case study
Mapping change for Catch22’s
Social Action app
Catch22’s unique change model helps them to evaluate
a social action app for young people.
Case study: Mapping change for Catch22’s Social Action app
Business Snapshot
Industry:
Social business
Business profile:
Providing services that help vulnerable
people by employing expertise in the
following: care leavers, employability,
gangs, social action, education,
families and justice.
Social value
priority areas:
Troubled and vulnerable young people
Families
Offenders
Education
Employment
Social Value
membership/
awards:
Community Space Challenge Project
won Big Lottery Fund award for the
best environmental project in the UK
Social value
measurement
tools:
Third party evaluation of social value
in specific project interventions and
overall effectiveness. Evaluation
partners include: Realising Ambition
(Big Lottery funded), Sheffield Hallam
Centre for Community Justice, DFE’s
Family Savings Calculator, University
of York
01
Case study: Mapping change for Catch22’s Social Action app
plan. do
Catch22 is a social business that turns people’s lives around. It
does this by helping them to steer clear of crime or substance
misuse, do the best they can in education or employment, and play
a full part in their family or community.
In 2014, Catch22 launched ‘Plan. Do.’, an app that supports
young people to get involved in social action projects. In doing this,
they improve their communities while developing key life skills and
increasing their employability.
Catch22 asked Uscreates to develop ways of measuring the app’s
impact and value. It was in an early development phase when
Uscreates got involved. “Thinking about measuring Social Value
at an early stage enabled us to develop a change model for how
Social Value is delivered through the app”, says Zoe Stanton. “This
helped us to think through the different indicators more thoroughly.”
Catch22 was clear that the aim of the app was to increase young
people’s skills and employability. For them, the impact of the social
action projects was an added benefit. However, this turned out be
of great importance to the young people themselves.
Tips from catch22
There is no data without users. Make
sure data collection adds to the service
experience rather than detracting from it
Keep measurement aims clear by setting
a SMART goal. This ensures that methods
developed are relevant and not overcomplicated
Be flexible. There may be a need to
constantly review and update based on
learning and feedback
02
Case study: Mapping change for Catch22’s Social Action app
Mapping change
Catch22 created a change model
specific to the app. This helped them
to develop potential methods for
measuring and evaluating specific
areas. They developed the model by
mapping out the service and then
adjusting and improving it through
interviews with stakeholders and desk
research.
“As the model developed, we began
to see new areas for measurement
that we wouldn’t necessarily have
considered before”, says Zoe. “For
example, empowerment became an
important outcome for young people
and their employment prospects.
We therefore had to consider how to
evaluate this through the app.”
Catch 22
programmes
signpost YP
to app
Hard to reach
YP are made
aware of the
app and its
benefits
through social
networks and
personal
recommendations
Enabling Factors
The app
guides user
through
process of
setting up a
project and
makes process
fun and
appealing
The app
encourages YP
to reflect on
the problem
they wish to
solve and their
project in
terms of
employability
skills
Activities
Social Action
project
delivered in
community
Positive
outcomes of the
projects in the
community
YP build
online and
experiential
portfolio and
record of
projects, tasks
and challenges
Young people
have more
developed
skills and
interests
Employability
increased by
confidence
empowerment
and ability to
describe skills
Young people
have improved
employability
prospects (See
SMART Goal)
Young people
are empowered
Outputs
Outcomes
Evidence/
Assumptions
Ultimate Goal
03
Case study: Mapping change for Catch22’s Social Action app
Developing measurement
methods
Adapting to change
Developing the change model and measurement
framework was not the end of the story, however. They
Finding a balance between
To overcome this challenge,
were designed alongside the app at an early stage in its
capturing data that Catch22 and Catch22 carried out workshops
development. This meant that both needed iteration, as
its funders wanted and that which and interviews with key
young people found interesting
stakeholders and engaged young new information emerged from later stages of testing and
development.
or useful was a big challenge.
people and potential employers.
“Catch22 were interested in
This enabled them to identify
“There was a strong desire to nail measurement the first
employability”, says Zoe. “But
a limited number of skills that
time round and make sure everything was covered”, says
young people were concerned
were of key importance, five of
Zoe. “However, we soon found that it was far better to use
about the impact they made on
which were built into the app.
resources to rapidly develop a way of measuring and start
their communities.”
“This meant that young people
testing it early on, rather than spending large amounts
wouldn’t have to spend lots of
of time, effort and money trying to develop the perfect
Catch22 and Uscreates reviewed the time they might otherwise
solution”. It’s a way of working that Zoe feels is crucial in
the many existing methods for
spend getting stuck in to social
the digital sphere.
evaluating skills that increase
action projects entering data
employability. They found that
about skills that were not
these methods sought to evaluate relevant to them”, says Zoe.
a vast range of different skills – too
many to be measured accurately
and effectively in relation to the
app.
04