# Compare

> Do it yourself, hire or hand it over? Narrate next to doing nothing, your own employee, think tanks, consultancies, accountants, data platforms, researchers…

Source: https://narrate.works/compare
Language: English (Nederlands: https://narrate.works/vergelijk)
Publisher: Narrate (Narrate B.V.), https://narrate.works

If you want to work on impact, you have choices. You can do it yourself, hire someone or hand it over. Here you see what each choice gives you. And where Narrate fits, and where it does not.

We compare kinds of parties, not names. They all do good work. Sometimes another party fits better. Then we say so.

## The choice we see most: doing nothing

Many organisations do not measure their impact. Often there is no monitoring or evaluation either. We understand: the work itself comes first. But doing nothing is a choice too, and it has a cost.

### What it gives you

- No costs and no extra work, for now.
- All your time goes to the work itself.

### What it costs you

- You do not know if your work helps, or whom.
- When a funder or council asks for results, you have none.
- Your story rests on feeling, not on evidence.
- You cannot steer on what you cannot see.

### When it is fine

When your work is small, nobody asks for results and you can explain well what you do.

You can start small. A scan shows where you stand. [Go to the scan](https://narrate.works/solutions/discovery)

Need to show something within a week? [Go to Urgent](https://narrate.works/solutions/rapid-response)

## What fits you?

Three questions, and you see where you stand. Sometimes another party fits better than Narrate. Then you see that too.

How much time do you have for impact yourself?Hardly anyA few hours a monthA day a week or moreHow much knowledge of impact measurement is in house?LittleSomeA lotWho asks for results?Nobody yetA funder, grant maker or councilThe law or a regulatorYour own board or team

Choose an answer to each question. Then you see here what fits.

## Do it yourself or hand it over

Between doing it all yourself and handing it all over lies a scale. Narrate works at every point on it. The more you do yourself, the more knowledge stays with you. The more you hand over, the less time it takes you.

### 1. Do it yourself

You

You do the work.

What you get

Knowledge and tools, in a training or workshop.

Services

[Training](https://narrate.works/solutions/training), [Workshops](https://narrate.works/solutions/workshops)

### 2. Do it yourself, with a coach

You

You do the work.

What you get

A coach who looks along, asks questions and helps you adjust.

Services

[Coaching & guidance](https://narrate.works/solutions/coaching), [Second opinion & peer review](https://narrate.works/solutions/second-opinion)

### 3. Do it together

You

You bring the knowledge of your work.

What you get

Together we build the framework, the measurement and the story.

Services

[Advice, design & prototype](https://narrate.works/solutions/consultancy), [Implementation & delivery](https://narrate.works/solutions/implementation)

### 4. Hand most of it over

You

You decide.

What you get

Narrate runs the measurement or leads the work, for as long as needed.

Services

[Monitoring and evaluation](https://narrate.works/solutions/monitoring-and-evaluation), [Interim leadership](https://narrate.works/solutions/interim)

### 5. Hand it all over

You

You get the result.

What you get

Narrate evaluates, measures and tells the story, in a report or film.

Services

[Evaluations](https://narrate.works/solutions/evaluation), [Impact stories & reports](https://narrate.works/solutions/impact-stories)

### Prices and duration

Our prices are open on the site. For most other parties we found no prices, so we do not guess them.

Prices and duration

| Service | Price | Duration |
| [Training](https://narrate.works/solutions/training) | From €4,500 for a plenary day plus 1:1 sessions with every participating initiative. €5,900 with a bespoke impact dashboard prototype for each participant. Prices excluding VAT | By arrangement |
| [Workshops](https://narrate.works/solutions/workshops) | On request (excl. VAT) | Half a day or a full day, by arrangement |
| [Coaching & guidance](https://narrate.works/solutions/coaching) | From €4,734 per year (excl. VAT) | At least 6 months, then renews every 3 months |
| [Second opinion & peer review](https://narrate.works/solutions/second-opinion) | From €2,300, depending on the question (excl. VAT) | Depends on your question |
| [Advice, design & prototype](https://narrate.works/solutions/consultancy) | €10,000–50,000, depending on the question (excl. VAT) | Depends on your question, circumstances and budget |
| [Implementation & delivery](https://narrate.works/solutions/implementation) | From €15,000, depending on the question (excl. VAT) | Usually 2–3 months |
| [Monitoring and evaluation](https://narrate.works/solutions/monitoring-and-evaluation) | On request (excl. VAT) | Ongoing, or for as long as your programme runs |
| [Interim leadership](https://narrate.works/solutions/interim) | €2,300 per day; monthly arrangements up to about €10,000 depending on volume and liability (excl. VAT) | At least 3 months, 1–3 days per week |
| [Evaluations](https://narrate.works/solutions/evaluation) | On request (excl. VAT) | By arrangement, depending on the scope |
| [Impact stories & reports](https://narrate.works/solutions/impact-stories) | On request (excl. VAT) | By arrangement |

## Narrate next to other parties

Per kind of party: what they are good at, where it stops and what Narrate adds. Sometimes working together is the best choice.

### Your own employee

You hire someone for impact, or make it part of an existing job.

Choose them if you want impact to be a fixed task and have time to bring someone up to speed.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Knows the organisation and is there every day. The knowledge stays inside.

Stops at

One person rarely knows every method. Impact often comes on top of other work. And a view from outside is missing.

Narrate adds

A coach for that employee, and a training for the team around them.

Fits with

[Coaching & guidance](https://narrate.works/solutions/coaching), [Training](https://narrate.works/solutions/training)

Example

[Impact & Insights team for a metropolitan library network](https://narrate.works/cases/amsterdam-library-impact-insights)

### Think tanks

They research a theme and publish about it.

Choose them if you have a policy question or want knowledge about a whole field.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Deep knowledge of a theme, authority in the debate and public guides.

Stops at

They work on the theme, not on your organisation. Doing the work is usually not part of it.

Narrate adds

The step to your work: from theory to a measurement and a story you use yourself.

Fits with

[Advice, design & prototype](https://narrate.works/solutions/consultancy), [Sessions](https://narrate.works/solutions/sessions)

Example

[Impact Hub Amsterdam and the global network: resident impact expert](https://narrate.works/cases/impact-hub-amsterdam)

### Consultancies

Strategy and advisory firms, large and small. Some have their own impact team.

Choose them if you are making a big change and impact is one part of it.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Strategy, change and project management. Often with a large team and a wide network.

Stops at

They usually deliver advice or a report. For many, measuring impact is a side issue. A story or film is rarely part of it.

Narrate adds

Knowledge of impact, open prices and the story with the evidence. Also as a partner of a firm.

Fits with

[Advice, design & prototype](https://narrate.works/solutions/consultancy), [Implementation & delivery](https://narrate.works/solutions/implementation)

Example

[Impact framework for the Smart Energy Hubs programme](https://narrate.works/cases/oost-nl-smart-energy-hubs)

### Accountants

They check figures and give assurance. More and more on sustainability too.

Choose them if you need assurance the law asks for, for example with a sustainability report.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Independent assurance. A judgement that regulators and banks trust.

Stops at

They test what is there. You make the measurement plan and the story yourself, or with someone else.

Narrate adds

A measurement that is ready for assurance, and the story that goes with it.

Fits with

[Monitoring and evaluation](https://narrate.works/solutions/monitoring-and-evaluation), [Impact stories & reports](https://narrate.works/solutions/impact-stories)

### RVO and audit offices

RVO, the Dutch enterprise agency, gives grants and asks you to account for them. An audit office checks whether public money was spent well and to good effect.

Not an alternative, but often the reason you start.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

They ask the questions that matter. What did it achieve? And was the money well spent?

Stops at

They ask for evidence, but do not make it for you. And you cannot hire them.

Narrate adds

Help to answer those questions, with a measurement that fits what is asked.

Fits with

[Rapid response](https://narrate.works/solutions/rapid-response), [Evaluations](https://narrate.works/solutions/evaluation)

### Data platforms and AI tools

Software to collect, order and show impact data. And AI tools that write texts and reports.

Choose them if your framework is in place and you have a lot of data from many places.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Scale, speed and dashboards. Good when you know what you want to measure.

Stops at

A tool does not choose what you measure. Bad data stays bad data. And an AI text without a source is no evidence.

Narrate adds

First the question and the framework, then the tool. Narrate works with the tool you already have.

Fits with

[Advice, design & prototype](https://narrate.works/solutions/consultancy), [Monitoring and evaluation](https://narrate.works/solutions/monitoring-and-evaluation)

Example

[The Green Village: 12.5 years of impact in one story](https://narrate.works/cases/the-green-village-12-5-years)

Technology

[Which tools Narrate works with](https://narrate.works/how-we-work/technology)

### Universities and research firms

Researchers and evaluators, freelancers too, who study a programme or policy.

Choose them if you need a scientific judgement or want to prove an effect firmly.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Method, depth and independence. A judgement that holds up in science.

Stops at

Research often takes long. The report is written for peers, not for the people you answer to.

Narrate adds

An evaluation at the pace of your work, and a story the people you answer to understand.

Fits with

[Evaluations](https://narrate.works/solutions/evaluation), [Second opinion & peer review](https://narrate.works/solutions/second-opinion)

### Communication agencies and filmmakers

Agencies and makers who tell your story, in text, campaign or film.

Choose them if your evidence is in order and you mainly want reach.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

Craft in image, tone and reach. A story that moves people.

Stops at

They tell what you give them. Evidence under the story is usually not part of it.

Narrate adds

A story that rests on data. You can check every claim.

Fits with

[Impact stories & reports](https://narrate.works/solutions/impact-stories), [Strategic communication](https://narrate.works/solutions/strategic-communication)

Example

[The Green Village: 12.5 years of impact in one story](https://narrate.works/cases/the-green-village-12-5-years)

### Labels and certification

Labels such as B Corp, with a fixed assessment and a review from outside.

Choose them if you want a known label and are ready for a full assessment.

Strengths, limits and what Narrate adds

Good at

A label people know. A fixed bar you can compare yourself with.

Stops at

The label checks whether you meet the bar. What your work changes for people, it only partly measures.

Narrate adds

Narrate works with the B Impact Assessment. You get help with the assessment, and a measurement of what the label does not see.

Fits with

[Impact maturity discovery](https://narrate.works/solutions/discovery), [Coaching & guidance](https://narrate.works/solutions/coaching)

Example

[Five years of impact with Willicroft](https://narrate.works/cases/willicroft)

## Side by side

What each choice usually gives you. A party can differ. This is our judgement, based on what parties publish themselves.

What each choice usually gives you, per part

| Choice | Measure | Steer | Tell | Learn yourself | Independent judgement |
| Narrate | strong | strong | strong | strong | partly |
| Doing nothing | not or hardly | not or hardly | not or hardly | not or hardly | not or hardly |
| Your own employee | partly | strong | partly | strong | not or hardly |
| Think tanks | partly | partly | partly | strong | partly |
| Consultancies | partly | strong | not or hardly | partly | partly |
| Accountants | partly | not or hardly | not or hardly | not or hardly | strong |
| Data platforms and AI tools | strong | partly | partly | not or hardly | not or hardly |
| Universities and research firms | strong | not or hardly | not or hardly | partly | strong |
| Communication agencies and filmmakers | not or hardly | not or hardly | strong | not or hardly | not or hardly |
| Labels and certification | partly | partly | partly | not or hardly | strong |

Key: strong · partly · not or hardly

RVO and audit offices are not in it. You cannot hire them; they ask the questions.

## Questions we often get

Why not just an accountant?

An accountant checks what is there and gives assurance. But first someone has to decide what you measure and how. Narrate does that. Often you work with both: Narrate makes the measurement, the accountant checks it.

Can I not just do it myself?

You can, and often that is good. Then the knowledge stays inside. Start with a training or coaching. Then you do it yourself, but not alone.

Is software not cheaper?

A tool costs less per month, but it does not choose what you measure. Without a framework you measure a lot and know little. First choose what you want to know, then the tool.

What if nobody asks for results?

Then you can start calmly. Measuring helps you too: you see what works and where you can adjust. A scan shows where you stand.

Does Narrate work with other firms?

Yes. Many firms lack the measurement, or the story and film. Then we complete each other.

How fair is this comparison?

We compare kinds of parties, not names. Our judgement is out in the open, also where Narrate is weaker. Something not right? Mail it, and we change it and note it in the log.

## How we compare

Last checked: 21 October 2026

- We look at what parties publish themselves: their site, their services and their reports.
- We judge per kind of party, not per firm. A firm can differ.
- Strong means: this is the core of their work. Partly: it is part of it, but not the core. Not or hardly: it is usually not part of it.
- We also say where Narrate is weaker.
- What we do not know: how other parties’ clients see it. We did not speak to them.

Do you think your kind of work is not described well here? Mail it to [impact@narrate.works](mailto:impact@narrate.works). We check it and note the change in the log.

Log

- 21 October 2026: First version, based on a study of comparable parties.

## Not sure what fits you?

Start with a scan. Then you know where you stand and what you can do yourself.

[Go to the scan](https://narrate.works/solutions/discovery)[In a hurry? Go to Urgent](https://narrate.works/solutions/rapid-response)

[All services](https://narrate.works/solutions)