Here you can find our recent research publications, learning reports and insights. To explore a particular theme, use the handy filters below.
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79 of 79 reports available
This learning brief presents the key lessons from Levelling the Field II, which was funded by Comic Relief and the Scottish Government and ran from 2021-2024. The programme supported ten funded partners in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia to harness the power of sport to tackle social problems faced by the most marginalised women and girls.
These 2-page summaries - an accompaniment to the evaluation report - outline the funded partners' work on the Smiles Fund programme (that was funded with Walkers). The summaries go into detail about each partner's work, achievements and impact, and provide quotes from those involved in the projects.
This evaluation report aims to assess the funded partners' work on the Smiles Fund programme (that was funded with Walkers), the programme's overall impact, and the key learnings and recommendations regarding delivery of arts- and comedy-based approaches in helping people with mental health and wellbeing challenges.
Across Borders is a programme that has supported 19 civil society organisations and partnerships that are working to develop routes to safety for refugees and asylum seekers. Over 4 years, the cohort has worked in direct service delivery at a grassroots level, advocating for changes to policy and legislation, and aiming to shift the general public attitudes towards migration.
This report documents the learnings from our eight partners in Kenya who came together to learn from each other throughout their implementation of the Rise and Shine programme. Their impact was felt from the community to county and national government level, where they have sought to bring about sustainable change that can be implemented at scale.
This report covers the first two years of the Power of Pop Fund from July 2022 to July 2024. It assesses what the Fund has achieved to date, the factors that have enabled the successes, the ongoing challenges, learnings, and recommendations for Year 3 and beyond.
Our Strategy outlines our vision, mission, goals, learning questions and funding approach for the Power of Pop Fund between 2025 – 2028.
This report presents the key learnings from University of Bath’s research investigating Comic Relief’s ‘Sport for Change’ funding approach and the impact of the sport for development sector.
This document focuses on the findings relevant to organisations leveraging the intentional use of sport as a cross-cutting tool to respond to social issues.
This document presents the key learnings from University of Bath’s research investigating Comic Relief’s ‘Sport for Change’ funding approach and its influence on the sport for development sector.
This report focuses on the findings relevant to organisations seeking to partner with Comic Relief in the sport for development sector.
This report presents the key learnings from University of Bath’s research investigating Comic Relief’s ‘Sport for Change’ funding approach and, more generally, the impact of the sport for development sector.
This report focuses on the findings relevant to funders seeking to support organisations using sport as a tool for development.
This report presents the findings of University of Bath’s research which examined Comic Relief’s ‘Sport for Change’ funding approach. It explores the operationalisation and impact of this approach which, since 2002, has invested £80 million into projects in the UK and internationally.
Comic Relief commissioned an evaluation in 2022-2023 of their work providing organisation strengthening grants to 18 funded partners across Africa. This report shares the learnings and insights from the process, with the aim of advising funders and partners embarking upon organisation strengthening efforts, to help make organisations more robust and future-fit.
This framework aims to clarify the logic behind investing in pop culture for social change interventions, with a series of if/then statements to connect the theory underlying this work. Ultimately it aims to show how strategic funding interventions can advance pop culture as a tool for social justice.
This guide, developed to support the Power of Pop (PoP) Fund and its partners, presents Monitoring and Evaluation tools and techniques that can be used to measure and learn from work taking place in the pop culture for social change field.
This toolkit is designed to support organisations which have identified the need to build intentional mental health support into their sport for change programmes. It is also a resource for the ecosystem supporting these organisations, such as funders and mental health service providers.
These 10 case studies present examples of outcomes from the funded partners’ work under the All In, All Learning! programme. Specifically, the case studies illustrate the many changes that have taken place at the individual, organisational and institutional levels. The case studies were written by the programme’s evaluation team.
This report presents the findings from the final evaluation of the All In, All Learning! programme, which was co-funded with FCDO. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the programme’s performance and impact, and to identify learnings and recommendations for development funders and organisations working in children’s education.
This case study of Skin Deep, one of the funded partners in the PoP Fund, describes the organisation's background and approaches to change. It also presents some highlights from their work under the PoP Fund as well as their longer term vision as an organisation.
This case study of 2POCC, one of the funded partners in the PoP Fund, describes the organisation's background and approaches to change. It also presents some highlights from their work under the PoP Fund as well as their longer term vision as an organisation.
This case study of We Are Bridge, one of the funded partners in the PoP Fund, describes the organisation's background and approaches to change. It also presents some highlights from their work under the PoP Fund as well as their longer term vision as an organisation.
This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing in Kenya programme, which was co-funded with FCDO. The purpose of the evaluation was to inform mental health provisioning and advocacy work in Kenya, and strategic approaches to funding mental health work.
This report presents the key learnings from the Ahead of the Game UK programme. The insights speak to critical success factors and considerations when designing and delivering initiatives to improve mental health outcomes through combined sport-based approaches and quality mental health support.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Feminist principles on Power in Funded Partners, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Feminist movements’ research and advocacy on GBV, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Supporting election of women and holding them accountable, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Self- and Collective care to strengthen movements, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Feminist governance, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Evaluating our work through a power lens, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Funded Partners of our Power Up programme (with support from our Learning Coordinator Barbara Klugman) developed briefs gathering thematic learning on power, feminist approaches, partnerships and movement-building generated over the last 3 years, some of which are captured in Strengthening constituency leadership, one of seven Learning Briefs.
Across Borders is a Comic Relief programme supporting 19 civil society organisations and partnerships working to develop routes to safety for refugees. Over 5 years, the cohort is working in direct service delivery at a grassroots level, advocating for changes to policy and legislation, and aiming to shift the general public attitudes towards migration.
This report gives an overview of the key reflections from the Rise & Shine UK programme, during which 21 grassroots organisations from across the UK came together to share and learn about how best to support children and their families during their early years. Despite operating during particularly challenging times, from the pandemic through to the cost of living crisis, these organisations have learnt about how to build resilience, adapt and increase their impact.
This blog lists the guiding principles that will shape the engagement with and contribution of those involved in the Power of Pop (PoP) Fund, to create a common understanding and culture around what is expected as the PoP Fund develops.
This briefing paper, developed to support the work of the Power of Pop (PoP) Fund, shares learning from US organisations in the pop culture for social change space and reflects on key lessons and questions for consideration as this field of work develops in the UK.
Comic Relief has contracted a Learning Coordinator to lead on monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) for the Power of Pop (PoP) Fund. This Inception Report discusses the MEL approach of the PoP Fund and presents the Theory of Change and evaluation framework.
This report discusses the findings from the evaluation of the Supporting and Sustaining Specialism programme that was co-funded with the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This unique programme ringfenced funding for specialist ending-Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Black and minoritised (B&M) women-led by and for organisations. This report highlights what funders need to do to better support these organisations.
This report brings together learning from the London Together programme, co-funded by the Mayor of London, which funded 29 organisations to use sport and physical activity to improve social integration across communities in London.
This learning brief shares what needs to be considered in order to continue the journey to financial inclusion, as demonstrated by the Branching Out: Financial Inclusion at the Margins programme in Zambia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
Funded by Comic Relief and Jersey Overseas Aid, this evaluation of the Branching Out: Financial Inclusion at the Margins programme, shows that partners contributed to increasing financial inclusion, especially women, through improving financial and digital literacy, forming and digitising savings groups, and increasing access to formal financial services for marginalised populations, in Zambia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
Since 2019, 23 partners working in the UK, South Africa, India and Zambia came together to develop a Community of Practice. Through this they were able to share their experience and learning from implementing projects that tackled homelessness and insecure shelter. This report covers the ways this was done and some of the group’s key learnings.
This report presents findings from IVAR's evaluation of the Tech for Good Build programme.
Tech for Good was a three-year partnership between Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF), providing £2.4million in funding and capacity building support to enable not-for-profits in the UK to use digital technologies to deliver more effective services.
This evaluation critically reviews The Global Majority Fund, which in 2020, supported ten intermediary Technical Partner (ITPs) organisations, led by and for communities experiencing racial inequality, to lead Covid-19 relief efforts in their communities.
The ITPs went on to fund 644 grassroots organisations, supporting 112,041 individuals who identify as from a community experiencing racial inequality.
In Kenya, male participation in childcare and early childhood development is minimal, especially in households with children with disabilities. This report presents a key learning from funded partners in Comic Relief’s Rise and Shine Kenya programme, that the promotion of male involvement in caregiving and safeguarding of children is best achieved by use of male change agents.
The #iwill Youth Social Action Fund provided over 5,800 opportunities for young people to take part in youth social action, through a range of projects delivered by 16 funded organisations (funded partners). In 2021 Comic Relief commissioned an evaluation of the Fund, in order to understand the difference projects funded under it made to the young people who shaped them.
This interim evaluation report assesses the outcomes and success factors of Phase 1 of the All In, All Learning! childhood education programme in sub-Saharan Africa that Comic Relief is funding in partnership with FCDO. It also provides recommendations for partners and funders for Phase 2 of the programme and beyond.
This report documents the journey that Comic Relief has been on in the first two years of the Power Up! programme. Through consultation with Power Up! funded partners, Barbara Klugman explores their experiences of: Comic Relief’s grant management; reporting processes; role in supporting feminist movements and advocacy; and the peer learning process that Barbara leads.
This report summarises key themes coming from the 17 funded partners (and their partners) on our Power Up! programme at the end of their second year. Comic Relief’s Power Up! programme seeks to understand and build on feminist movements in the UK and internationally with funding, by convening movement constituents and through knowledge sharing.
This report identifies and discusses key themes coming from the 17 funded partners (and their partners) on our Power Up! programme at the end of their second year. Comic Relief’s Power Up! programme seeks to understand and build on feminist movements in the UK and internationally with funding, by convening movement constituents and through knowledge sharing.
Comic Relief is taking a more proactive and deliberate approach to OS. We want our approach to be clear, coherent, consistent and easy to communicate –internally and externally. This resource describes Comic Relief’s principles-based approach to organisational strengthening (OS).
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our 21 Rise and Shine funded partners from around the UK continued to help families who needed it most so that their children had the best form of early years support possible; even when staff were struggling themselves. This is what they have learnt.
This report examines what was achieved in supporting organisations to address violence against women experiencing multiple disadvantages in the UK. It discusses lessons learned through service delivery and makes recommendations for practitioners, funders and policymakers working in this space.
This guide is intended to help practitioners provide effective services that respond to violence and abuse against older women by providing evidence around ‘what works’ and identifying some of the key challenges when working in this space.
Tech for Good: Explore provided funding and support for UK not-for-profits to explore the potential of a digital approach to improving service delivery, with a focus on user research. IVAR worked with funded partners, Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation to understand the value and contribution of this funding and present their findings in this report. Read the evaluation here(opens in new window)
Shift the Power is an intermediary funding programme run by Comic Relief. It aims to shift the power in grant-making to communities and get more funding to small grassroots organisations and communities across the UK, and to trial a trust-based and ‘relational’ approach to devolved grant-making.
Through ‘Across Borders’, Comic Relief is funding 19 civil society organisations and partnerships that are working to develop routes to safety for refugees. Just one year into the programme, this insights report celebrates their progress and incredible resilience in an ever-challenging and hostile context. It also highlights examples of learning and adaptation during COVID-19.(opens in new window)
The external evaluation report of the Common Ground Initiative phase II programme. This evaluation demonstrates the lasting and significant impact of the Common Ground Initiative phase II (CGI II), co-funded by Comic Relief and FCDO from 2014-19. The programme built on Comic Relief’s commitment to UK diaspora organisations, where the majority of trustees are of African heritage and ‘small’ organisations whose annual turnover is under £1 million.
Read the summary here(opens in new window) (opens in new window)
This report explores the impact of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programme in supporting some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach women, their babies, and their families to access quality maternal and new-born care at the household and community level in Ethiopia and Uganda. The programme was jointly funded by Comic Relief and National Lottery Community Fund.
Tech vs Abuse supported eleven funded partners to develop digital solutions co-designed with users, alongside digital agencies providing specialist technical support, to improve the safety of people affected by abuse. This evaluation explored key features of the programme’s design and processes, achievement of intended outcomes and wider impact. Read the evaluation(opens in new window)
When Covid-19 restrictions disrupted data collection for our Tech vs Abuse learning partner (Renaisi), they shifted research focus to understand the impact of Covid-19 on funded partners and the effectiveness of Comic Relief’s support. The paper describes differing experiences as to how funded partner involvement with Tech vs Abuse strengthened their Covid-19 response. Read the learning paper(opens in new window)
IVAR was commissioned by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation to evaluate the first iteration of our new Tech for Good programming in 2019, assessing progress made and informing future programming. They explored contributions of the programme to individual funded partners’ digital development, as well as influence of the funding on organisational culture and digital readiness.
This external evaluation used the Most Significant Change methodology to assess the outcomes of the international element of the ‘Youth and HIV: Think Afresh’ Programme, a partnership with the M·A·C VIVA GLAM foundation to fund innovative approaches to fight HIV/AIDS, and raise awareness of its continuing impact.
Comic Relief’s Power Up initiative supports a diverse cohort of Funded Partners in the UK, sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to build power for women and girls on a range of issues identified as paramount in their contexts.
The ‘Thriving Not Just Surviving’ programme has supported 23 organisations and partnerships in the UK to test and refine approaches to engaging and supporting boys and young men experiencing mental health problems. This report explores ‘what works’ with these groups, making recommendations to the mental health sector and funders alike.
This insights brief highlights the learning from our UK funded partners working on early childhood development. The experiences of funded partners have been clustered into meeting basic needs and identifying new ones; using technology for online support and partnerships and collaboration.
With funding from the Tampon Tax fund, in partnership with DCMS, Comic Relief has supported 7 women-led service providers in the UK to help increase knowledge and awareness of older women’s experiences of violence, and strengthen services. The limited research available indicates that violence against older women is prevalent but invisible, yet few UK services recognise and respond to the gendered factors behind elder abuse. This report, drafted by Dr H. Bows, illustrates the findings of one year of work.
These learning guides capture the experiences of London Together funded partners in how they engage target audiences through a Sport for Change approach to tackle social isolation.
Reaching Target Audiences: learning guide(opens in new window)
Approaches to Sport & Social Integration: learning guide (opens in new window)
An evaluation of Comic Relief’s ‘Care Home Challenge 2’ programme, designed to support cultural change in the care home sector by improving the quality of life and wellbeing of people living and working in care homes through meaningful activities.
This brief provides insights into supporting the process of ongoing, effective learning. It draws from the collective learning process used in the I Define Me initiative, bringing together nine projects across the UK, Colombia and South Africa working with gang-affected young women and girls to share experiences, solidarity and learning across three years.
Read the briefing paper(opens in new window)
The I Define Me programme worked with gang-affected young women and girls in the UK, Colombia and South Africa. Drawing on ongoing peer learning and sharing across the nine projects, this practitioner’s toolkit and the accompanying brief provides resources, advice and learning about how to work effectively in this area.
Read the toolkit(opens in new window)
Read the briefing paper(opens in new window)
Together with Corra Foundation, Community Foundation Northern Ireland, Groundwork UK and Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Comic Relief is exploring how and when to involve people with lived experience in the grant-making process. This report highlights some key reflections that may be useful to other funders.
This evaluation looks at the role of partnerships in Comic Relief’s Levelling the Field UK programme, where each project was delivered by a partnership of two or more organisations. It looks at the different partnership modalities used, how these evolved, and the benefits and challenges of each. Four in-depth case studies of different partnership modalities accompany the report.
Red Shed is a specialist fund within Comic Relief focusing on testing new and innovative ways of investing in social change through alternative forms of funding. This report surveyed and interviewed Comic Relief funded partners, targeting smaller charities to discover their attitudes and experiences related to social investment.
Using case studies from UK and international funders, this review explores the different cultures, focuses and functions of learning for funders. It then looks at how this affects funded partners’ own agendas and capacities to learn effectively, and the role of funders in supporting others’ learning.
This report reviews Comic Relief’s Core Strength programme (2017-2019) that provided core and flexible funding to small-medium sized UK charities, along with a range of funder+ support and a more relational style of grant management. It looks at the experiences and outcomes for funded partners and provides lessons for funders.
Read the summary(opens in new window)
A report by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition commissioned and funded by Comic Relief. It reviews the evidence base about the mental health needs of young people with learning disabilities (including policy and practice), provides an overview of the emerging themes, and gives recommendations for local and national decision-makers.
This research was commissioned by a multi-funder partnership in which Comic Relief is instrumental. It looks at the first programme to fund Tech Vs Abuse projects and the ways in which digital tech might be used to tackle Domestic Abuse.
This interim report looks at the Tech For Good programme jointly funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation. This programme funds and supports UK not-for-profit organisations to develop new digital products and services.
This report reviews current provision, commissioning approaches and delivery models for the Violence against Women and Girls services (VAWG) in England and Wales and recommends areas for improvement and collaboration.
This report by Global Fund for Community Foundation summarises and presents the current landscape of strategies and approaches that put local people and local institutions in charge of their own development. It highlights six donor practices that constrain locally-led development, and proposes solutions.
This report draws on existing literature and a range of interviews with key donors and activists, providing an overview of the role and importance of women’s and feminist movements. It also looks at existing models and tools for learning in this area, and the role funders can play in supporting and strengthening feminist movements.
