We’re so proud to publish our impact and learning review, Change is Happening. In it we share some incredible impact stories and insights from our project partners, past and present, and what we ourselves have learned along the way. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to spend time speaking with our project partners about their successes, their challenges, and what’s next in their journey. We have learned a lot and hope you will too.
Collective and individual impact
This report focuses specifically on the stories of the project partners that we have backed since 2012. What a story they tell together; collectively, our project partners have engaged over 700,000 young people and 66,000 adults who support them. They are working in 574 communities spread out over 30 cities across the UK, from Penzance to Edinburgh. They have also unlocked over £45 million in follow on funding for their pioneering work.
Individually, they have started to have a profound impact on the communities that they work with;
- BounceForward found that their resilience training brings about significant improvements in life satisfaction and global health.
- 94% of those who have participated in Franklin Scholars’ peer mentorship programs say that they are more likely to help others in the future as a result of taking part.
- Voice 21’s pioneering approach to oracy education has positively impacted teachers’ confidence in leading oracy across their schools.
- 86% of Frontline graduates stay in the field of social work, where they have a 95% approval rating from the Local Authorities they work with.
We could go on, but instead we encourage you to read all of these amazing stories and more in Change is Happening.
Three key areas of impact
- Increasing agency – projects are supporting young people to grow in confidence and self belief, and to be determined and able to take control of their lives and shape their futures
- Expanding opportunity – projects are increasing the range and diversity of how, when and where young people develop valuable new knowledge and skills
- Growing the ecosystem – projects are creating a broader range of inspiring and ambitious adults and organisations, who are working in new ways to improve young people’s learning and wellbeing
Individually, these impact areas have intrinsic and immediate value for the young people and adults taking part in projects now. Together and over time, they show that a new way is possible; reimagining education so that all young people can thrive in life, not just exams. We explore some of these ideas further in the review, and hope this sparks interest and debate.
Thank you to our project partners, our community and our wider team for helping us bring these stories and insights to life – we look forward to hearing what you think!
Big Love,
Caitlin & the Big Change team