Social Impact - How and Why We Need to Measure It?
SustainAbility School #72
By attending this webinar, you will learn about:
Complexity of Social Change: Social change is incremental and interdependent, with no universal solutions. Effective interventions often involve local actors for sustainable impact;
Theory of Change: Identifying the root causes of social issues (T0) and creating a targeted theory of change helps set realistic goals and desired outcomes;
Three Levels of Influence: Social project influence can be categorized by control (direct organizational activities), influence (community partners), and interest (broader societal areas of impact);
Importance of Evaluation: Continuous tracking with relevant indicators (behavior, knowledge, actions) is crucial, even post-project, to understand the depth of changes;
Impact Measurement Tools: Outcome Mapping: Identifies changes based on partner contributions, LBG Model: Tracks inputs, outputs, and impacts, providing insights into business and community benefits, Social Return on Investment (SROI): Assigns a monetary value to non-financial outcomes for cost-benefit analysis, while emphasizing stakeholder involvement, Qualitative Tools: Documenting interviews, focus groups, and surveys helps capture diverse social changes;
Challenges in Measurement: Evaluating only immediate results or focusing solely on financial metrics can limit long-term insights and harm transparency with stakeholders;
Recommendations: Invest in measuring tools and resources that align with community needs, Engage stakeholders from the planning phase for more relevant data and sustainable outcomes;
SustainAbility School este un program de educare dedicat exclusiv angajaților din organizațiile membre ale Ambasadei Sustenabilității în România prin programul Coaliția România Sustenabilă.