Street Soccer London (and their funder, BBC Children in Need) wanted to demonstrate how their football project did more than simply giving young people in London something else to do in an evening. They wanted an evaluation expert to:
We worked with the Manager and two lead coaches, to understand:
We also ran a workshop with over 20 regular young players (and pizza!), to find out what difference Street Soccer made to them and why.
We used all this material to develop a Theory of Change, which described the three most important differences Street Soccer London made for young people and how they did it. We then worked with the Manager to design ways of collecting evidence about those three differences that could be built into their day to day work.
During our year of working with the Manager, we also provided ‘critical friend’ and mentoring support as they continued to established the project.
The Manager embedded the Theory of Change in their three year strategy for Street Soccer London. With the team of coaches and volunteers, they began collecting data to demonstrate the difference they make and reporting it to their funders. They also used the Theory of Change to guide decisions about new developments and opportunities as the project grew.
The Manager also shared Theory of Change concept with Street Soccer leadership team in Scotland, both to explain the London approach and also as a potential tool for the organisation to use more widely.
