Lesson learnt in Finland

Funding of Icehearts administration and support services

In STEA’s funding applications, applied yearly, the focus is on Icehearts’ administration and support services. Meaning that the actions and effectiveness of these services are under review, not the effects of Icehearts’ operations in general. For example, what is the purpose and goals of the support services. And how well the services have achieved their goals, for example, in providing psychosocial support to mentors and supporting mentors’ training. This consists of both quantitative and qualitative data. And in these Icehearts own monitoring and evaluating data do have a great role. It can show, for example, the number of calls and meetings the supervising mentors.

But of course, research data is also used in STEA’s funding applications. They are used on a general level to justify the social need for Icehearts’ activities and to describe the effects of the activities. The main purpose is to show that data and knowledge guide Icehearts’ operations. In addition, the cooperation with research institutions (THL and Aalto University for example) is also described to underline that the Icehearts activities are constantly being developed based on researched information towards more effective activities. The application also takes into account that the development of operations and changes in the operating environment increase the requirements for administrative expertise.

Funding of Icehearts teams

The priorities of financial negotiations and applications vary from municipality to municipality. But in general, when Icehearts teams are formed, it is preceded by the knowledge of the need for it. This comes from the cities and municipalities themselves. This information is also used further on funding applications to contextualize the need for Icehearts operations in the area and the funding. So it’s a bit like with SANA but this is done by municipalities, not Icehearts. But this is also something where Icehearts wants to develop its role. To use statistical research data more widely than at present, for example on local socio-demographic situations and phenomena in the living world of children and young people.

Mainly, in many municipalities funding is applied yearly for the Icehearts operations in the municipality. Expectedly, the research information about Icehearts plays an important role in these. They are used on a general level to justify the social need for Icehearts’ activities (THL’s evaluation report of Icehearts, Evaluation of evidence-based practices for health, Hyte-report) and to describe and highlight the effects of the activities (THL longitudinal studies and cost-effectiveness study). In addition to these, research results about social mentoring (e.g. Eddy, M. & Lakind, D), sports and PYD’s are also used.

Icehearts’ own monitoring and evaluation data are also used. This data enables the description of the local target group as well as to focus on local activities and results in these operations. It contains data that can be used to illustrate how the mentors’ daily tasks are divided into different work areas (pie chart) and at the same time, it shows how support is focused on different sectors. In other words, it shows what kind of support the municipality gets for the children participating in Icehearts and where the funding is used.

Very often, it is important to take into account the goals set by the municipality in the applications and describe how Icehearts can contribute to their achievement. Research data and Icehearts’ monitoring data are a great advantage in describing these.

Lessons learnt from Pilots

In the following video, managers from the implementing Icehearts Europe pilot organisations in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Slovenia and Spain provide hints on what they wished they knew before starting as well as their view regarding mid and long-term sustainability of the initiative.

Tips for you to learn, pivot and advocate based on your M&E findings

To effectively use M&E findings, start by thoroughly analysing the data to identify key insights and trends. Use these insights to inform your learning by reflecting on what worked well and what didn’t. When you spot areas needing improvement, develop and implement action plans to pivot your strategies accordingly. Finally, craft compelling narratives from your data to advocate for necessary changes, engaging stakeholders with clear, evidence-based arguments. This approach ensures continuous improvement and impactful advocacy based on solid evidence.

The video below from UNICEF is a powerful demonstration of how you can use data to tell the story and become a more impactful advocate.