“Listening to our clients with lived experience is vital in ensuring that Migrant Help are working with the ability to see services from various perspectives. It also highlights things we might, without realising, be missing.” MSVC Team Manager 

The task 

In 2021, the Co-production and Quality teams were tasked with working with staff and clients to create a new way to measure impact for the MSVC service. It had to be meaningful for clients during their recovery and useful for the service to review their performance. We wanted to find out: 

• The needs or goals we should be measuring 

• What success looks like for our clients 

• At what point(s) and how often we should be measuring outcomes 

• The tool(s) we should use 

• How we should report on outcomes 

What we did 

We trained a group of 7 staff and clients in the South-East on how to work together in equal partnership, followed by a series of 5 workshops. We began by thinking about the client journey within the MSVC service, focussing on what our clients are thinking, feeling and doing at each stage, and what Migrant Help is doing to support them. The group came up with a list of potential outcome areas to measure impact: 

• Accommodation 

• Finance and Work 

• Education and Social Integration 

• Health, Mental health and Emotions 

• Criminal proceedings, Justice and Legal Entitlements 

• Safety  

• Dependents 

We explored the pros and cons of some existing outcome measurement tools, including ones found by group members. 

The outcome 

The tool the group preferred was the Outcomes Star, which provides a visual snapshot of a client’s needs. The group felt that the tool focussed on clients’ empowerment and supported a person-centred/trauma-informed approach.   

  

What we learned 

Staff and clients felt they learned about what good co-production entails and enjoyed working together. 1 of our clients did a presentation to the group, which demonstrated an increase in their confidence. Here’s what she had to say: 

“This project is a microphone for those who have, in the past, been forced into silence. […] I am so happy to be given the opportunity to feel like an equal and to feel I can do something to help others, even though I have felt powerless in the past.  Never lower the volume of your voice.” MSVC Client 

There was a clear need to have more clients involved to factor a drop out/lack of attendance rate and to ensure a better power dynamic.