That’s it! Our first mandate came to an end. We were finally able to fully test our methodology.
Good news: it worked pretty well! We managed to do an efficient job measuring the social impact of HELP. We also provided them with a long-term social impact measurement (SIM) plan that they will be able to easily implement from now on. Of course we shall assist them in the first few steps.
HELP seems to be quite happy with our performance:
“Gabriel and Melissa are two of the most creative, scientifically and socially minded incredible humans on this planet. They are doing some innovative and really important work in measuring the impact of social enterprises”
Meaghan Balzer, Academic Director, HELP
It was also an enriching experience: challenging questions were raised and our methodology has already been improved.
STRUCTURING THE IMPACT MAP
The first challenge we faced was structuring the logic map, a visual representation of relationships between components of a work program and its intended results.
Linear relationships between inputs, activities and impact – also known as desired change – are much more common in theory than in practice. Using the logic framework led us to try and find all existing linear relationships between activities, potential consequences and derived potential consequences. Doing so, we started looking at all types of possible impact, forgetting the crucial aspect of social impact measurement: focus on the impact that proves the social mission of the company.
We thus changed our logic process, creating an Impact Map based on two key principles:
- Change is continuous: the desired change happens as a consequence of a multiple-step process.
- The universal goal of SIM is to prove that a company achieves its social mission.
The Impact Map is a graphical breakdown of the social mission that dissects it into sequential consequences. It also vertically displays the relationship between the consequences and the beneficiaries.
INTEGRATING SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT
Social Impact Measurement integration is the overarching focus of our research at Dare2Impact.
It allows social enterprises to measure their impact in a way that is autonomous, independent and continuous. A successful integration of the process enables them to constantly prove and improve their activities.
Now the question is: What are the common tools and a common methodology that allow all social enterprises to integrate SIM into their operations efficiently, quickly and in an affordable way?
But also, who should be responsible for the measurement?
We strongly believe that someone needs to be responsible for managing the SIM. Integration requires the cooperation of different parties, and there needs to be someone to put all the pieces together. From our experience at HELP, we do not think that SIM should be a full time occupation. It can be added to the responsibilities of a manager that will be accountable for building the impact map, identifying indicators and overseeing data collection and analysis over the years.
A successful integration of the social impact measurement process is proven most useful when collecting and analyzing data as these tasks are long and costly.
During our time at HELP, we recognized that many interactions between beneficiaries and employees are under-utilized. In fact, most of the time beneficiaries of the company’s activities are also the direct users of its services or products. As such they are directly in contact with the company on many occasions. These interactions can and should be used in order to collect impact indicators’ data.
In addition, all companies already collect data relating to there operations. As part of the process, managers can easily ask data collectors to add a few data points specific to impact indicators.
We are currently working on identifying common characteristics between firms to leverage these interactions. Our upcoming immersions will allow us to uncover common needs and challenges that will then be used to improve our process and feed our findings.
Not to worry, we still have a lot to learn and a lot share with you on the topic!
Impactly Yours,
Gab & Mel
Welcome to Our Dairy 