Measuring and communicating impact can be a challenge for community-based mental health initiatives. Through these videos, we deep dive into Ember's unique take on impact measurement. We delve into the complexities of evaluating the impact of such initiatives, how Ember offers an approach tailored to the contexts of these organisations, and the principles that guide our methodologies. Watch the full video here.

THE CHALLENGE:

Community-based initiatives occupy a unique and important space in the global mental health ecosystem, particularly in the Global South. However, their impact is often difficult to measure. Mainstream tools for measuring impact have mostly been developed by researchers in the Global North and are often incompatible with the work these initiatives do.

OUR STRATEGY:

Ember approaches this challenge by understanding the contexts and needs of community-based initiatives. We collaborate with organisations to find ways to measure and communicate their impact - without imposing methods or strategies that do not work for them.

OUR PRINCIPLES:

Our approach to measuring impact can be summarised in the following six principles: People-centred, ensuring the effect on users is prioritised; Tailored, adapting methods to each unique intervention; Evidence-based, with ongoing quantitative data collection to generate recognised indicators; Transferable, imparting sustainable systems and skills; Feasible, aligning with team capacity and resources; and Ethical, adhering to data protection and confidentiality standards.

Read the full report to explore our diverse approaches through case studies of the community-based mental health organisations we have worked with over the past three years.