Diverse Talents – Building a more diverse working life
Background
Startup Refugees develops solutions that strengthen migrants’ access to employment and entrepreneurship. As part of the ESR+-funded Diverse Talents project, the organisation built a training model focused on workplace diversity, aimed at helping companies strengthen their inclusivity, non-discrimination, and welcoming practices.
The training model addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in a practical way: how recruitment, management, and everyday practices can be developed so that different backgrounds and skillsets are genuinely recognized and valued.
Empact served as an independent evaluation and development partner for the training model.
Project goals
The aim of the collaboration was to produce a thorough and structured understanding of how the training model works and how it can be applied, as well as to support its further development. We approached the work as a design-led learning process, not just evaluating the model, but generating insights to move the development work forward.
We specifically wanted to examine:
- How the training supports organizations’ capacity to be welcoming
- How well the content meets the needs of different target groups
- How the training model can be developed to be more impactful and scalable
”Empact carried out an external evaluation of our service function within an ESR+ project. It was easy and pleasant to work with Empact’s expert team. We got what we needed and the quality of the service was excellent. Empact highlighted details that might have gone unnoticed amid everything else we had going on. The team clearly knows their field and did a great job adapting their service to our needs and sector. I warmly recommend Empact’s services.”
– Kirsi Korhonen, Head of Employment Program, Startup Refugees
Used methods
We structured the evaluation as a phased, multi-method process.
Content analysis: We began by reviewing the training model’s materials and learning objectives, building an overall picture of its structure, pedagogy, and key emphases.
Learning review: We used before-and-after self-assessments, allowing participants to reflect on their development in relation to the workshop goals.
In-depth interviews: We deepened our understanding through individual interviews, exploring participants’ expectations, insights, the relevance of the training, and how they could apply what they had learned in their own organizations.
Shared direction forward: We synthesized the findings into a clear whole and formulated development recommendations for the next phase of the training model, with the goal of strengthening its impact and ensuring it meets the real needs of diverse organizations.
Why Empact’s work was valuable in this evaluation project
”It was valuable and useful to receive an external evaluation of the service we offer, based on client feedback. Empact handled the practical feedback collection, including interviews in a professional manner, and we received a comprehensive summary of the feedback with development recommendations.”
– Kirsi Korhonen, Head of Employment Program, Startup Refugees
Empact brought structural clarity, analytical depth, and a human-centred approach to the evaluation. We looked at the training model as a whole: how it works in practice, what kind of change it enables, and in what kinds of structures it is applied.
Our design-led approach helped translate participant experiences, learning outcomes, and development directions into concrete insights. We created space in the process for reflection and dialogue, a space where both successes and areas for development could be examined constructively.
In this way, the evaluation report served as a tool for the next stage of the training model’s development.
Want an independent and impactful project evaluation?
In ESR+ projects, evaluation isn’t done just for the sake of evaluation, it’s also an opportunity to learn, clarify impact, and strengthen the direction of your development work.
Empact combines analytical rigor, human-centered methods, and clear overall structure. We help make visible what’s working, where there’s potential for development, and how impact can be strengthened.
If you’re looking for an evaluation partner who understands both the funder’s requirements and the realities of practical development work, let’s design an evaluation together that delivers more than a report, but new direction and real impact.