Mencap receives the The UK Evaluation Society's Data Analytics in Evaluation Prize

Mencap is thrilled to have received the UK Evaluation Society Data Analytics in Evaluation prize for our Impact Dashboard!

This project has a partnership between Mencap’s Research & Impact Team and Data Team for over two years.

In April 2021, Mencap launched its new strategy, Our Big Plan. We wanted to make sure we could understand the impact of Our Big Plan for people with a learning disability, their families, the communities they live in, as well as our colleagues and volunteers.

An Evaluation and Monitoring Framework (EMF) was developed to help us agree on the best information to collect so that we can monitor what is going well, what could be better, make decisions based on evidence, and report consistently on the positive change of Our Big Plan at the individual, community, society and organisational.

The EMF represents a shift away from being only output and operationally focused, towards a culture where outcomes, impact and evidence are at the centre of both delivery and strategic decision-making.

The idea for the Impact Dashboard was born from the desire to be more transparent about our impact. It makes all 60+ output and outcome key performance indicators (KPIs) available to colleagues at Mencap, allowing them to see progress against across our areas of work.

Each KPI has an accompanying narrative analysis, as well as information about the data source, data owner, geographical or programmatic coverage and when the data will next be updated.

KPI data enters the dashboard from multiple data sources. Where possible, we have automated data flows, or we manually collate using a survey platform. Our long-term vision is for the Impact Dashboard to be entirely automated.

Being Inclusive is one of Mencap’s values so it was important to us that the Impact Dashboard be accessible for all colleagues. It was designed in consultation with colleagues with a learning disability who continue to provide on the design and content.

The dashboard makes a breadth of data available at a click of a button. It has been an essential tool for colleagues including Executive Directors and our Trustees to facilitate making evidence-driven decisions in meetings and has enabled a much more seamless annual report writing process.

We’re proud that the Impact Dashboard has been recognised as an innovative data analysis product. A huge congratulations to Dr Carla Barrett , Marie Loeb , Manpaal Singh , and Agnieszka Dennis for their work on this!