Insights

Sharing thoughts on what matters

6 Dec 2023

Webinar: How do we know digital transformation in health and social care leads to improved outcomes for people?
Key lessons for effective evaluation of digital transformation programmes in health and social care
Webinars and events
Webinar: Evaluating impact within complex systems – the importance of context
In this webinar from 28 November 2023, we explore why it’s important to understand the unique…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
How Do You Know If You Are Making a Difference? A Practical Handbook for Public Service Organisations
Co-authored by Matter of Focus Directors Sarah Morton and Ailsa Cook
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Unlocking impact – making theories of change work for you
Catch up with our webinar exploring theories of change. Held live on 26 September 2023.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Green Health Prescribing to improve physical and mental health outcomes in Midlothian

Green Health Prescribing is an approach that supports people to engage in nature-based activities which offer…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluating an early intervention service for young people at risk of offending

In 2020, the Scottish Government Cashback for Communities granted funding to includem to provide…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Building a Forum to influence policy on gambling harms in Scotland

This report employs the Matter of Focus approach to outcome mapping and evaluation to show how…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Influencing policy on dementia with Age Scotland’s About Dementia Forum

About Dementia is Age Scotland’s Forum for improving the lives of people living with dementia…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Digital health and social care: making sure innovation makes a positive difference to people
Our work supporting the planning and evaluation of digital interventions and service developments.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluation of the Transforming Local Systems TEC Pathfinder programme
High-level findings on the achievements of the Programme and the enablers and barriers to impact.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Our clients
Pioneering organisations putting outcomes and impact at the heart of what they do.
Inside Matter of Focus
Matter of Focus wins Public Sector Innovation Award
at the ScotlandIs Digital Technology Awards 2023
News
Monthly

Can OutNav help?
Join one of our live demo sessions to explore whether OutNav is right for your initiative.
Webinars and events
Understanding how evidence makes a difference to health and wellbeing: tracking the impact of Health Technology Wales
Embeding an outcome-focused approach to assessing the impact of Health Technology Wales's research and guidance.
Case Studies
Leading with outcomes across an organisation: a systematic approach to data, evidence and impact in Penumbra
A case study on our work with Penumbra to map their outcomes, improve their use of…
Case Studies
Evaluating relational services: new journal article published on our work with Future Pathways
We contributed a paper to a special issue of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning, on…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluating personal outcomes: how can you know you are making a difference to the people you support?
This webinar will be valuable to anyone wrestling with how to meaningfully evaluate the difference their…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
What do you need to be able to track the impact of your research?
This webinar includes a mix of concepts and practical approaches to get you started on your…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
We’re a (re)certified B Corp!
Having completed a rigorous re-assessment process we have successfully recertified as a B Corporation.
Inside Matter of Focus
Building a community of learning together: Age Scotland’s Dementia Training
Read our report produced with Age Scotland's Dementia Training team for their third year of work.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Making sense together: How do you know if you are making a difference? event summary
An inspiring and interesting afternoon of discussion held in Edinburgh on 24 November 2022
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Better use of data to improve our response to frailty in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region
Our report for DDI
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Matter of Focus joins the G-Cloud 13 Digital Marketplace
An easy way for public sector organisations to procure OutNav along with our tailored support.
News
Know your impact, show your impact: How to measure the impact of research or knowledge to action initiatives
Sarah Morton explores some of the challenges of understanding and assessing research impact.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluating the DEEP programme: Embedding evidence-enriched practice in social care in Wales
Hosted by Matter of Focus Director Ailsa Cook with Gill Toms from the University of Bangor.
Case Studies
A theory of change for Making Children’s Rights Real in Scotland
Find out more about our partnership project with the Observatory of Children's Human Rights Scotland and…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Working together to improve health and wellbeing in Edinburgh: how we know we collectively make a difference
How we worked with Edinburgh Community Health Forum to solve their data collection, evaluation and reporting…
Case Studies
Launching our annual impact report!
We are delighted to launch our B Corp annual impact report for our trading year 2021-2022.
Inside Matter of Focus
5 things we’ve learned about facilitating online
Our evaluation consultant Grace reflects on one year of working remotely for Matter of Focus, and…
Inside Matter of Focus
Data stories: unlocking the power of data to tell a story of impact
An Evaluation Stories webinar with the Children’s Parliament.
Case Studies
Still crazy? 5th birthday reflections on building our company

Back in 2018, I reflected on some of the reactions I had to my leaving the…

Inside Matter of Focus
East Ayrshire Technology Enabled Care Pathway summary findings report
Summary findings from the discover/define phase of East Ayrshire's Transforming Local Systems TEC Pathway project.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Opportunities for meaningful participation in evaluation
An Evaluation Stories webinar about how we worked with the Life Changes Trust Advisory Group (Young…
Case Studies
Evaluating service transformation underpinned by the Scottish Approach to Service Design
An Evaluation Stories webinar with East Ayrshire’s Thinking Differently Team.
Case Studies
Evaluating personal outcomes approaches
In this webinar we share a practical approach to overcome common challenges to evaluating and recording…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Supporting Scottish Women’s Aid to capture learning from their pilot webchat service for children and young people
Using the Matter of Focus approach to capture the learning from the process of designing a…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluating a multi-country partnership’s contribution to improving justice in child contact
Using our approach to demonstrate contribution to reaching high level outcomes.
Case Studies
Using OutNav to assess the impact of the Global Kids Online research initiative
This case study looks at using OutNav to track the impact of a collaborative international research…
Case Studies
Building the case for peer support: an Evaluation Stories webinar with East Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership
Using OutNav for the evaluation of peer support approaches in health and social care.
Case Studies
Evaluation of the Peer Support Test of Change: East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership
Highlights and full report of our independent evaluation of the East Renfrewshire H&SCP’s pilot Peer Support…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Side by side: an evaluation of the Life Changes Trust Advisory Group
Read our independent evaluation of the Life Changes Trust Advisory Group (Young People with Care Experience…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Matter of Focus wins place on the CivTech 6 Accelerator
Introducing plans for our new care and support planning tool.
News
Creating compelling case studies as part of your evaluation
Working with OutNav to create and utilise case studies
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
How to bring different voices into your evaluation
How to work well with different 'voice' data to bring insights to your evaluation.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Diversity in Tech Awards nomination
Matter of Focus Co-director Sarah Morton has been selected as a Rising Star finalist!
News
How to report well on your activities and engagement
Tips for telling a rounded, more engaging and interesting story of your work.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
4 simple steps to start evidencing your research impact
The best way to build an impact story is to track as you go.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Using OutNav at Scale: Valenzuela Pathfinding City to End Violence Against Children
OutNav supports Valenzuela City to understand, learn, assess, and tell the story of their complex multi-sector…
Case Studies
Getting going with qualitative data and analysis
Recorded live webinar: real examples and practical tools to help you get started with qualitative data…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Opportunities to join our team
If we have an opportunity you'll find it here!
Inside Matter of Focus
What is OutNav?
Like sat-nav, but for outcomes...
Our software OutNav
Navigating the challenges of assessing research impact
In this recorded live webinar, Sarah explores the challenges of unpicking and evidencing research impact.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
3 feedback tools to help you track your outcomes and impact
Use these tools to help you evidence your impact and contribution to outcomes.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Responding to COVID-19: an evaluation of the contribution of Edinburgh Community Health Forum member organisations
Our evaluation report is available to download now.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Learning as we go in Quality Improvement: Using OutNav to evaluate the Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative
Recorded live Evaluation Stories webinar with Franca Macleod, Principal Research Officer in Children and Families Analysis…
Case Studies
Understanding change step by step: making use of maps and pathways
Focusing on pathways through your outcome map helps you to be explicit about the change you…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Evaluating health and social care transformation: learning from the House of Care programme
Recorded webinar sharing and discussing key findings and learning from our evaluation.
Case Studies
Understanding and assessing research impact
Our approach helps unpick how research and knowledge exchange activities contribute to high level outcomes like…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
The Matter of Focus approach to tracking research impact

Our approach has been used in independent research impact studies of initiatives and projects around the…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Sharing our learning at the global Research Impact Summit
Co-Founder/Director Sarah Morton has been invited to speak at the 2020 Research Impact Summit.
News
Tailored support to help you on your evaluation journey
We provide face to face and online support services to help you with your outcome evaluation.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
From fixer to facilitator: evaluation of the House of Care programme in Scotland
Our evaluation report is available to download now.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Outcome maps – the cornerstone of OutNav
What outcome maps looks like in OutNav and how to focus your attention with pathways.
Our software OutNav
An overview of the Matter of Focus approach
...and why we think it’s right for teams and organisations with a vision for social change.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
OutNav supports team and partnership working
Your team members and stakeholders have the access they need in OutNav.
Our software OutNav
Understand the outcomes and impacts that matter
The Matter of Focus approach always starts with working through the outcomes and impacts that matter.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
OutNav streamlines your data and evidence
Keep track of all your data, feedback and evidence in one place with OutNav.
Our software OutNav
Understand the unique context of your work
The ability to understand and work well with context differentiates a good from a great organisation.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Track your progress and impact in OutNav
Pull together reflections on your data and visually track your progress and confidence in your evidence…
Our software OutNav
Get the data and evidence you need to track your progress
We believe in investigating not just what works, but how, for whom, where, when and why.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Create visual contribution reports in OutNav
OutNav generates a live online report of your evidenced-based story at a click of a button.
Our software OutNav
Track and visualise the difference you make
Once your project, programme or organisation has an outcome or impact map, other tracking and evaluating processes become easier. 
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Report in an outcome-focused way
Tell a robust and compelling story of the difference your initiative has made.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Talking about context: building a shared understanding of how your work is changing with COVID-19
This recording of a live learning webinar will introduce you the ISM Framework for understanding the…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Managing your risks and assumptions in OutNav
OutNav supports the important process of considering the key risks and assumptions of your initiative.
Our software OutNav
Keeping your data secure in OutNav
Everything we do to keep your data safe in OutNav and what users must think about.
Our software OutNav
Showcasing outcomes in action: reducing health inequalities and improving long-term health outcomes in Edinburgh
Providing collective support to embed outcomes into action across the Edinburgh Community Health Forum.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Transforming health and care systems for people living with long term conditions – an outcome focused approach
With the Lothian House of Care Collaboration between Thistle Foundation and NHS Lothian
Case Studies
Tell the story of the contribution your organisation makes to improving outcomes – event summary and resources
Watch the webinar version of the event here and download the resources.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Understanding the risks and assumptions of your initiative
What factors are going to help and hinder the success of your initiative?
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Ongoing learning and support with the OutNav Community
An OutNav subscription comes with the wider benefits of a learning and sharing community.
Our software OutNav
Focusing on what matters: Scotland’s outcome approach in action
We report on the main learning points from our #OutcomesInAction event.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Putting outcomes into action: four ways to focus your work towards social change
Using outcomes as a framework for action will empower your work towards social change.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Recorded webinar: Learning from putting Scotland’s outcome approach into action
Sharing the learning from our years of experience in putting Scotland's outcome approach into action.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Making the case for better use of qualitative data in public services
This will be of interest to anyone working in public services with an interest in data…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Understanding creative impact – evaluating early learning professional development
Watch our Evaluation Stories webinars to learn directly from organisations using #OutNav to evaluate their work.
Case Studies
OutNav wins its first award!
OutNav wins its first award at the 2019 MERL Tech Dashboard Contest in Washington DC.
News
A new approach to trauma informed working
Future Pathways embedded a complexity informed, theory based approach to evaluating the progress and outcomes of…
Case Studies
Understanding creative impact: insights into early learning professional development
Guest post by Catherine Wilson from Starcatchers, on being creative in communicating the difference the Creative…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Establishing neighbourhood care in a rural community
Live webinar recording: The Clacks and Stirling H&SCP Neighbourhood Care Team has embedded a complexity informed,…
Case Studies
Why data on children’s wellbeing is misleading
It’s important to understand why progress data on high level goals or outcomes usually gets worse…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
What is outcome mapping?
We see outcome mapping is an interactive approach to setting out a theory of change based…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Come with us on an evaluation journey
How can you understand your progress towards social change when standard approaches to measurement are difficult…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Feedback matters: choosing the right survey tool
We take a look at three different online survey tools and share our research into what…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Finding our own way: an alternative start-up story
Two years since establishing Matter of Focus with Sarah Morton, Ailsa Cook reflects on what it…
Inside Matter of Focus
A big birthday thank you!
On our 2nd birthday, we say thank you our early adopters who have helped us on…
News
It’s a matter of experience
Erasmus student Sara Dolan shares what she has learnt so far during her placement with us.
Inside Matter of Focus
Notes from the field: successful partnership working in Uruguay
What can we learn from this small progressive country making pioneering policy decisions?
Inside Matter of Focus
Tues & Thurs

OutNav help sessions
Twice-weekly drop-in help sessions for anyone working in OutNav wanting support, a sense-check or a chat!
Webinars and events
Embedding meaningful outcome evaluation: tips from the OutNav Community
Learning from organisations that are cementing their place at the forefront of best practice in meaningful…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
How do you know if your project is effective?
With a well-defined outcome map it can be quite easy to shape and analyse your feedback.
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
“Leave and start-up? Are you crazy?”
What's it like to give up the security of a university post to start-up a company?…
Inside Matter of Focus
A vision for improving the experience of children online
Matter of Focus is conducting an impact study of the Global Kids Online (GKO) research programme…
Inside Matter of Focus
Meaningful outcome evaluation: a practical approach – watch our free webinar
Watch the edited recording of our free webinar that introduces you to a way of working…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
A simple framework to help you understand change
Our approach to outcome monitoring and evaluation is tailored to the needs of organisations delivering people-based…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
A full house for our seminar on meaningful outcome evaluation, a practical approach for public services (1st Nov 2018)
A report on our public seminar 'Meaningful outcome evaluation' held on 1st November at Codebase in…
News
Introducing Matter of Focus!
Introducing our new name and brand identity. Another exciting and unexpected part of our journey as…
Inside Matter of Focus
The value of collaborative learning: building the OutNav Community
It has always been a priority for us to establish a strong community of users around…
Inside Matter of Focus
When Sarah met Ailsa
Co-founding director Sarah Morton's thoughts on the Matter of Focus start-up journey so far.
Inside Matter of Focus
Three key challenges to progressing outcome assessment
Understanding, analysing and reporting on outcomes is a complex journey that can be both rewarding and…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
It’s not what you do…
Sarah Morton visits the UK Knowledge Mobilisation Forum's 2018 gathering, her first visit as a startup…
Inside Matter of Focus
Seven steps to understanding success

Through our work with public service organisations we have identified seven steps that organisations need to…

Outcomes, evaluation and impact
Why focus on outcomes?
In Scotland, the concept of outcomes is interwoven with the ongoing drive to reform public services…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact
What are outcomes?
New to outcomes? This post clarifies the difference between outputs and outcomes, and explains the three…
Outcomes, evaluation and impact

Featured posts