Sarah Morton

As an independent consultant I specialise in guiding organisations to understand and enhance their impact. With expertise in theory of change development, data audits, capacity building, and mentoring, I support research, public sector, charitable, and international development organisations to achieve their goals and demonstrate their value. For 8 and a half years I was Director and Co-Founder (with Ailsa Cook) of Matter of Focus - a B-corporation that supported organisations with a vision for social change to understand and track their impact. We built a unique and innovative software platform OutNav that puts the tools for self evaluation into organisations' hands. This is now owned and operated by Plinth I am internationally recognised for my pioneering work on impact and impact assessment. I have conducted 10 independent research impact studies across topics and countries, and have pioneered complexity-informed ways of understanding impact. I have pioneered a participatory approach to using contribution analysis to understand and achieve outcomes. My background is in social sciences and participation. I have a degree in Sociology, and Masters degrees in Community Education and Social Policy by Research, and a PhD in Social Policy. My checkered past includes a variety of networking, policy development and research roles in the voluntary sector with Children in Scotland, Learning Link Scotland and the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations and ten years experience of tutoring adult learners in community settings and with the Open University. I cut my teeth in Knowledge Mobilisation at the University of Edinburgh from 2001-2017, and founded Matter of Focus with Ailsa Cook in 2017.