My philosophy

Making complex change visible enough to discuss, learn from, evidence and act on

Helping teams use evidence and insights to see and influence the conditions that help make change possible.

The teams I work with are often trying to influence something bigger than a single programme while also delivering in the real world.

Much of the change that matters most is not immediately visible. It shows up in quieter, harder-to-evidence shifts that are often dismissed as soft, intangible or ‘too qualitative’.

These changes are relational, cultural and systemic, unfolding across organisations, partnerships and communities as conditions shift and different voices come into play.

Change starts before it becomes measurable

Change often begins small. It appears in how people feel, act and relate to one another long before it shows up in outcomes or evaluation reports.

You start to see it and hear it in:

confidence • trust • relationships • behaviours • learning • decision-making • ways of working

These early signals matter. They tell us something not only about the progress being made, but also about the conditions that help create and sustain change.

Working differently with evidence and learning

We do not lose sight of outcomes. But we do need to think differently about how we understand, notice and evidence the shifts and conditions that help make them possible.

I help teams understand not only what is changing, but also see and influence the conditions that help create and sustain change.

When we do that, the questions begin to change:

What is shifting?
What conditions are changing?
What are we seeing and hearing?
What are we learning?
What should we do next?
How do we adapt?

Evaluation shapes what people pay attention to, how they interpret what is happening and what they feel able to do next.

Good evaluation leaves behind more than evidence. It strengthens people’s ability to ask better questions, surface assumptions, interpret evidence, learn from different experiences and perspectives, and act thoughtfully in conditions of uncertainty.

Frameworks and methods matter, but their value lies not only in what they produce, but in the confidence, judgement and learning capability they help build.

How my work has evolved

My roots are in evaluation, and I still care deeply about rigour, evidence and understanding impact. Over time, I’ve expanded not only how I approach evaluation, but what I help teams do with it, helping people use rigorous inquiry, evidence and learning to understand and help shape it while navigating complexity with confidence.

Increasingly, that means working alongside teams as change unfolds – helping people ask better questions, notice what matters, strengthen evaluative thinking and turn learning into action.

The goal is not better evaluation or more learning activities. It is helping learning and evaluation become part of how teams think, make decisions and act every day.

Because everyday practices shape what gets noticed, what gets discussed, how decisions get made and ultimately what becomes possible.

Dr Yvonne Fullwood

Professional background

I founded Understanding Value in 2016 after senior consulting roles with KPMG and ICF International, and earlier policy and improvement roles in national organisations and charities.

Across more than 20 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of policy, strategy, research and evaluation. My academic background is in life sciences, alongside a long-standing interest in helping people use evidence, learning and inquiry to understand the value they are creating and how they can make more of a difference.

Let’s find a way forward

Whether you're trying to understand what difference you're making, make sense of existing evidence or work through what to do next, I'd be happy to have a conversation.

Let's chat

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