Buzzing to be leading a couple of breakouts at The Future of Social Impact 🙌 ⚡ How to design impact frameworks that actually get used ⚡ Data essentials for social impact 📅 Tues 18 Nov 🎟️ Tickets almost gone (<30 left) 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future...

I’m speaking at the @dsc-charity.bsky.social #GrantsUnlocked2025 conference this Thursday 🎤🚀 I’ll be sharing how to measure & report impact in ways people actually care about. Cool tools + practical tips for charities 🙌 👉 dsc.org.uk/event/grants-unlocked-2025

I am speaking at the next @dsc-charity.bsky.social online conference on 'Measuring and Reporting Impact'. I'm going to try and make it as practical as possible so people walk away with some actionable insights. Pre-questions also welcome! Details here: www.dsc.org.uk/event/grants...

I’m currently looking for a panel member for a session I’m hosting at our conference on the 18th November. I’m looking for an org that actively uses its impact framework as their North Star. If you are or know someone, give me a shout!

👋 Charity friends 👋 One of the top GDPR questions I get is "Can we collect postcodes?" The answer: sometimes ✅ sometimes ⚠️ And the risks are bigger than most people think (especially in rural areas)

🧵Impact Report Best Practices ⬇️ Just finished reading the latest @dofe.org Impact Report and their Technical Report, and wow, the level of transparency and rigour in their measurement framework is impressive. 📊👏 https://impctlab.uk/DoEImpactReport https://impctlab.uk/DoETechnicalReport (1/7)

🚨📊 The English #IndicesOfDeprivation2025 will be released in Oct/Nov this year. This is huge! 🔥 #IMD underpins funding decisions, #research, #policy targeting, and #impact #measurement across England. If you use #postcode #data, map #disadvantage, or care about place-based work, get ready. 🗺️

🧵 I was a panelist at the #Charity #AI #Conference yesterday, hosted by the ‪@dsc-charity.bsky.social‬. One recurring question: What’s the true environmental cost of all this AI? ⚡️ (1/7)

🧠✨ I'm speaking at the #Charity #AI #Conference today, diving into what AI really means for the sector. Not the hype. Not the doom but the real, messy, hopeful reality of what AI can actually do for charities. ✅ Faster reporting ✅ Smarter insights ⚠️ But also bias, bad data, and a big access gap

🧵Is #Bluesky dead? ☠️ 🧵 Not technically but something’s shifted. The early energy, ideas, curiosity seem to have faded. Let’s talk about it 👇 (1/6)

🧵Why are researchers complaining about the Labour Force Survey (LFS)? Because it's (currently) not doing what it's meant to do: reliably tell us what’s going on in the UK labour market. A quick breakdown ⬇️ (1/8)

The tails and nails of #impact measurement: A blog on what gets measured gets managed: www.linkedin.com/posts/trust-...

#SomebodyFeedPhil is back for Season 8. Wholesome. ❤️

🧵 Should your charity use Free School Meals as a proxy for deprivation? 🧵 A lot of charities use FSM eligibility to reassure themselves they’re reaching people in need. On paper it works. But in practice, it’s a blunt tool and it might be misleading your analysis. 🧩 (1/8)

The cycle of corporate volunteering: 🔁 Arrive 🎨 Paint a wall ⏭️ Leave 🔁 Next group strips the paint 🎨 Repaints Meanwhile, the charity handles safeguarding, logistics, and admin. Isn’t it time we built support around need, not novelty? (1/5)

An excellent post from Heidi Fisher MBE on why #SocialValue isn’t working the way it should: www.linkedin.com/posts/heidil...

Interestingly enough, the example of social value washing that I mention in the below thread has been quietly unlinked from the charity's main page...

I don’t ask for help very often, so here goes: I currently sit as Chair of Manchester Young Lives, an amazing charity focussed on supporting the children and young people of Greater Manchester to improve their lives through learning and fun.

What if we created a social impact credit system? A bit like carbon credits, but for homelessness, youth unemployment, community mental health, etc? Let companies earn or buy verified, measurable social outcomes. 🎯 Make impact tradeable. (1/8)

Very random request but has anyone got a copy of the Priority Places for Food Index? Turns out data.cdrc.ac.uk is no longer and Leeds University has caught up yet. 😔

Our reflections on #Anthropy24: www.linkedin.com/posts/trust-...

My good friend, mentor, and occasional running partner @matt-sd.bsky.social is writing a book on how to understand, measure, and actually maximise #Social #Impact. It’s going to be a must-read for the sector, so feel free to politely (or persistently) nudge him until it’s out.

I'm bringing back #FreebieFriday! I've talked to over 200 #Charities about their #Monitoring, #Evaluation, #Accountability and #Learning strategies for #SocialImpact I’m back offering time every friday #ProBono. No catches, just book in here: impctlab.uk/freebiefriday Please share!

What in the #BlackMirror have we become? Our brightest minds no longer work out how to solve cancer but instead how to exploit and exacerbate teenage girls #MentalHealth issues 😔 futurism.com/facebook-bea...

I’ve somehow come into possession of the data on every single local authority’s Council Tax bands and associated costs. Now what? Suggestions very welcome.

Randomly got asked to comment on which #Fintech sub sectors will have the biggest impact on people’s financial wellbeing this year. Unsurprisingly, I said #AI #advice at the point of sale. Didn’t realise it had been published: thefintechtimes.com/which-fintec...

🧵 Have we raised enough awareness? 📊📄 I checked the Charity Commission website over the weekend. There are currently 170,942 active charities in England and Wales. Of these, only 7,550 (about 4.5%) list "awareness" in their formal activities or objectives. (1/11)

I’ve got space to take on a new client at The Impact Lab. If you need support with data, research, or strengthening the backbone of your impact work - I’d love to help. More at theimpactlab.co.uk, or feel free to drop me a message.

When a #charity sends you their merch. 😍 😍 😍

Alright you lovely lot. I've just opened up a free tier to group-pulse.com. So, if you are playing around with #polling, #surveying, gathering #feedback in your #consultant work, lectures, board meetings, etc. then please give it a go and give me your feedback for improvement! #Free #Mentimeter

🧵 Had a call this week that left me frustrated. A huge grant maker funding a youth-led learning project decided it wouldn’t collect individual-level data. Just totals. No identities, no journeys. Here’s why that choice isn’t neutral and why it could cause real harm. 👇 (1/11)

“You can drive past this place and not give it a second glance”. Have you developed cataracts Kevin? Edwardian? It looks like Strangeways #GrandDesigns

Got frustrated by the cost and limitations of mentimeter for #polls #quizzes #questionnaires So built my own: group-pulse.com Very much still in Beta but if you wanna try it out and give me some feedback and suggestions for functionality that would be much appreciated!

I chat with Ryan Miemczyk, Chair of Trustees at Manchester Young Lives, about how play and recreation can transform young lives 🎧 Listen: www.meetthemancunian.co.uk/s10e7 #Youth #Sports #community #GM #manchester #SocialImpact #NonProfit #podcast @ryanmiemczyk.ourimpact.co.uk

This isn’t my area of expertise, but I do love open data and I happened to notice this dataset from the ONS has just dropped. It’s the weekly deaths registered in England & Wales, up to 21 March 2025. And something odd is going on 👇 (1/4)

Awful picture, vaguely coherent ramblings from me, lovely host. As always, grateful for the clicks 🖱️ #Social #Impact #Research #Charity #ThirdSector #Podcast

That’s #Anthropy25 done. Exhausting, inspiring, collaborative, and fascinating. Highly recommended.

I went to a panel yesterday on the wellbeing economy. The conversation was inspiring, but it got me thinking: what if replacing GDP with wellbeing is just swapping one incentive structure for another? And what might the unintended consequences be? A thread 🧵 (1/11)

Day 2 @ #Anthropy - Session 1: Kemi Badenoch opens with her vision for the future of the UK

Day 1 - last session of my day: ‘From Utopian Ideal to Economic Imperative’. Excellent session with contributions from @mattwhittaker.bsky.social & @sarahdavidson.bsky.social. Leaders of two excellent orgs contributing to the #Wellbeing economy research landscape.

#Anthropy Day 1 Session 3 - Generative Artificial Intelligence: Muse or Menace? Debate on how quickly or if at all, we should legislate. Should we distinguish #AI generated vs traditional generated content, do we risk falling permanently behind the curve if we restrict training data in the west?

Session 2 at #Anthropy. Blueprints for Change: Structuring Businesses for Impact. Interesting discussion on the pros and cons for employee owned businesses and how these impact on your appetite for risk etc.

Day 1 - First session: The Future of Social Value. £4million a day goes out from the National Lottery Community Fund. A grant out every 4 mins. ‘But where does the f*ck does the social value go?!’ - Julia Cleverdon - Chair of National Lottery CF 😮 🤯 😮

We’re here at #Anthropy! Going to try and do some live tweeting from Day 1. First session: The Future of Social Value.

🧵 Do charities actually do what they think they do? We’ve been doing a lot of insight work with charities lately, proper conversations with the people they’re set up to help. And we keep running into the same thing. (1/8)

Right, I’m off to #Anthropy2025 next week. I’ve left it way too late to start booking slots. Whose seminars should I be trying to sneak into? Thanks in advance!

Falling behind already in my monthly reading. Finally finished ‘The Smartest Guys in the Room’ by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkins. Well worth a read. Looking for recommendations for my next one please!

Awesome day hanging out talking #charity #impact at #ACEVOFest. Great to hear about all the interesting and amazing things your charities are doing! If I didn’t get chance to talk, you can still drop me a message here or find me on the app! Enjoy day 2!

💡 I’m at #ACEVOFest tomorrow, hanging out on a stand & talking all things #CharityImpact! 💡 If you wanna chat about making impact live, actionable & meaningful (or just geek out over #DataForGood), come say hi! Let’s make measuring impact less of a headache & more of a superpower. 💡📊 #SocialImpact

Interesting use of colour on the rating scale for this Net Promoter Score question... 🎨 By coloring 0-6 in red, 7-8 in amber, and 9-10 in green, they're subtly nudging respondents to choose higher scores. 🤔 Is this smart UX or leading the witness? 🚦 #NPS #SurveyBias