At the beginning of March 2014, we held an event to discuss campaigning – to encourage funders and others to consider the value of campaigns in realising their goals, particularly in relation to attitudinal change.

The session was centred on a panel debate chaired by Brian Lamb, author of the Good Guide to Influencing and Campaigning. On the panel, we were joined by Linda Butcher, Chief Executive of The Sheila McKechnie Foundation, Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind on the Time to Change campaign, Sally Cupitt, Head of Consultancy at Charities Evaluation Services, and Alison Goldsworthy, Director at the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust.

Attitudinal change is notoriously difficult to achieve, let alone behavioural change. Whether an issue requires shifts in policy or public attitudes, virtually every societal challenge needs action on one if not both fronts. Campaigning is one established method of achieving such shifts, but campaigning can be particularly tricky to evaluate for impact and, as such, it can be more difficult to find funding for campaigns than for other types of initiatives.

 

Key Discussions

What evidence is there of the impact of campaigning? And specifically of policy campaigning and behavioural change campaigning?

Policy change is usually a combination of factors and it’s difficult to measure or trace a direct impact. Complete attribution is an impossible task unless a very explicit purpose has been outlined. Smaller charities, such as Intern Aware, can also achieve big changes if they have the right strategy and timing in place.

What can campaigns do that nothing else can?

Attitudinal change takes time and campaigns are a good way of achieving this in the long-term. Campaigns can also act as a tool for empowerment for specific groups that feel underrepresented in society.

What are the common challenges in evaluating campaigns?

• Setting out concrete targets and sharing learning from the evaluation amongst peers.
• Evaluation varies due to many initiatives having a multi-funder campaign – each funder handles the results differently, so the measurement and evaluation of the campaign for the same project can vary depending on what tools/approach the funder uses.

• Capacity building around evaluation and impact assessment needs to be developed across the sector.

What particular methods have you found to be most useful in evaluation?

• A two-part evaluation needed: long term and activity-based (evaluating each component or activity of the campaign on a timescale).
• Utilise different tools for evaluation, especially with a ‘human-touch’, for example, telling stories, using social media, and innovative ways of presenting evidence.

• Important to consult external/independent evaluators from the beginning of the campaign.

• Evaluation should also be based on learning and sharing from other funders and beneficiaries. So it is crucial to work with key partners on a large campaign.

How can foundations, charities and all other funders benefit from the learning and sharing of campaign successes and failures across the board?

• Organising events which can create a sense of community within the sector (networking).

• Producing publications/reports to highlight and share the learning (funders to support the evaluation report/commissions).

Do you think there’s an issue of campaigning approaches being underfunded? 

There is a tension within funding organisations as they have to prove ‘direct-impact/outcomes’ to their board of trustees to secure more funding.

Future Considerations

• How can campaigns help reduce discrimination against vulnerable/underrepresented groups in society? (e.g. mentally ill people)
• How much should funders involve external evaluators?

• How can we develop centralised tools and methods for campaigning?

• How should funders best facilitate learning and sharing, such as through collaborations and networking?

• How can campaigns amplify voices of grass-roots funded projects?

 

Further Reading

Linda Butcher – an overview of campaigning for attitudinal and policy change, common success factors and what works

Paul Farmer – reflections from a public facing campaign, its impact and how they know about impact

Alison Goldsworthy – reflections of a funder – why fund campaigns?

Sally Cupitt – reflections on evaluating the Campaign to End Loneliness

Sally Cupitt – Evaluating the Campaign to End Loneliness (Full Report)

Brian Lamb – Is campaigning really worth the money?