Позитивные изменения, Том 3 №1, 2023. Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 1 (2023)

Several approaches can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of individual projects, including expert assessment, project evaluation (and monitoring) and monetary evaluation.

Project goals:

• Through soccer, raise awareness of gender equality and promote greater participation of girls in sports;

• Develop the girls’ creative potential through creative workshops.

EVALUATION OF SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT

The assessment began with a stakeholder analysis. The following groups were identified: girls participating in the Academy, their parents, volunteer trainers, Actifit (the organization implementing the project), donors who supported the project financially, the foundation that conducted a presentation on gender equality issues for the parents.

The next step in the evaluation process was data collection, which started immediately after the completion of the Academy. The data was mainly collected through survey. Questionnaires were developed for each stakeholder group. These included open-ended questions about participation in the various project activities and the results obtained, for example: “What did you gain from participating in the project? How did the project change your life? Were there any negative consequences of your participation in the project?”

Based on the data collected from all stakeholder groups, their contribution to the project was determined. For example, the girls, their parents, and the volunteer coaches contributed their time; the donors contributed money and sports equipment.

In addition, based on the analysis of the completed questionnaires, the positive and negative results obtained were determined, as well as the relationship between the project activities and results. It is worth noting that this analysis divided the results into expected (planned) and unplanned ones. In case of the girls, for example, the project produced three types of results. First, they became more confident and convinced about the possibility of gender equality. According to the researchers’ analysis, the following chain of changes led to the first result: through soccer training, girls realized that soccer was not just a game for boys, as they had previously thought; besides, soccer training allowed them to appreciate the positive effects of sports, which gave them self-confidence and created awareness of gender equality opportunities. Second, the girls developed imagination and creativity. Third, it was easier for girls to communicate with friends and parents. The authors consider the latter an unplanned outcome of the report, as it was not part of the project goals.

The project results for parents included increased awareness of gender discrimination and improved mutual understanding, as the parents started to communicate more with their daughters. Volunteer coaches have developed communication skills, gained coaching experience, and noted successes in personal growth through participation in the project.

Actifit, which prepared and implemented the project, was able to engage donors, partners and volunteers. Therefore, one of the positive results of the project for the company was saving its own financial resources and employee labor. Additionally, the company was able to make the project more sustainable. Finally, successful operation of the Soccer Academy in Eskisehir was a case study that Actifit can use to further promote its “Girls on the Soccer Field” program. Employee motivation associated with participation in this program has also increased. The negative result of the program was that three employees of the company spent 28 days of their time working on the project.

The next step was monetizing the contributions made by the stakeholders and the results obtained. Only financial and in-kind contribution by Actifit and the donors was taken into account during the monetary evaluation. The report authors decided not to include a monetary evaluation of the time spent on participation in the project by children, parents, and volunteer coaches.

In monetizing the results, the authors used data on the cost of paid services, which would enable the project participants to obtain similar results otherwise. For example, there is a paid soccer section in Eskisehir. The assumption was made that a week of paid soccer lessons would give the girls the same result in terms of developing selfconfidence and understanding the possibility of gender equality, so the cost of this week was used as a “proxy” in estimating the cost of the outcome.

Outside of the project, parents could learn to understand their daughters better and communicate with them more if they took a class with a family psychologist, so the cost of such a course was a monetary estimate for this outcome.