What you need to know about measuring your social impact
Impact measurement is increasingly important for social enterprises but the research still shows the vast majority of social enterprises still don’t do this, either because they don’t know how to start, don’t feel they have the right knowledge or skills in house; don’t feel they have time; or don’t have the money to invest in getting support from outside the organisation.
Measuring your social impact should be an essential part of your social enterprise operations.
Here’s 5 things you should know about impact measurement:
Impact measurement is easier than you think
You don’t need to have a degree in research methods or evaluation to get started on measuring your impact. You simply need to know why you do what you do; what matters to you, your organisation and stakeholders; what your vision and aims are; and identify what indicators will help you know whether or not your working towards or achieving different aspects of your vision and aims (e.g. your outcomes).
You should measure your social impact from day one
There’s no point delaying. It’s much harder to measure your impact retrospectively. And as a social enterprise your social or environmental mission and therefore impact should be at the heart of everything you do, so it’s easy to get starting thinking about, planning and measuring your impact from day one. It also helps you build this in to your operations as a normal part of your business and not an add on, this way it go develop and grow with you.
Impact measurement is essential to demonstrating you’re doing what you say you’re doing
If you don’t measure your impact how will you demonstrate you’re doing what you say you’re doing and achieving? It’s key. So don’t put it off.
Social impact data builds trust and accountability
Increasingly consumers and stakeholders are looking behind all the marketing and asking questions about whether brands are actually doing what they say they’re doing. Your social impact data means you can demonstrate what you’re actually achieving (with evidence) and therefore build trust with your audience.
Measuring your impact means you can create and communicate your impact story with customers and stakeholders
With data you can build your story too and this is a great way to connect and engage with your audience, customers and stakeholders. People love to see the stories behind the data too.
Watch my short video on this, and other useful topics for social entrepreneurs, over in my Facebook Group - The Impact Entrepreneurs Club.
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