A very popular service has been our MEL workshops. These help organisations to place good MEL practice at the heart of what they do and help teams explore concepts such as what it takes to be data-driven, how to plan your data collection and implement it with respect and understanding of ethics. And once that data has been collected, we can also help organisations to think about and plan the communication of their impact – backed by data and evidence - to different audiences to help tell compelling stories to funders, beneficiaries and the world at large. For the full learning objectives for the series see below.  
 

Our workshops have been created to run in a series and are aimed at addressing some of the impact measurement challenges faced by not-for-profit organisations. However, they can also be delivered separately depending on what is important to you. Each workshop includes an interactive exercise, resources and handouts and can be delivered online, or in person at an additional cost. 
 

Our full workshop series was recently delivered to The Olympic Refuge Foundation, online to many different organisations around the world who deliver programmes for refugees. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

"The breakout session was super helpful, interactive and also personalised - great moderation by the team. Great advice and explanation about the bigger pitcure and different frameworks"

Delegate Feedback from IOC Refuge Foundation Upshot MEL workshop series 2025

 

"Upshot worked with us to customise the workshop topics and structure to best fit the needs of our Coalition Members. We've had nothing but positive feedback for the series from our members. Many thanks to Preeti and the rest of the Upshot team!" 

Sport for Refugees Coalition 

We are currently also delivering these workshops to local authorities and sport for development organisations. 

Would you be interested in this for your team? It’s a great way to upskill your teams and bring them together with a common purpose too. 

For more details just drop a line to info@upshot.org.uk and we can suggest or bespoke a programme to suit you and your organisation’s MEL requirements and provide details of costs. 

Upshot MEL Workshop series - Learning Objectives

Workshop 1: Intro to MEL 

To ease into the workshop series, we start with some of the basics. In the first workshop, you will learn the importance of MEL and why having good data is useful to your organisation, you will understand the key terminology used and you will learn about different types of data that can be collected. We will also explore the key elements of having a data-driven culture.

Workshop 2: Planning your MEL Strategy 

In this workshop, you will learn the differences between a Theory of Change (ToC) and a logic model and understand the different elements of creating a measurement framework. You will start planning your data collection and tools and understand more about outcomes. This workshop will give you the tools and template to create your own ToC or outcomes framework for your organisation.

Workshop 3: Ethics of Data Collection 

In this workshop you will understand how GDPR, Safeguarding, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion affect data collection and understand the challenges around collecting sensitive data from participants. You will also learn how to use quantitative and qualitative data to meet your needs and how to build a more inclusive data collection culture.

Workshop 4: Data collection during Delivery  

In this workshop, you will learn how to be proportional in your data collection, the different stages of collecting data and how to approach this in different delivery scenarios. We will also look at the differences and benefits of surveys vs focus groups and think about how to plan for success and failure.

Workshop 5: Storytelling 

Having good impact data is great but putting it all together and telling your story meaningfully is an art. This workshop will help you understand what data storytelling is and why it is important in articulating your impact to funders. You will also learn how to map your stakeholders, understand what they want to see from reports and see the different elements that go into creating meaningful impact reports.