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The perspectives of social entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers and their requirements as regards measuring and managing social impact are very different. How they can be harmonized is at the heart of this module. Key questions and issues include:
- Why measure social impact at all?
- What is impact (measurement), and what not?
- What are key concepts of impact measurement and how do they help assessing the performance of organizational interventions, investments or policy measures?
- Measurement designs and indicators
- Why is establishing an impact orientation in organizations so difficult? Boundary conditions and obstacles.
To understand why social impact measurement is beneficial for several stakeholders, it is important to understand what impact (measurement) is and what it is not. By referring to broader reference frames such as the UNDP definition of social impact, we embed social impact in a wider context.
From a policy perspective, impact measurement can help assessing contributions to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Investors benefit from scalable business and impact models and higher financial stability when impact measurement helps organizations manage impact risks.
Social entrepreneurs need to use impact information for organizational learning and to develop their activities further. Key concepts in measuring social impact range from the theory of change, to impact maps, to different measurement designs. Instead of going into specific tools, such as the Social Return on Investment (SROI), we use these pillars to outline how decision makers can employ and develop impact measurement strategically.
Exemplary Exercises
1. (Imagine) you are leading an impact organization. From your mission, to measurement, to management: Formulate a mission statement, then translate it to indicators and measures you could apply to check whether you are achieving your mission. Outline what you need to put in place to constantly measure and manage your impact. Guiding question: How can you enable organizational learning and improvement?
2. Design and describe your impact model and draw your own impact map. Which key factors can you identify that help you achieve your impact?
3. What obstacles within your organization will you be facing when attempting to implement an impact measurement and management process? Outline the struggles.
List of exemplary Readings and Resources
- Forbes (2019). Four Ways Social Impact will affect Businesses.
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patsydoerr/2019/01/14/four-ways-social-impact-will-affectbusinesses-in-2019/#48b5eded6e71
- Impact Mapping Project. What is impact mapping?
Available at: https://www.impactmapping.org/
- Richter, K.H. (2019). Impact Management for everyone. Available at: http://www.im4e.org/
- Ruff, K., & The Next Frontier in Social Impact Investment isnt Meaurement at All. Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Available at: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/next_frontier_in_social_impact_measurement
Online learning course Accelerating Investment Readiness #AirMOOC is designed within Finance4SocialChangeProject which works towards joining impact investing and social entrepreneurship.
The learning course aims at boosting investment readiness of social enterprises through a series of online modules and mentoring workshops and getting them ready for a 2-stage Competition which will be held in 2021 in Budapest. The prizes are valuable and experience will be unforgettable
The course goes live 25th May and will last for six consecutive weeks, from 25th May-12th June 2020 with one module being released each week!!!
Each of the modules comprises about 4-6 hours of learning.
Modules are schedule:
1. Impact: 25 May, 2020
2. Strategy: 1 June, 2020
3. Finance: 8 June, 2020
4. Governance: 15 June, 2020
5. Scaling: 22 June 2020
6. Communication: 29 June 2020
Lead developers and instructors of our #AIRMOOC are:
Gorgi Krlev, PhD, gorgi.krlev@csi.uni-heidelberg.de (Centre for Social Investment (CSI), University of Heidelberg)
Dr. Adrian Fuchs, a.fuchs@fa-se.de (Financing Agency for Social Entrepreneurship (FASE))
Alexander Kesselring, akesselring@ashoka.org (Ashoka)
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