Don't wait for that project's success story, it may never come

I am always surprised by the reaction of project-implementing colleagues whenever I ask them to share stories about the impact their work is having. More often than not, many appear helpless and unable to provide any.

With budgets in millions and beneficiaries in hundreds, how can it be hard for someone implementing a project?to spot stories about the impact of their work? If you struggle to spot impact stories about your work, this article is for you.

Over the years, colleagues have told me they cannot spot impact stories?because impact only happens after the project has been successfully implemented. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Waiting to tell a project’s impact story after it has ended is like sitting down to watch a football match and just after the kick-off whistle, your screen goes dark only to come back on 90 minutes later showing you the final score. Do you know anyone who would be interested in watching football that way?

Although the ultimate objective for each team in any football match is to score the most goals, the journey to that desired end—the dodges, attempts on goal, misses, tackles, etc.—is what makes watching football worthwhile for most football fans.

A project's overall success comes from the gradual and cumulative impact different interventions have along the project’s implementation timeline. Take for example a project being implemented to end malnutrition in a community.

The ultimate goal for such a project would be to have members of that community well-nourished and healthy. However, such a goal is not achievable with one silver bullet because, typically, several factors contribute to malnutrition in any community. Mothers may, for example, not be feeding their children nutritious foods because they lack knowledge of what constitutes a balanced diet for a child, or they cannot access nutritious foods, or there is poor sanitation in the community that’s keeping the children perpetually ill.

If, therefore, other intervening factors out of the organisation's control make it impossible for the project to attain its ultimate goal of a malnutrition-free community, would it be fair to say that because the desired end was never achieved?the project had no impact? Of course not.

The WordWeb dictionary defines impact as to “have an effect upon.” And whenever any intervention changes a situation and makes it better, that is an impact worth telling a story about.

From the example above, mothers acquiring knowledge on what a balanced diet is and applying the same is impact achieved regardless of whether the mothers' application of that knowledge leads to eradication of malnutrition [in the whole community] or not.

The significance of any project's interventions?notwithstanding, they are hardly the only ingredients needed to midwife the desired transformation in a?community. Natural factors, social factors, political factors, etc., are all at play in the arena of your interventions and any of them can hinder the attainment of the overall transformation you envisioned.

?Therefore, do not wait until your project has been completed and successfully implemented before you can tell stories about its impact. No doubt a story is sweeter when it has a good ending. However, like football commentators, get into the habit of telling the story of the journey to your project's desired end as it unfolds because its glorious end may, for reasons beyond your control, elude you.

Read more of my articles on my website: https://ensinikwetyo.com/articles?categoryID=4

#Communications #ImpactStories #SuccessStories #ProjectImplementation