Demonstrating the value of Research during a restructure Natalie Westfall - NSPCC

The Fundraising restructure Proposal – split the team by activity and take on a wider remit Perceived impact on our team – could lead to missed fundraising opportunities and growing inefficiencies Our response - gathered evidence to support our view of keeping the team as one and show where we think we can add most value.

Challenges Our remit New Prospecting process No financial target Researcher : MGO ratio (ours is 1:54!) Relevant measures: Income v’s Impact

Measures of value Workload Management Raiser’s Edge attributes

Measures as evidence

Costs An hour of a Researcher’s time = £25 Research resources – by the hour, per Researcher = £3 Total cost for Prospect Research = minimum of £28 an hour Question: what should we spend this money on? Measures as evidence

Outcomes Team kept together but with a reduction in resource Tighter remit of work agreed Keeping the team together secured our continued objectivity Now part of a Strategy Unit that has a mandate to challenge and influence.

Learning Points Measuring input can evidence impact and value Having impact is not all about money The importance of feedback Less resource has forced us to focus on what we need to deliver.

Learning Points If we can’t justify doing a piece of work we shouldn’t do it Understand other departments’ priorities and use them to set our own Measures are important in demonstrating the part Research plays in achieving Fundraising’s strategic objectives.

Achievements since the restructure Creation of a new New Prospecting process Clear remit and mandate for how we work Smarter allocation of time to tasks and projects Smarter ways of working within the team and with others

Next steps Implement new measures which feed directly into our Fundraising Strategy Training others in basic research and sharing access to sources Analyse the value of information sources Continue to challenge some information requests

Next steps Investigate if we can robustly link research to income Track donor entry points Use strategic objectives to drive prospecting Gather feedback from FMT and refine processes

Conclusion Measures can be used to great effect Gathering feedback is a key piece of evidence Even one measure can make an impact if it’s the right one Have confidence in the value you add!

Questions?