Making Sense of SORP 2026 (UK)
From 2026, charities are expected to be clearer about why their work matters, how it advances their charitable purpose, and how trustees know it is making a difference.
This page explains what the SORP 2026 changes mean in practice for charity leaders and how proportionate, practical evaluation can support governance, decision-making, and reporting without creating unnecessary monitoring burden.
What is changing under SORP 2026
SORP 2026 strengthens expectations around impact reporting in Trustees’ Annual Reports.
Charities are now expected to:
These expectations apply to all charities, proportionate to size and complexity. This is a governance shift.
What “charity impact” means in Charity Commission terms
Under SORP 2026, impact is not about volume of activity.
Impact is about:
Trustees are not expected to prove everything.
They are expected to explain, honestly and proportionately, why they believe their charity is making a difference.
Qualitative insight, professional judgement and learning are explicitly relevant.
Proportionate evaluation that works in practice
Many charities already hold useful impact evidence without realising it.
Proportionate evaluation often involves:
Evaluation should support how the charity is run, not create additional burden.
How evaluation helps beyond compliance
Good evaluation does more than satisfy reporting requirements.
It helps charities to:
When evaluation is proportionate and purposeful, it becomes a management tool rather than a reporting task.
When independent evaluation is important
Evaluation is particularly valuable when:
Independent evaluation strengthens confidence, learning, and governance at key moments.
How we support charities
Research Your Way supports charities across the UK with practical, proportionate evaluation that aligns with SORP 2026.
Our work includes:
Our focus is clarity, usefulness, low burden.
Talk to us about proportionate evaluation support
If you are:
We offer an initial conversation to discuss what proportionate evaluation could look like for your organisation.
From 2026, charities are expected to be clearer about why their work matters, how it advances their charitable purpose, and how trustees know it is making a difference.
This page explains what the SORP 2026 changes mean in practice for charity leaders and how proportionate, practical evaluation can support governance, decision-making, and reporting without creating unnecessary monitoring burden.
What is changing under SORP 2026
SORP 2026 strengthens expectations around impact reporting in Trustees’ Annual Reports.
Charities are now expected to:
- Explain why their work matters, not just what they do
- Link activities and outcomes clearly to charitable objects and strategy
- Describe what changed for people, communities, or systems
- Explain how trustees know this change has occurred
- Reflect on learning and future direction
These expectations apply to all charities, proportionate to size and complexity. This is a governance shift.
What “charity impact” means in Charity Commission terms
Under SORP 2026, impact is not about volume of activity.
Impact is about:
- Change that matters in relation to your charitable purpose
- Progress towards short- and long-term goals
- Credible explanation grounded in evidence and judgement
Trustees are not expected to prove everything.
They are expected to explain, honestly and proportionately, why they believe their charity is making a difference.
Qualitative insight, professional judgement and learning are explicitly relevant.
Proportionate evaluation that works in practice
Many charities already hold useful impact evidence without realising it.
Proportionate evaluation often involves:
- Making better use of existing feedback and insight
- Adding one or two outcome-focused questions to current processes
- Periodic reflection rather than constant data collection
- Trustee review and discussion of impact evidence
- Clear recording of learning and decisions
Evaluation should support how the charity is run, not create additional burden.
How evaluation helps beyond compliance
Good evaluation does more than satisfy reporting requirements.
It helps charities to:
- Make better strategic decisions
- Prioritise limited time and resources
- Improve services based on learning
- Give trustees confidence in oversight and direction
- Communicate impact clearly to funders and partners
When evaluation is proportionate and purposeful, it becomes a management tool rather than a reporting task.
When independent evaluation is important
Evaluation is particularly valuable when:
- Funding is significant or strategic
- Services are complex or high-risk
- Trustees need objective assurance
- A charity is scaling, changing direction, or piloting new work
- External credibility is needed with funders or partners
Independent evaluation strengthens confidence, learning, and governance at key moments.
How we support charities
Research Your Way supports charities across the UK with practical, proportionate evaluation that aligns with SORP 2026.
Our work includes:
- Helping charities make sense of SORP 2026 impact expectations
- Designing evaluation approaches that fit your size and context
- Strengthening Trustees’ Annual Report impact narratives
- Supporting trustees with evidence-informed judgement
- Delivering independent evaluation where it adds value
Our focus is clarity, usefulness, low burden.
Talk to us about proportionate evaluation support
If you are:
- Unsure how SORP 2026 applies to your charity
- Concerned about creating unnecessary monitoring
- Wanting evaluation to support decision-making, not just compliance
We offer an initial conversation to discuss what proportionate evaluation could look like for your organisation.
Stay informed
We also publish a practical Evaluation Newsletter for charity leaders and trustees, sharing:
- Guidance on impact and evaluation
- SORP 2026 updates
- Examples of proportionate approaches that work in practice
A final reassurance
SORP 2026 asks charities to explain, proportionately and honestly, why their work matters and how they know it is making a difference.
More information about SORP2026 is available here: https://www.charitysorp.org
Dr Naomi Tyrrell, Director, Research Your Way Ltd
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