Impact & Learning
At Rippleacts, we are passionate about making a social impact. And we aim at following scientific good practice to measure it. We believe this matters, to
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be transparent and accountable to our participants and collaborators, and
keep learning what works well and how we can improve as we go.
This means we conduct surveys, interviews and reflective focus group discussions with our participants to understand what change they experienced, and if that change was related to our work.
We use academically validated scales to measure psychological variables, such as fear of failure, self-confidence and wellbeing.
We keep adjusting and improving our programmes based on what we learn in own work, and current research relevant for what we do. In doing so, we aim at bridging the gap between academia and practice, providing the best possible support for our clients.​
Coaching participant
“From feeling like being in a net to feeling more confident to move out of it - not least because some of the methods needed to move forward, I was already doing but hadn't registered them in my own mind!”
Work Coach,
Norwich Job Centre
"I referred one of my customers to Verena’s group coaching sessions.
This was a lady who rarely left the house on her own, but desperately wanted to change this, as well as start to make some real moves forward in her life.
She just did not know where to start.
I saw her after she had completed half the sessions and was surprised at the change in her already; she had real hope that she was able to take charge of her life again. By the end of the sessions she was proudly sat in front of me, having walked though the city on her own.
The glow on her face at having achieved this made my day."
Coaching participant
“I now feel more confident in myself to put myself into an unknown situation and realised the anxiety becomes less.”
What we know so far​
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Results of our course evaluations are updated in real time and show....
Less than 10% of our participants drop out prematurely.
90% of participants reported that taking part in the coaching had made a positive change to their lives.
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73% showed an improvement in wellbeing.
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70% showed an improvement in self-confidence.
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67% showed a reduction in fear of failure.
At the end of the course, over 80% of participants started either working, volunteering, or taking up training or education.
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More detailed initial analyses of our social value showed:
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The typical levels of mental wellbeing of our participants are substantially lower than the UK average.
We are reaching a high proportion of people with a low level of mental wellbeing (87%, compared to a national average of 15%).
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The positive change in wellbeing participants experience during their participation with Rippleacts is statistically significant.
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First social value calculations show that the value of our work to society could amount to over £5,000 per client.
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We develop our programme offer based on input and feedback from our participants, as well as research and evidence on best practice. One of our publications on how employment support ("activation") projects can make a change for unemployed youth is available online here.
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