Using evaluation insights to shape strategy

Growing with purpose

AAWEAR (Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly) is a lived experience-led organisation based in Calgary, Canada, supporting people experiencing substance use, homelessness, and mental health challenges. The organisation is governed by a lived experience board and membership, with staff across all levels bringing their own lived experience to the work. This creates services and strategy grounded in genuine understanding of the communities they serve.

Habitus has been AAWEAR's external evaluation partner for over six years, supporting the organisation through significant growth; from a small project to an established not-for-profit. This growth has been largely due to effectively sharing the impact of their work with funders and stakeholders.

Challenges

As AAWEAR grew, the organisation needed to move from reactive decision-making to a clearer strategic direction. A change in leadership added complexity, requiring continuity and external support during a period of transition. The organisation had years of evaluation data but needed help translating those insights into a coherent strategy that would guide the next phase of the organisation's development.

What we did

Our work evolved from evaluation into strategic planning, using the insights we had gathered over years of partnership to inform the organisation's direction.

Ongoing evaluation: We conducted yearly impact evaluations with a developmental lens, co-developing outcome tools and measures with staff across all levels. This built a strong foundation of evidence about what was working and where the organisation was having impact.

Strategic plan development: Drawing on years of evaluation insights, we supported the development of a three-year strategic plan, working alongside the lived experience membership and board to shape the organisation's direction. The strategy provided evidence-based guidance for governance, ensuring it was meaningful and encompassed the voice of the membership, focusing the organisation on where they could make the most impact.

Support during leadership transition: We provided continuity and strategic support during a change in leadership, helping maintain momentum on data collection and monitoring while the organisation navigated the transition.

How we made a difference

Our long-term partnership has meant we understand AAWEAR deeply, its culture, values, and the realities of delivering lived experience-led services. When the time came to develop a strategic plan, we were not starting from scratch. We had years of insight to draw on, and trusted relationships with staff, board members, and the wider membership.

This allowed the strategic planning process to be grounded in what the organisation had already learned about itself, rather than being an abstract exercise. The resulting strategy gave the board and leadership team evidence-based guidance for governance, making strategic decisions meaningful and rooted in the voice of the membership. The transition in leadership was supported by external consistency and a clear evidence base to inform decisions.

Results

Over six years, our partnership has supported AAWEAR to:

• Build a strong evidence base through ongoing evaluation, capturing impact in ways that are meaningful to the team and funders alike

• Develop a three-year strategic plan that provides evidence-based guidance for governance, shaped by the lived experience membership and board, and focused on where the organisation can make the most impact

• Navigate a leadership transition with continuity and strategic support

• Grow from a small project to an established not-for-profit

Kathleen Larose, Executive Director: "We went from being quite reactive to having a real sense of direction. The strategy belongs to our membership… it came from their voices and the evidence of our impact. That is meaningful."

Habitus has extensive experience supporting organisations to develop peer-led services from the ground up. For more information on how Habitus can support your organisation or network to develop lived experience and peer leadership, contact us.