Here's how you can make strategic decisions in the social impact field.

A quality needs assessment sets a strong foundation for a successful social impact project. Before embarking on the assessment it is important to clearly define its purpose and scope. Stakeholder engagement should be inclusive inorder to incorporate the needs of diverse stakeholders. In data collection and analysis it highy recommended to mix qualitative and quantitative methods.A contextual understanding of the social, econonomic and political environment will help increase understanding of the stakeholder's needs .Lastly an evidence based approach where the needs assessment is based on relevant research and evidence is key to ensure approach is diagnostic.

Making strategic decisions in the social impact field involves a deliberate process focused on mission, values, and community needs. Start by defining a clear mission and vision to guide the organization. Conduct a needs assessment through community engagement and data collection to understand the beneficiaries' needs. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals and objectives to provide clear direction. Develop and evaluate potential strategies, considering resource availability and potential impact. Implement the chosen strategy with a plan for monitoring and evaluation. Regularly review and adjust the strategy based on feedback and outcomes to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with the mission.

Understand the problem you are seeking to solve before you jump to problem solving. Most failures can be traced back to misunderstanding the actual problem to be solved so it's worth a lot of attention.

Social impact and sustainability goals are most effective when anchored in a materiality assessment. The assessment will help organizations get a clear view of what their key stakeholders and the external environment see as the top issues and opportunities they face. This helps focus goals on the three most important outcomes.

Goals give you destinations so you know here you are headed and why. They should align clearly with your vision, what you ultimately hope to achieve.

Understanding context is understanding the real world in which you operate. Political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors all come into play in the real world and must be understood and accounted for in your planning.

When making strategic decisions, identifying the impacted stakeholders is critical. Not all stakeholders need to be involved; only the ones who may be impacted by the decision and projected outcomes. With the right stakeholders identified, it is important to ensure they have the information and abilities to participate fully in the decision-making process. Additionally, they need to have the space to contribute their perspectives and experiences relevant to the decisions to be made. Key actions: Be transparent by making relevant information available to the stakeholders while the stakeholders make their perspectives and information available too. Provide training to build the capacity for full participation (i.e., design thinking).

Assessing impact involves pinpointing the changes that can be directly linked to your project amidst various influences such as weather, economic conditions, societal pressures, public support, and concurrent projects. Developing a Theory of Change, acknowledging contributors to change, and establishing Key Performance Indicators for monitoring progress can underscore the impact of your project. Consistently updating stakeholders on developments and integrating feedback from affected parties can confirm the impact and bolster ongoing support.