Community organisations have a mission to achieve positive social change – but how do you know if you are achieving it?
In recent months, I’ve spent time with community organisations co-developing their program logics and helping them identify the ‘right’ data to collect.
For several organisations, this activity has been mandated by their funding bodies and data collection is part of a larger, centralised outcomes measurement framework. I assure them that their efforts are not in vein and that the ability to demonstrate the social value of a community organisation in real terms is vital to an organisation’s growth and sustainability.
Measuring social impact is important for all change makers because it:
1. Helps you stay true and achieve your mission
Measuring your impact can help remind and refocus why you exist to do what you do.
You may find that funders, staff, and your community have different priorities regarding impact measurement. But all parties are likely to believe in the mission that unites you.
As a mission-driven organisation – let your mission drive you!
2. Helps you attract more funding
Impact evidence creates value.
Funders are putting organisations under increasing pressure to demonstrate their programs to produce positive social value, as well as provide good value for money.
If you are seeking funding and can tangibly demonstrate impact, you represent sound impact investment compared to a similar organisation who does not.
3. Help you use impact to drive internal quality improvement work
Measuring social impact allows you and other program staff hold themselves accountable for activities and actions.
Programs can be tracked by measuring outputs, outcomes, and impact, and will provide a deeper understanding as to why your program is succeeding, struggling, or failing to achieve what it intended to.
Using an impact measurement framework will give your organisation the evidence to Try, Test & Learn, and continuously work towards program improvement and better outcomes for your community.
4. Help you to effectively communicate the impact of your work
Communicating the impact of programs, and the changes that services create can be difficult.
Community stories are so important as they help us understand how programs make a difference to the lives of real people.
A good impact measurement framework, one that is clear on quality indicators, will create a narrative that uses data from your programs to communicate social change in a language that is engaging and understandable to your stakeholders.
Here are some sites I find useful:
https://www.socialimpacttoolbox.com/
Need to create more positive social change in your organisation?
