Self-Assessment Tool | Charity Change Collective
Projects as Catalysts for Change

How ready are you
for change?

Understand your starting point. Identify what preparation is needed. Set yourself up for success.

15–20 minutes
5 sections · 56 statements
Best with 2–3 colleagues
Overview
1 Making the case
2 Breaking silos
3 Users first
4 Skills & people
5 Senior buy-in
Your results

About this assessment

This tool helps you understand how ready you and your organisation are to use an upcoming project as a catalyst for wider transformation.

Who should complete this?

Anyone leading or influencing a significant project: managers, heads of department, directors, CEOs, or trustees. For the most accurate picture, ask 2–3 colleagues to complete it independently and compare.

What you'll learn

Where you're strong and where gaps could derail your project. What preparation work is needed before you start. How to build the case for resources and support. Whether your ambitions are realistic given your starting point.

The 5 steps

1
Making the case for embedding transformation into projects Clarity about the problem and why it matters
2
Breaking down silos Using project work to make the organisation think 'as one'
3
Put your users at the centre Grounding transformation in real user needs
4
Defining the skills and capabilities that you need Internal capability, capacity and external partners
5
Proactively creating senior buy-in Active sponsorship — the single biggest predictor of success

Scoring scale

1Not in place
2Early stages
3Developing
4Established
5Strong

Making the case for transformation

Before you can use a project as a transformation catalyst, you need clarity about the problem you're solving and why it matters. This section assesses whether you can make a compelling case.

Scoring guide:
1Not in place 2Early stages 3Developing 4Established 5Strong
0 / 7 answered

Breaking down silos

Transformation happens when projects bring people together across organisational hierarchies and departments. This section assesses collaboration, working groups, and cross-functional relationships.

Scoring guide:
1Not in place 2Early stages 3Developing 4Established 5Strong
0 / 9 answered

Put your users at the centre

Transformation grounded in real user needs succeeds. This section assesses your understanding of users and the preparation work that builds that understanding.

Scoring guide:
1Not in place 2Early stages 3Developing 4Established 5Strong
0 / 16 answered

Defining the skills and capabilities that you need

Transformation requires specific skills and sufficient capacity. This section assesses whether you have what you need — internally, or through external partners.

Scoring guide:
1Not in place 2Early stages 3Developing 4Established 5Strong
0 / 11 answered

Proactively creating senior buy-in

Our research found that active senior sponsorship — not just approval — is the single biggest predictor of transformation success. This section assesses leadership engagement and governance.

Scoring guide:
1Not in place 2Early stages 3Developing 4Established 5Strong
0 / 12 answered

How ready are you for change?

Overall score

Complete the assessment to see your personalised results and recommendations.

—% overall

Score by section

Your five priority actions

Based on your assessment, what are the most important things to do before or during your project?

1
2
3
4
5

Preparation checklist

Which of these activities do you need to complete before or during your project? Tick each as you go.

Remember

No organisation scores 100%. The goal isn't perfection — it's understanding your starting point and planning accordingly. Every gap you identify now is a problem you won't discover mid-project when it's expensive to fix.

The fact that you're completing this assessment shows you're approaching this project thoughtfully. That already puts you ahead of many transformation efforts.