Project Impact Reports: Book Now Available

In 2020, teams from 21 women’s shelters from across Alberta were convened by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters to define and evaluate their impact and respond to what they discovered in the data. The compendium of some of their most salient findings and recommendations has been published in the form of a book, available now.

Excerpt from Project Impact Reports: Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (2021):

For over 20 years, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters has been collecting data to both prove and improve the services they provide to women, their children, and seniors accessing shelters. The data to knowledge process is critical for all members of the council and has resulted in promising and evidence-based shelter practice.

Over the past 10 years, we have grown and increased our capacity to evaluate programs, projects, and services. Our members have seen the power of data and have worked hard to learn about the impact we have on the lives of the people we serve.

We wanted to discover a method of evaluation and knowledge building that feels good for the Albertans we serve and our front-line staff. In September 2018, we invited Dr. Steve Patty with Dialogues in Action to our ACWS Outcomes Conference and when Steve described their method of measuring impact, we knew we had found what we were all looking for.

This has been a groundbreaking initiative for ACWS and our members in honing our skills and abilities to evaluate and to genuinely learn from the people we serve. The evaluations you are about to read reflect the dedication and commitment of ACWS members to serving people and communities across Alberta with the greatest of care, skill, and knowledge.

The programs and services shelters offer result in compelling and profound changes for the clients. To know that the way we measure outcomes for clients is respectful, thoughtful, and even therapeutic is an impact all ACWS members and all Albertans should be very proud of.

The book is now available for purchase here.