MEASURING SOCIAL IMPACT NEEDS NEW APPROACH: CONTINUOUS LEARNINGMost agree that impact measurement and management done right can help maximize social value. Over the years, Social Impact Measurement and Management has experienced a proliferation of standards, frameworks, and tools. However, even with numerous standards, frameworks, and tools identifying impact evidence remains elusive. None ‌of‌ ‌them‌ ‌are enough ‌for enterprises to follow and learn, improve and scale social impact. As a result, we often see asset managers (portfolio managers) and enterprises take the disconnected approach—the resulting lack of listening to stakeholders and improving outcomes. Investors need to invest in an enterprise to improve stakeholder outcomes instead of adding an unnecessary burden of collecting results that don't benefit anyone. Rather than understanding the importance of multidimensionality, enterprises tend to focus on impact justification and reporting. Enterprise success depends on many external factors, collaboration, and reducing stakeholders' financial and social constraints.SoPactSPCT_5732eb36-3338-11e7-b536-0d5664df7fbeImpact Measurement & Management PlatformUnmesh Sheth32 years of track record In technology companies, innovation, leadership. Deep understanding of bottom-up and top-down data trust challenges in high impact philanthropy and impact investments.Social value maximized_cf7575e4-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea00To help enterprises follow and learn, improve and scale social impact_cf757760-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea00Social ImpactMeasurementManagementClarityTop-down Impact Standards are Barrier ~ Top-down impact standards have actually created more barriers as they are not prescriptive enough for enterprises. As a result, everyone is free to interpret the way they like.OutcomesSecond, most of the top-down approach focuses on output-based reporting which is quite flawed. We are unlikely to make long-term progress until major players acknowledge their failure and help reverse this trend. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize this more significant challenge and reflect on making enterprises successful.ScalabilityScaling social impact requires identifying the root causes and choosing the right approach.LearningImprovementExperimentsScale with small and quick impact experiments _cf757800-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea001Investors can bring real value by helping social enterprises to understand a culture of impact learning rather than cherry-picking metrics for reporting. Instead of creating a comprehensive theory of change with 15+ outcomes and often 25-50 metrics, they need to constantly focus on the short-term or mid-term outcomes that they wish to work on. Rather than choosing outcomes beyond their control, organizations should focus on those that they can directly influence. For each outcome, we recommend building impact experiments. So, what are impact experiments? Impact experiments produce high-quality evidence and learning through short, frequent, and efficient feedback loops. This can involve personal one-on-one conversations, interviews, and surveys of stakeholders that yield collective insights or external confirmation or proof of results. Instead of studying the theory of change and metrics for months, organizations should focus on designing short impact experiments that help improve outcomes with key stakeholders. A well-designed impact management technology platform, semantic AI technology, and Five Dimensions Of Impact from the Impact Management Project (IMP) can significantly improve understanding of the social impact and stakeholder sentiments while improving outcomes quickly.A frequent impact experiment can be conducted with longitudinal stakeholder data. Typical impact experiments consist of four steps for one outcome at a time:ObjectivesIdentify the problem(s) to be solved_cf7578aa-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea001.1Start with your program's objective (Product or service) - what is the pain point you intend to solve (select the most critical outcome - one is the best, two is probably ok but not more than that)StakeholdersIdentify the stakeholders_cf75794a-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea001.2Who are the stakeholders for each objective? How many are using your product and services? For policy implementation, focus on tracking policy changes and policy implementation over time. For fish buyers, buying practices, restaurant owners, and patrons.Products & ServicesDetermine the actions to be taken to solve the problem(s)_cf7579e0-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea001.3What activities (through your products or services) do you do to solve these pain points. Before you design any measurement approach, start by talking to stakeholders. Talk to large enough stakeholders and make fundamental changes to gain their trust and adoption.FeedbackCreate a feedback loop that starts with a small group of stakeholders and ends with a large group of stakeholders._cf757a80-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea001.4Tracking & LearningLearn with longitudinal tracking_cf757b20-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea002After collecting baseline data, focus on intensive program improvement, implementing changes based on stakeholder feedback and results from baseline data. Ask questions aligned to five dimensions of impact. Often we see many practitioners designing stakeholder surveys with limited data outcomes or multi-dimensional alignment. As a result, not enough impact learning is possible. Another limitation is that many survey tools aren't well designed for longitudinal learning. A well-designed survey must improve data collection responses time, reduce the burden of repeating questions, and improve automatic real-time understanding of stakeholder performance. There are many best practices for high-quality stakeholder tracking that goes beyond the scope of an article, but here are some important ones.Based on baseline data, you must immediately change your program. A well-designed data collection and analysis can reveal a wealth of information. For example ...UnderserviceConcentrate on underserved stakeholders_cf757bc0-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea002.1Could you concentrate your efforts on those underserved stakeholders that need the most improvement?Stakeholder FocusDetermine whether the stakeholders agree with the stated outcome_cf757d50-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea002.2Are the stakeholders in agreement with the stated outcome? Without such evidence, adopting a product/service may be poor?OutcomesDetermine whether the output is likely to create the desired outcome_cf757e04-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea002.3Is your contribution likely to make a difference? If not, what additional intervention or partnership may be needed to meet the stated goals? The organization should make all necessary changes before repeating the next level of improvements. Give the change sufficient time to take effect before repeating the test. The next test should allow you to understand outcomes based on different demographics such as gender, racial/ethnic group, income, and location. You can examine outcome changes using a dynamic dashboard. The easiest changes can possibly be made in those demographics where it is easier to make changes. CorroborationCollaborate with external proof_cf757eb8-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea003Stakeholder surveys are very important, as they reflect sentiment, emotions, and performance, but they often need to be corroborated with performance improvements (e.g., results). This usually comes from external data collected internally or from a third party. For example, increased marketplace sale transactions improved the local economy, student attendance/grades, or mother and child mortality rates.SurveysConduct stakeholder surveys_cf757f6c-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea003.1ResultsCorroborate survey results with performance improvements_cf758020-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea003.2TestimonialsDocument positive and negative testimonials_cf7580ca-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea003.3Positive and negative testimonial ~ Although data-driven approaches can be powerful, do not overlook the power of documenting small things, having impromptu but open-ended conversations (both positive and negative), and asking for short interviews. Conversations can reveal things that no other test can. To connect feedback and analyze potential, we need a simple system.MeetingsHold frequent meetings with staff and stakeholders_cf758188-fa4b-11eb-89a6-c7920983ea003.4Feedback Loop ~ Hold frequent meetings with staff and stakeholders to make continuous improvements. Creative teams with proper ownership are likely to succeed faster as they implement feedback more effectively.2021-08-092021-08-10https://www.sopact.com/perspectives/measuring-social-impactOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net