Help small charities prove their worth

It is able to show how the overwhelming majority of young people who have engaged in the programme are currently in education or training, with teenage pregnancies the exception rather than the norm.

Evidence of impact is critical for all programmes to attract funding. But as Teens and Toddlers acknowledges itself, not all charities are so fortunate. Many good projects are unable to provide such clear evidence.

This is not because they are not having an impact and making a difference to people's lives. It is often because they lack the resources to be able to show it. As a result, the funding is harder to come by, the project is threatened with closure and a vital lifeline to many children, young people and families is denied. This is nothing short of a tragedy and it flies in the face of aspirations to reward innovation and create a big society.

So the onus has to fall on sources of shared learning and support within the sector. Project Oracle in London, for example, which is led by the Greater London Authority, aims to arm charities involved in youth crime prevention in the capital with the tools to evaluate what they do, and, in turn, identify and share best practice.

Good evidence does not need to be tantamount to "rocket science". It does not need necessarily to involve the work of a university or academic research institution. Indeed, the evidence provided will be proportionate to the scale of work done. It might not be reasonable, say, to expect a small project testing something groundbreaking to run randomised controlled trials to ascertain the true cause and effect of an intervention. And it is just as important that services have evidence of the needs they are trying to serve in their communities.

This government recognises that some of the best ideas and solutions reside at local level and within the voluntary sector. But small charities are being hit with the removal of government grants, aside from a relatively paltry £100m transition fund announced in the comprehensive spending review.

If small charities are to stand any reasonable chance of making a difference in the long term, they need help and support to evaluate the effectiveness of what they do. Without it, we will all be the losers.

Ravi Chandiramani, editor, Children & Young People Now