‘What is your social impact?’ A question most organisations operating in the field of sustainability or social change have encountered on more than one occasion. At the start of 2016 it is no longer just about limiting your organisations negative impacts, it has instead become precedent to put substantial efforts towards creating positive impact.
In order to understand if your organisation is indeed creating positive impact, you need to measure it. But when it comes to social impact measurement, where do you start?
For organisations that are just starting out with shaping their social impact strategy, not getting lost or discouraged by the scale, complexity and costs of systems and services available can be daunting. How do you choose the right framework? What will you be measuring? Where and how will you collect data? – Recognize yourself in these questions? Then read on, as these blog aims to provide some guidance to help you set up a robust measuring strategy.
Why are you measuring?
What is the purpose of your impact measurement? Who will be viewing the results? If your main purpose is marketing or communication, your measurement will most likely require a different level of rigour, then when the measurement is conducted to assess the effectiveness of a certain policy decision. The board of your organization may need different information than your beneficiaries or other stakeholders. Answering the “why” question will help you determine which approach to take for your impact measurement….
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Do you mean, “At the start of 2018 it is no longer just about limiting your organisations negative impacts,”? You write 2016….
Cancel that, I’ve just realised this blog is actually old, and was written in 2016 🙂