The University of Johannesburg (UJ), in collaboration with Social TV and UJ Community Engagement, is hosting a practical workshop aimed at helping NGOs, community-based organisations and corporates better measure and communicate social impact.
The workshop, titled Measuring What Matters: A practical workshop for CBOs and NGOs on showing the value of your work, will take place on 27 May 2026 at the Nadine Gordimer Theatre at the UJ APK Library.
Organisers say the session is designed to move beyond theory by helping organisations develop practical tools for understanding and demonstrating the real-world value of their programmes and interventions.
Rather than introducing complex academic frameworks, the workshop focuses on practical questions many organisations face daily, including how to define success, what evidence is meaningful to collect and how to demonstrate value to funders, partners and communities.
Participants are encouraged to bring real programmes and challenges into the session, with the workshop structured around collaborative discussion and practical application.
The session will be led by Professor Ana Adi, a Professor of Public Relations and Corporate Communications at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Prof Adi hosts the Women in PR podcast and has authored several papers focused on measuring social impact and value.
According to the organisers, attendees will leave with a plain-language theory of change framework, a practical measurement plan and guidance on where artificial intelligence can assist in evaluation and where human-centred approaches remain essential.
The initiative reflects growing interest in strengthening accountability, transparency and evidence-based storytelling within the social impact and community development sectors.
The workshop also highlights the expanding collaboration between academic institutions, media platforms and community organisations in developing practical social impact knowledge and implementation tools.
The event forms part of wider efforts to help organisations working in communities improve sustainability, strengthen reporting capabilities and better communicate long-term impact to stakeholders and society.
