Wellbeing of Women - 60 years of Impact
Impact evaluation of historical research portfolio
Wellbeing of Women (WoW) are the women’s health charity dedicated to improving the health of women, girls, and babies through research, education, and advocacy. 2024 marks their 60th anniversary, and they contracted me to conduct an impact evaluation analysis of their historical research portfolio – decades’ worth of progress reports submitted by their funded researchers.
Using AI tools such as Claude or Perplexity, bibliometric analyses with scientific databases like OpenAlex, PubMed and BMJ Impact Analytics, and interviews with expert researchers and clinicians working across areas of women’s health, I:
Summarised and categorised over 200 project reports from key projects, according to the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy for England areas of priority.
Tracked down key publications derived from decades old projects, and how subsequent research had successfully built on the discoveries and learnings from WoW-funded research.
Identified key areas of research and projects in which WoW had positively contributed towards improving the health of women and babies, and influenced clinical practice.
Based on my findings and recommendations, several case studies are currently in preparation that will feed into WoW’s 60th anniversary campaign. These resulting case studies and all other communications materials will serve as powerful testaments to WoW's legacy and ongoing importance in the field.
Janet Lindsay, Wellbeing of Women's CEO:
"This work is going to make a huge difference to how we show our impact as a charity in our fundraising and wider communications work. We are excited to start sharing with our supporters the incredible impact that the charity has had on women’s lives over the last 60 years
On a personal note, it was a massive pleasure working for an organisation that has such an incredible track record of improving the lives of the people they are trying to serve. On more than one occasion I was astounded to learn the role that WoW had played with their research in key areas of women’s and babies’ health. This project has been a profound reminder of the far-reaching effects that research funding can have, and has reinforced my belief of the value of data-driven impact assessment of research portfolios.
Jeremy Barratt, Wellbeing of Women's Head of Research:
“Jorge’s methodical and data driven approach, including qualitative interviews with experts in the field, has produced a wealth of easily accessible information that shows the huge impact the charity’s funding has had over the past 60 years. The outputs provide clarity on how our earliest grants have contributed to improvements in health for women, girls and babies, as well as unearthing new gems buried in our archives.
The task of looking back over six decades of grants was a huge undertaking and the sheer amount that Jorge was able to sift through and summarise during a relatively short time is impressive. Jorge clearly communicated throughout the project, and we were impressed by the genuine enthusiasm he showed for our cause and his passion for impact analysis and evaluation. It was a pleasure to work with him!”