City & Guilds Foundation aims to remove barriers to getting a job, celebrates best practices on the job, and advocates for jobs of the future. With a focus on high-impact social investment, recognition and advocacy programmes, the City & Guilds Foundation aims to innovate, celebrate and evaluate opportunities that make a real difference in people’s lives, supporting everyone to succeed, no matter who they are or where they come from. The Foundation is a catalyst for providing opportunities in skills and work, delivering against our purpose and amplifying what we do across the wider C&G organisation.
Bean has been working with C&G since 2017, assessing the impact of (what became) the City & Guilds Foundation. We have conducted an impact assessment each year, which informs grant giving to ensure the Foundation creates the greatest change. Bean’s impact assessment work with C&G Foundation has allowed the organisation to really understand how it supports and creates change – and has enabled the Foundation to develop more disproportionally impactful programmes. Our approach to impact assessment has been to support undertaking both qualitative formative research to shape future measurement and then summative evaluation approaches to better understand how C&G can understand and improve its impact.
Each year, for the impact report, we have calculated the social return on investment for the Displaced People Fund, Foundation Bursaries and the Big Idea Fund:
- City & Guilds Foundation bursaries have created £2.1m of social value over 3 years.
- The Big Idea Fund has created over £10m of social value over the last 3 years. £18.62 for every £1 spent. Supporting the Future Skills Commission for Prisons, working with St Giles Trust, Groundwork, Beating Time & HMP Highpoint.
- The Displaced People Fund has created £2.6m of social value over two years – the equivalent of £11.27 for every £1 invested. This has been generated through improving skills, qualifications, and employment outcomes, enabling people to feel more connected and have confidence in the future.
We have delivered deep-dive evaluations, and as a result, the Foundation has refined the way it works with charities and allocates it funding.
“Would highly recommend Bean, who have worked across the organisation and with our partners to embed & evaluate our impact strategy. We have made significant progress while the Bean team have been working with us.”
Polly Rowe, Head of Programme, City & Guilds Foundation
