Summary
PolicyWise for Children & Families, in collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association - Alberta Division and the Centre for Suicide Prevention, developed the Sharing Your Impact Resource Series to support rural communities in evaluating and communicating the impact of their mental health initiatives.
This five-part series guides community members through every step of the evaluation process - from getting started to selecting methods, collecting data, and sharing results. The goal is to make evaluation accessible and meaningful for rural projects that aim to improve mental health and well-being.
Getting Started with Evaluation introduces the different types of evaluation and outlines the first steps communities can take to begin measuring impact.
Picking Methods for Measuring Project Impact helps communities choose appropriate evaluation methods based on their goals, resources, and context.
Creating Surveys & Collecting Numeric Information offers guidance on using surveys and summarizing the data to understand project .
Gathering Formal & Informal Stories provides tools for collecting stories of impact in both structured and informal ways, capturing lived experience and community voice.
Analyzing & Sharing Stories of Impact supports communities in identifying key themes from stories and communicating their impact to stakeholders and funders.
Policy & Practice Implications
- The Resource Series was designed with small organizations in mind, making them especially useful for organizations with limited evaluation capacity.
- The resources can be used by rural community organizations to build confidence and capacity in evaluating mental health projects and communicating their value to stakeholders.
- The Series provides practical guidance for capturing both numeric information and stories, helping rural communities present their impact in compelling and credible ways when applying for funding or reporting back to partners and the public.
Image source: https://policywise.com/rural-mental-health/
