Supporting And Improving West Cumbria’s Communities
The Transforming West Cumbria programme was launched to tackle serious socio-economic challenges in the region. Cumbria Community Foundation, who manage the programme, asked us to evaluate the impact and provide insights for improving it moving forward.
This £6.5 million initiative began in 2020 and is funded by Sellafield Ltd. It includes seven projects focused on various areas, such as building organisational resilience, fostering entrepreneurship, supporting youth community action, improving financial wellbeing, enhancing family support, and increasing mental health services.
Our evaluation assessed how well the programme addressed local needs, engaged communities, and made a difference for people facing deep-rooted social and economic problems. We used both quantitative and qualitative research methods, which included:
- Reviewing programme data and conducting a workshop to create a Theory of Change.
- Conducting 20 in-depth interviews with stakeholders, including project teams, steering groups, and beneficiaries.
- Reviewing local and national policies to assess programme alignment with broader strategic goals.
- Consulting with stakeholders from three other similar social impact programmes to understand different approaches to tackling similar issues.
- Performing a Social Return on Investment assessment to measure the financial value of the outcomes.
Our evaluation resulted in several recommendations that are now guiding the future delivery of the programme.