Creating an effective impact project is a meticulous and strategic process involving multiple stages, each with specific steps aimed at maximizing positive change in communities. Based on Eidos Global’s expertise in designing learning experiences, this guide provides a detailed overview of the key steps to develop impactful projects, from conceptualization to outcome measurement.
1. Research and Strategic Partnerships
The first phase of any impact project involves thorough research and the establishment of key strategic partnerships. Eidos Global employs a “community co-creation” approach that includes:
Needs Analysis: Understanding community challenges through research, surveys, and interviews to ensure the project addresses real needs.
Identifying Strategic Allies: Selecting partners aligned with Sustainable Development Goals and Eidos’s vision, such as government organizations, corporations, and NGOs, who contribute specific resources and capabilities to facilitate implementation.
Mapping Local Resources and Capacities: Strengthening local capacities to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability.
2. Impactful Project Design: Goals and Prototyping
Project design is critical and involves setting clear, specific, and measurable objectives (SMART). At Eidos, typical impact objectives include:
Skill Development: Enhancing specific skills, such as critical thinking and empathy in youth or digital skills in vulnerable populations.
Community Empowerment: Enabling communities to apply skills in real-life contexts, such as employability training for older adults or vulnerable youth.
This design follows a Humanized Learning approach and draws from pedagogies like situated and experiential learning.
Prototyping: Once objectives are defined, prototypes are created to validate their effectiveness with a small group, using tools like:
Real-Time Feedback: Continuous feedback sessions with participants allow iterative improvements based on collected data.
3. Implementation with Adaptive and Scalable Formats
Eidos’s implementation phase emphasizes flexibility and adaptability to maximize the project’s reach and accessibility. Methods include:
Hybrid Training Models: Combining in-person and virtual sessions to reduce geographical barriers. In remote areas, Eidos leverages LMS platforms or asynchronous programs accessible via mobile devices.
Active Facilitation: Trainers use “active facilitation” techniques to engage participants at every stage, ensuring meaningful learning through practical workshops, collaborative exercises, and simulations.
Ongoing Support: To encourage retention and solidify learning, Eidos provides tutoring and emotional support tailored to the target audience’s characteristics and needs.
4. Monitoring and Impact Evaluation with Key Indicators
Measuring impact is central to Eidos’s methodology to validate project outcomes and communicate effectiveness to stakeholders. Both process and outcome indicators are used:
Outcome Indicators:
Participation and Retention: Attendance and program completion rates to measure the design’s relevance and accessibility.
Engagement Levels: Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and satisfaction surveys assess participants’ interest and perceived program value.
Impact Indicators:
Skill Development: Pre- and post-assessments measure progress in critical competencies such as creativity, critical thinking, or emotional resilience.
Community Impact: Social impact studies and surveys evaluate changes in participants’ living conditions or employability, among other local effects.
Reach Categories: Programs are categorized into indirect (people reached through intermediaries) and direct (further subdivided into reached, connected, empowered, and transformed, based on impact depth).
Continuous Monitoring: Quarterly or semi-annual evaluations ensure alignment with long-term objectives, identify improvement areas, and explore potential project expansions.
5. Scalability and Knowledge Sharing
To maximize sustainability and scalability, Eidos applies a Knowledge Socialization policy, sharing learnings and results through open-source materials and collaborative experiences. This includes:
Publishing Success Stories: Sharing insights and results in collaboration with organizations like UNESCO and the OECD, and participating in international forums to promote effective methodologies.
Training Local Partners: Providing training to local organizations and educators to replicate and adapt the model in different contexts.
Conclusion
Creating an impactful project requires a solid structure, adaptability, and a shared vision with the community and strategic partners. At Eidos Global, these steps are designed to ensure that the generated impact is profound, sustainable, and replicable, allowing each project to not only benefit its participants but also inspire others to drive positive change.