Two Good Co turning stories into convincing evidence

Two Good Co is a social enterprise based in Sydney. Through catering, social procurement, retail and corporate volunteering, much of it in professional kitchens, the organisation employs and trains women recovering from family violence, homelessness and complex trauma.

The impact is clear to anyone who encounters the organisation, but the way the organisation captured their impact data had evolved over the years, making consistency a challenge. As it grew, government funders, corporate partners, and Two Good itself began wanting more structured measurements and evidence of that impact, and a way to credibly demonstrate it through external validation.

SVA worked with Two Good to refresh its Theory of Change, agree a prioritised set of outcomes to measure, and research the financial proxies that could support a future social return on investment analysis. The work was funded through a SEDI grant.

Background

Two Good runs a commercial catering business, a gift range, a donated meals stream for women’s refuges, and a corporate volunteering program called #GoodTeams. These commercial activities are also the social program itself. The Work Work model employs women in commercial kitchens for six months, with support wrapped around them throughout. Through #GoodTeams, corporate teams come on site to pack meals, which gives them a direct encounter with the issue of family violence and provides an opportunity for them to take lessons and knowledge learnt back to their workplaces. Until now the model’s impact had been described mostly through stories. As funders and partners began to expect harder evidence, Two Good needed a framework that could meet those expectations.

A fresh and healthy meal served at Two Good Co.

Vision and objectives

The project set out to do three things. The first was to refresh the Theory of Change so that it captured how Two Good’s model creates change for the women in the program, for workplaces, for the community and for the sector, and reflected the distinctive way its commercial and social purposes work as one. The second was to agree a focused set of priority outcomes, tested against what matters to the women, what funders need, and what can realistically be measured. This meant being disciplined about not trying to measure everything. The third and final element was to identify financial proxies that could support a social valuation in future.

Role we played

SVA worked alongside the Two Good team across two phases. In the first, we facilitated a session to refresh the Theory of Change, working through how the model creates change at the level of the individual, the community and the sector, and capturing it in a form ready for board and funder conversations.

In the second, we ran a workshop with the team to prioritise outcomes, applying a shared set of criteria across a longer list to settle on focused list of outcomes. We then developed the indicators and measurement approach, building on the tools Two Good already uses. Alongside this, we carried out financial proxy research to show where social valuation would be possible in future. The complete framework was delivered as an accessible document.

Fresh fruit and granola served with yoghurt.

Donated meal prepared and distributed through Two Good Co. © Dexter Kim.

Outcomes

The project produced a refreshed Theory of Change and a prioritised set of 10 outcomes that together capture the heart of what Two Good does. These range from the most personal, a woman feeling worthy of love and respect, or experiencing dignity and joy where hardship had dominated, through to employment, financial security and improved mental health.

They also include the change Two Good creates beyond the women themselves, as workplaces become more informed and the broader community grows more aware of family violence. Each outcome is paired with an indicator and a way of measuring it that builds on the tools Two Good already uses. The framework also identifies where financial proxies could support a social valuation in future. Two Good now has a single, coherent account of its impact that it can measure and report against.

SVA helped us be disciplined about what matters most and what we can realistically measure. The refreshed Theory of Change now captures the full reach of our model, from a woman rediscovering her self-worth to the workplaces and communities that meet us. It’s already shaping how we plan and report.” Anne Gonzalez • COO Two Good Co

The wonderful members of Two Good Co.