Workshop «Projekte mit Wirkung»
The Volkart Foundation, together with the Foundation Mercator Switzerland, the Beisheim Foundation and the Minerva Foundation, offer a basic workshop on impact-oriented project work. The workshop is held regularly in Zurich, Bern, Ticino (italian part of Switzerland) and online and is free of cost.
Impact-oriented project work is important: organizations and initiatives want to initiate social developments with their projects. They want to generate positive impact, be able to demonstrate their impact and increase quality. But what does impact mean? How can it be planned? And how can statements be made about the impact achieved?
Contents of the workshop
The basic workshop was developed by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland and familiarizes participants with impact-oriented project work using the online guide “Projekte mit Wirkung”. The focus of the workshop is on the I-O-O-I impact logic (input – output – outcome – impact) as well as on working on one’s own project.
At the end of the workshop the participants should:
- recognize the benefits of impact logic and be motivated to work with this method;
- be able to independently apply the steps of impact orientation and evaluation to their work;
- be familiar with the role of impact logic in funding practice.
Upcoming workshop dates
The workshop takes place on Wednesdays from 16:15 to 18:30 on the following dates:
January 28, 2025 (Lugano)
January 29, 2025 (online, Con·Sense)
March 05, 2025 (Zurich, ZHAW)
March 26, 2025 (Bern, Con·Sense)
March 27, 2025 (online, Lugano)
April 16, 2025 (Zurich, ZHAW)
May 14, 2025 (Bern, Con·Sense)
June 18, 2025 (online, ZHAW)
August 20, 2025 (Bern, Con·Sense)
August 20, 2025 (Poschiavo)
September 03, 2025 (Zurich, ZHAW)
September 09, 2025 (Lugano)
September 17, 2025 (Bern, Con·Sense)
October 22, 2025 (Zurich, ZHAW)
November 12, 2025 (online, Con·Sense)
December 10, 2025 (online, ZHAW)
Workshop providers
The workshops will be led by the following experts:
Dr. Annette Jenny: She is a lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences with proven knowledge in impact orientation and evaluation.
Prof. Dr. Urs Müller: He is a lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and responsible for the project «Mehr Wirkung in der Umwelterwachsenenbildung».
Robert Schmuki: He is part of the team of the consulting company Con·Sense, a spin-off of the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) at the University of Basel, where he used to lead the training.
Giorgio Panzera: He is the founder and CEO of cenpro (Centro Competenze Non Profit), which is a non-profit foundation dealing with the third sector and philanthropy.
Dr. Petra Bättig-Frey: She is a lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, where she works in the field of sustainability communication research and has conducted impact analyses on various environmental education projects, among other things.
Lukas Hupfer: He has many years of experience in the management and further development of non-profit organisations. He has been an organisational consultant at Con-Sense since 2023 and was previously Managing Director of ‘foraus’, the largest Swiss think tank on foreign policy.
Dr. Sophie Hersberger-Langloh: She researched and published at the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) on the professionalisation of NPOs and has been advising organisations on issues relating to impact measurement, strategy development and governance since 2016. She is a co-founder of Con-Sense.
Participation and registration
The workshop is aimed at applicants and funding partners of the Volkart Foundation, the Mercator Foundation Switzerland, the Minerva Foundation and the Beisheim Foundation. It is also open to other interested parties from non-profit organisation. The participation is free of charge for all.
Please register as early as possible, indicating the desired workshop date, via this online form. For the courses in Ticino, please use this registration link.
The number of spaces is limited, and your registration is binding. In case of high demand, partner organisations and funding applicants will be given priority. Your registration will be confirmed approximately two weeks before the event.