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Evaluation Exchange: Central YMCA
This page is a summary of the collaboration between Central YMCA and UCL postgraduate students and researchers through the Evaluation Exchange.
3 March 2023
As the world's first YMCA, we are a national charity that advances the education, health and wellbeing of our communities. We break down barriers to create improved access to life changing opportunities. Our vision is to enable everyone to achieve their potential, live a fulfilled life and contribute positively to society.
How we worked with the Evaluation Exchange
The team created a Theory of Change for Central YMCA to help the organisation situate everything they do, in terms of activities and services, within a larger purpose.
Legacy for Central YMCA
The new Theory of Change will allow Central YMCA to enable and support more local communities through a consistent and high-quality approach to services offered. The Theory of change allows the charity a long term level of consistency that will ensure Central YMCA can articulate its work across its strategy.
Legacy for the students and researchers
The knowledge exchange allowed researchers to have a first-hand insight into how a value-driven charity like Central YMCA works. Points of contact and, mostly, differences with respect to working in an academic sector emerged, allowing the students to go back to their research work enriched with increased awareness. The project also gave an opportunity for directed creative expression that the researchers might not have otherwise had.
- Students and researchers involved
- Agata Blaszczyk, UCL Estates
- Matteo Errigo (PhD student, Chemical Engineering)
- Benjamin Thair (PhD student, Chemistry)
- Resources from the collaboration