Impact Report 2025-2026
The IDVRM Impact Report 2025–2026 presents the Institute’s first year of work as a newly established Community Interest Company and examines the value generated through its research, partnerships, training, public engagement and organisational development.
IDVRM was established to address persistent gaps in responses to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and gender-based violence (GBV) affecting religious, migrant and ethnic minority communities. Our work seeks to promote responses that are culturally responsive, faith-informed, community-centred and grounded in locally situated knowledge and lived experience. We understand sustainability not simply as financial resilience, but as the contextualisation of DVA and GBV programmes in community realities and worldviews to promote alignment with survivor and community priorities, overcome epistemic inequalities and funding dependencies and achieve integrated and sustainable responses.
The report assesses our first-year impact across four interconnected dimensions of value: Cultural Value, Social Value (External), Social Value (Internal) and Economic Value, in line with our internal impact framework and distinct understanding of sustainability in GBV work.
As highlights, during 2025–2026, IDVRM produced 52 public engagement outputs, including Evidence Bits, blogs, podcasts, policy commentaries and Centre publications, and reached audiences through digital platforms in 149 countries. We developed eight specialist training programmes based on the Project dldl Model®, supported locally led innovation through co-creation with indigenous organisations, and expanded our network to 23 partner organisations. Our collaborative research and consultancy work also contributed expertise to projects seeking to inform professional practice nd sector standards in real time, including partnerships with universities on UN- and FCDO-funded research.
Internally, we sought to model the values we promote externally through flexible, trauma-sensitive and community-centred ways of working. Our approach to volunteering and work emphasised meaningful contribution, professional development, mentorship, wellbeing and equitable pathways towards paid engagement.
As a newly established organisation without core funding, the first year also focused on building the foundations for financial sustainability. IDVRM developed multiple complementary income streams through training, consultancy, policy translation, grants, donations and collaborative research, while channelling income into organisational development, programme delivery and the creation of paid opportunities.
The report recognises that impact assessment is necessarily dynamic and provisional. Quantitative indicators are therefore complemented by case studies, testimonials and examples of how knowledge, relationships and expertise have translated into changes in practice. Together, these provide a fuller picture of the value IDVRM has begun to create during its inaugural year.
The report reflects our ambition not simply to grow as an organisation, but to contribute to responses to DVA and GBV that are more culturally resonant, ethically grounded, locally led and sustainable.
