Is your charity ready for decentralised evaluation?

A 4-stage checklist to help you reflect on whether your charity is ready for decentralised evaluation.

The future of impact is likely more participatory and more tech-enabled. But before you try AI tools, digital polling or shared databases, it helps to ask a simpler question: are we ready for this right now?

This checklist is for charities that like the idea of community-led or decentralised impact, but are still working under day-to-day pressure. It helps you see what is in place, what needs a tidy-up, and what to build next.

🟢 Stage 1: Lay the Groundwork

Build trust, make space for feedback and show people it is safe to share.

• Leadership buy-in (2 pts): senior staff support small feedback experiments.

• Community trust (2 pts): participants feel safe giving views.

• Learning culture (1 pt): staff see feedback as useful, not a threat.

• Basic tools (1 pt): you can run a simple survey and protect privacy.

🟢 Stage 2: Strengthen Analysis

Start getting consistent insight and keep it ethical.

• Data quality (2 pts): feedback is collected in the same way each time.

• Ethical data use (2 pts): you have clear consent and data-use wording.

• Skills training (1 pt): staff know how to use the tools.

• Secure storage (1 pt): data is stored safely.

🟢 Stage 3: Pilot technical options

Move from “we collect feedback” to “we can test new tools with people.”

• Tech support (2 pts): you have someone to help set up or advise.

• Feedback loop (2 pts): people can see collect → analyse → act → report.

• Community access (1 pt): most people can use the tool or have an offline option.

• Open mindset (1 pt): leadership treats this as a test, not a finished system.

🟢Stage 4: Scaling & share

Get ready for longer-term, shared ownership of impact.

• Governance (2 pts): you have a community or advisory group in place.

• Sustainability (2 pts): time, budget and handovers are planned.

• Advanced skills (1 pt): someone can manage the tech and the data.

• Ecosystem link (1 pt): you link into sector networks to learn with others.

🏁 Score Your Readiness

0–6: Laying foundations

You're starting strong. Keep improving analysis and ethics.

7–12: Building capability

You’ve got momentum. Now deepen your analysis and ethical frameworks.

13–18: Tech-ready

You’re ready for pilot-level experiments.

19+: Ready to Scale

You’ve built a strong, distributed system. Share what you have learned and influencing sector norms.

What to do next

1. Pick one area to strengthen in the next 6 months.

2. Read The future of impact: decentralised evaluation for charities by 2035 for the bigger picture.

3. If your current impact data is still messy, start with the Impact measures health check for charities and tidy that first.

Readiness is not about ticking every box. It is about knowing where you are today and building from there.

Change doesn’t start with a workshop; it starts with one honest conversation that builds trust and momentum.

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Note: Copyright Insights2Outputs 2026. All Rights Reserved. This resource is provided for informational and illustrative purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice. Insights2Outputs Ltd. expressly disclaims any liability for outcomes resulting from use.