Councils seek to move beyond compliance in grant measurement
Posted on 23 Jun 2025
Fragmented data systems, inconsistent wellbeing metrics, and pressure from central government timelines are among the challenges faced by local government grantmakers across the UK and Ireland, as they look to evolve from compliance-driven reporting to more meaningful measurement of outcomes and systemic impact.
These themes emerged during an online roundtable hosted by SmartyGrants on 18 June 2025, which brought together around 30 grantmakers from local authorities across the UK and Ireland.
The session, Measuring What Matters, was designed to surface shared challenges, showcase international practice, and explore practical ways forward for councils grappling with the complexities of impact reporting. Participants collaborated via a live Miro board to capture current practices, roadblocks, and aspirations for the future.
While many councils reported well-established systems for tracking outputs, financial compliance, and collecting grantee feedback through surveys, several acknowledged the difficulties of standardising qualitative and wellbeing data. Others noted internal barriers, including lack of alignment across departments and limited staff understanding of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks.
“There’s a real appetite to move beyond the basics and develop measurement approaches that are not just about accountability, but about learning and making better decisions,” said the event host, Vicky Coutts, who is UK Engagement and Support Manager at SmartyGrants.
“This roundtable was a chance to bring together people facing similar constraints and pressures – but also with a shared ambition to build something better.”
Participants said they aspired to a stronger focus on systemic impact, cost avoidance, and learning-oriented measurement. There was also interest in strengthening cross-sector partnerships and developing more integrated data systems that can better serve strategic decision-making.
Drawing on experiences working with more than 200 Australian and New Zealand councils over the past 20 years, SmartyGrants presenters Jen Riley (Chief Impact Officer) and Jodie Shanks (Director of Platform Transformation) showcased examples of good practice, including the fictionalised but representative “Goodtown Council”, which has developed a simple, strategy-aligned impact framework to guide its grantmaking, and “BigCity Council”’s layered reporting system combining dashboards, outcome indicators, and narrative stories of change.
Special guest Monique O’Keeffe, from the City of Greater Dandenong in Melbourne, provided a practical example of how all of this can play out in practice.
The session reinforced that measurement must be “fit for purpose,” rooted in trust with grantees, and designed to support – not burden – community and economic impact.
SmartyGrants, a social-purpose grantmaking technology provider developed in Australia and now expanding in the UK, hosted the event as part of its efforts to build a peer community of grantmakers focused on continuous improvement.
Participants will be invited to join a private LinkedIn group to continue the conversation and share knowledge across councils.
To find out more or request to join the LinkedIn group, email info@smartygrants.co.uk