewing the latest sector developments. 

It’s important to block out time to think and learn, to be creative, and to reflect on habits that don’t always serve us. For me, my best thinking is done on dog walks or at a table with felt-tip pens, blank paper and a big cup of tea. If I want to learn, I take a book or printed materials to a library, café, or the sofa (anywhere but my desk!).

There isn’t a right or wrong way to think or learn, but it’s important to commit to creating conditions and trying new things that might work for you. I would encourage you to make that commitment, to look at your diary, and block out 30 – 60 minutes to think, learn or be creative. Go, do it now (but come back to read the rest of the blog)!

3. Don't rush from one project to the next

How often do you finish an evaluation, submit the report, and immediately move on to the next deadline? Evaluation professionals are fabulous at helping other people learn from projects, but often much less intentional about learning from our own work. I really love this simple reflection framework to close projects and carry forward learning:

Figure 2 - The Close and Carry Forward framework

4. Find your people

During our online session, most attendees reported that they worked alone or in very small teams. That makes networks like ChEW really important! But leveraging networks, rather than just being a part of them, can be challenging, especially when we worry about positioning ourselves as the ones needing help, rather than the ones who can offer expertise. 

In our session, I asked people what expertise they could offer others – responses included mentoring, live data pipelines, project management, lived experience engagement, accessible output generation, even “how to spot a bad manager”! We then invited participants to express interest in learning about this expertise and offer connections offline. The generosity in the room was beautiful and served as a reminder that everyone has something valuable to share with others.

Communities like ChEW provide wonderful spaces to test ideas, share challenges, celebrate successes and remember that other people are navigating similar complexities. The network contains oodles of experience and can be used to connect and learn from each other. I would encourage you to do this with enthusiasm, whenever and how ever the opportunity arises.

A final note

Both the blog and the seminar offer ways to manage your time, shift perceptions, and leverage networks to overcome challenges we face impact and evaluation roles. If you feel mentally overwhelmed and it is affecting your wellbeing, please do seek professional support.