Moving on Up Collective Impact Partnerships: Final Evaluation

One strand of MoU included trialling a new and ambitious approach to improving employment outcomes for young Black men. Two collective impact partnerships (CIPs) were set up, one in each of the London boroughs of Brent and Newham. From early 2020 to the end of 2023, the CIPs tested whether organisations could be more effective in solving complex social problems by taking a collective impact approach: working together to a common agenda.

This evaluation report looks at the effectiveness of this collective impact approach, asks if it is a more effective approach than 'business as usual' delivery, and considers what wider changes the programme has contributed to.

Key findings

• Involvement and engagement: Each collective impact partnership had five core charity partners working with local authorities and Jobcentre Plus. Sustaining engagement was challenging, with staff turnover affecting engagement and some partners not wanting to focus on solely one target group.
• Backbone organisations and leadership: Local councils served as backbone organisations, but the role was narrower than planned due to funding limitations. The focus on process and learning as well as outcome targets, combined with collective reporting against targets, was welcome. Some partners were concerned that the non-hierarchical nature of the CIPs meant that underperformance was not well dealt with.
• Relationships: Core partners had strong communication and shared learning. Most relationships were strong but not all partners felt equal or included.
• Shared understanding: There was a strong shared understanding of the goal to improve outcomes for young Black men. There was less clarity on how systems change would be achieved. Shared measurement systems didn't work well, and a lack of detailed terms of reference led to some confusion.
• Job outcomes: Over four years, the collective impact partnerships engaged with 902 young Black men, of which 302 got jobs. Almost 75% were permanent jobs, and 80% paid at least the London Living Wage.
• Wider changes: As a result of the project, most partners reported stronger relationships. Some had adopted the idea of 'quality jobs' and made other internal changes, such as recruiting more Black men.

Recommendations

The evaluation sets out some key recommendations for future programmes, based on what worked and what didn't. These include:

• Create a shared understanding from the start, including terms of reference.
• Develop a detailed theory of change and from this identify actives and outcomes to measure. Prioritise these to keep it simple.
• Allow time for the collective impact partnership to develop. It was felt four years was insufficient.
• Agree from the outset what change looks like and how it will be achieved.

Download the report or executive summary below to read the findings and recommendations in full.