How can you overcome limitations in social impact measurement?

Oftentimes, specific goals and outcomes are defined by different functions, departments and organizations. Collaborating with key internal and external stakeholders allows everyone to come to the table with an open heart and willingness to share what they know and why they are driving in a certain direction. Duplicative efforts are not always efficient, and it is important to consider what unique role or position your organization and/or department can play in order to be a strong contributor towards shared goals.

Your organization's social impact work isn't done in a vacuum, so defining your goals and success indicators shouldn't be done in one either. Constituent engagement at the outset of defining your goals and indicators is critical to not only building trust but to ensuring your goals are actually meeting your beneficiary's needs. It's important to recognize that success and impact to your team or organization may look very different than what impact looks like for funders, stakeholders, or beneficiaries. In fact, corporate and organizational priorities can often run counter to community needs, so developing a holistic impact measurement framework starts by recognizing conflicting needs at the outset.

Goals are typically the long term impact you want to create which is often not measured as it may take years to be achieved, so it's more likely you'll be measuring some of the smaller steps that show progress towards this goal, because they happen over shorter time periods and can give you confirmation that you're on the right track. The other crucial thing is to prioritise what you measure. You'll probably have 20+ possible outcomes you could measure but to keep it realistic identify the key ones you have to have data on.

Employ a “Unit of Impact” — a modest yet tangible achievement. UoIs are incremental steps that might not stand out alone but profoundly contribute to advancing your charitable objectives, e.g. planting a tree, providing a mosquito net. The essence of Units of Impact lies in their alignment with your beneficiaries or mission; discussing how your organization will be affected, while noteworthy, lacks the same resonance. Craft your UoIs to resonate powerfully, capturing attention and potentially evoking drama, all while bolstering your campaign. Avoid anything uninspiring or laden with technical jargon, even if it holds crucial significance for your charity's mission.

Social impact measurement in the entertainment industry, while challenging, presents opportunities for creativity and innovation. A combination of social listening, viewership data analysis, audience surveys, research partnerships, and cutting-edge technology forms a holistic approach to comprehending content's influence on viewers. This multifaceted strategy equips us with deeper insights into the impact of entertainment content, aiding in the creation of a more equitable and inclusive media landscape.

When using data as a tool for impact measurement, it's important to blend quantitative and qualitative data. This is because while quantitative data provides concrete insights, it often doesn't capture the full scope of impact. But when you Integrate qualitative data, including stories, testimonials, and case studies, you add depth and context to your measurements. As a rule of thumb, stories trump statistics all the time.

As you're developing your impact measurement framework, it's important to remember that data isn't necessarily neutral. How data is collected and by whom, what is considered 'valuable' or 'valid' data, and how data is disseminated are all decisions that are impacted by our individual biases and the biases entrenched within our organizations. Stakeholder engagement from the outset - and as part of your impact measurement team - helps you to understand the limitations of your impact methodology to avoid the common situation where organizations "parachute" in to a situation to collect data.

One thing I’ve found helpful in involving stakeholders in impact measurement is to meet stakeholders where they are. Make it easy for them.

Too often, the 'end users' (beneficiaries, clients etc.) are engaged only at the end of impact evaluation. To remain authentic - not only in the evaluation of work, but in the formative design of subsequent activities - users should be involved throughout. Learn who you need to speak to, how to meaningfully work with them and avoid attrition wherever possible.

It is important not to make data collection a burden on those people you are trying to help. Making nonprofits or community members fill out extensive forms, collect robust data, etc. can be too overwhelming to be feasible. The level of effort you are requiring from other people should be consistent with the value they are gaining from the work.

Aligning standards and frameworks is critical. I'll never forget that attempting to build a coalition to address a childhood measurement was fantastic. One set of clinics (non-FQHC) had a different measure than the others (FQHC). Our impact was more difficult to measure or apply for funding for the second group because most groups aligned with the first measurement. It often threw off our impact measurement when we used FQHCs because they had an extra year for the measure. Or, if they applied for funding, they had to create new tracking systems which could be expensive. Designing measures from the start, and understanding what is currently used and measured will make it easier to build engagement with your audience.

Learning throughout the process is critical. Longterm goals should be broken down into shorter term goals so that learnings and evolution of approach can happen in both the short and long term. Part of the learning should come from qualitative discussions as well as review of data. Data review in a vacuum can lead to incorrect and potentially harmful assumptions and action.

The most valuable aspect of social impact measurement are the decisions or changes made as a result of the measurement. Be responsive to what you learn

Learn from the experts! There are some great resources available online (and offline) on why, when and how to measure social impact. Designed and created by pioneers, thought-leaders, and experienced practitioners, resources such as impact evaluation programs and specialized courses, can help learners equip themselves with the practical skills as well as theoretical knowledge. Find out which of these are suitable for your specific needs, and research the credentials of resource creators, contributors, publishers, trainers etc. Connect with other learners and ask for their feedback before making your decision.