Programme Evaluation

Situation

Social Tech Trust (formerly Nominet Trust) is the UK’s leading dedicated investor of socially motivated technology. Since 2008, they have supported almost 800 initiatives in the UK, providing more than £31m of funding to transform lives with tech. The Trust’s Social Tech Programmes awarded a total of £3.8m between October 2013 and August 2016 to 66 organisations, and they were keen to understand the impact of its programmes on funding recipients, as well as looking at their subsequent journeys in terms of organisational performance and impact.

Our approach

We designed an evaluation framework and collected a blend of qualitative and quantitative primary data (through in-depth interviews and online surveys) to understand the end-to-end grant management process, as well as the perceptions and experiences of grantees. Grounded in our deep understanding of the tech for good sector, we provided the Trust with a detailed evaluation report with targeted insights, including measures of social impact and common project success factors, and practical recommendations to improve the effectiveness of its programmes. This was complemented by an analysis of the Trust’s market positioning in the ‘tech for good’ sector and future areas for improvement.

Our impact

The report was widely shared with internal and external stakeholders and was well received by the Board of Trustees. Our key findings went on to inform and shape future strategic planning and programme development. This included recommendations on which organisations and founders to provide grants to, which level and type of support is required to make grantees successful, and how to improve the overall process to enhance future programmes and the overall user experience.