Phase one workshops - an outline
If you want to follow the full Phase one approach, take a look at the Phase one PDF. Below, we have broken down the core workshop components for you. You can use whatever works for you - pick and mix and make your own impact journey.
About the workshops
Who is involved? Your total group could be anywhere between 6 and 15 people, though more than 10 people can be more challenging to facilitate. In each breakout group, you should ideally have three - five people. Online formats might more suitable for larger groups because you can divide everyone into breakout rooms.
Preparation: Digital workshop: digital white board, meeting link, instructions on how to use the digital white-board. Physical workshop: print outs (A3 or A2) of the relevant canvases (e.g. Change Pathway or Strategic Perspectives tool), or map out the key components on a white board or wall; post-it notes, pens. Book a room and prepare it before the workshop(s).
Learning goals for attendees:
Understanding of the core components of the Change Pathway
Put impact terminology into practice
Think more about change and causality
Better ‘big picture' view of the types of impact and outcomes you create through your work
Outputs: completed Change Pathway
Background, theory and impact focus (up to 1.5 hours)
TIME: up to 1.5 hours
OUTPUTS: none
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES:
Growing familiarity with impact theory, terminology and key tools
Thinking about different types of impact
Clear idea of the type of impact you think you create or want to create
ACTIVITY:
Ask workshop colleagues what they understand by impact and why they think impact design or measurement is or isn’t important. Ask your colleagues about their expectations about the process and write this down.
Discuss the project or activity that is the focus of the workshop. What is it about, what problem is it supposed to solve and who is involved? Why will an impact assessment or impact design approach benefit the project? Is everyone on the same page?
Introduce the Impact Playbook
Introduce the Change Pathway and the key terminology
It’s helpful to introduce the Change Pathway using a filled in example that you can walk through, e.g. from a project or scenario that everyone is familiar with.
Consider doing a short quiz or learning exercise to make learning the terminology practical.
Lead a high-level discussion about types of impact that you think or wish to create using:
The Value Lenses
Ask your colleagues: what types of impact do we create, either as an organisation, or through this activity? You can ask questions like:
Are you most interested in the social aspects of we activities, and the people we create value for?
Do our stakeholders need to know what we contributed to the economy?
Consider using short case studies of projects to help your colleagues brainstorm different types of impact. You can do this in breakout groups. You can use some of the examples given on the Strategic Perspectives page, for example.
TIPS:
Are you clear about what project or activity will be the focus of your impact design or assessment?
Save the date - send invitations to your colleagues. Ensure that you have a diversity of perspectives in the room.
Ask someone to help you facilitate, e.g. to write notes on the (digital) whiteboard.
Read through the guidance on the Strategic Perspectives and the Value Lenses, and have a clear idea about where you go next once you have completed your Change Pathway.
Stakeholder mapping, prioritisation and Empathy Maps
TIME: at least 1.5 hours, possibly more, depending on how familiar you are thinking about your audiences and how likely it is that your workshop attendees will come to a consensus quickly
OUTPUTS:
List of prioritised stakeholders
Preliminary Impact statement(s) for your project
First additions to the Change Pathway
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES:
More in-depth way of thinking about your stakeholders and the value you create for them
Growing confidence with using the term ‘impact' and discussing your impact
Focus on the project or activity that you will measure the impact of
ACTIVITY:
Complete a mapping of stakeholders and prioritise the resulting list
Complete Empathy Maps for the prioritised stakeholders
Focus on what your impact should or could be for your prioritised stakeholders by using the categories of the Strategic Perspectives tool - emerge with your impact statement(s)
Add your impact statement and stakeholders to a Change Pathway
TIPS:
Make sure the groups do not get too specific and spend too much time imagining what the stakeholder likes and doesn't like. Your primary job is to find out what this stakeholder experiences as pains and how your work can help relieve that pain (gains).
Next step
Download the original Phase one PDF for more insight into how these workshops were originally planned and developed.