How Social Entrepreneurs Begin To Measure Impact

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

There are two keys to becoming a good social entrepreneur. Intentionality, that is intending to have a positive social impact rather than merely delivering one incidentally, is how you become a social entrepreneur. Accountability, measuring the impact, is how you become an effective one.

Measurement, however, is not straightforward for most social entrepreneurs. To help guide startup social entrepreneurs on the measurement of impact, I’ve reached out to some of the leading practitioners and experts in the impact arena to comment.

It may not be as difficult as it seems, at least for now, says Stephanie Gripne, Founder and Director, Impact Finance Center & CO Impact Days and Initiative. “The majority of individuals and families [investing in social entrepreneurs] can still be satisfied with basic impact premises and themes, much as they’re satisfied with generalized results from gifts to charities. For now, the democratization of impact investing is being led by values and principles more than measurable outcomes.”

“Even many institutional investors and advanced investors,” she continues, “are satisfied with ‘outputs – acres conserved, ex-offenders employed, fair-trade products sourced, etc. – as long as the units counted seem reasonable. A smaller percentage (but perhaps a more vocal and well-publicized percentage) are seeking real ‘outcomes’ – the types of harder, longer-term measures that drive Social Impact Bonds for example.”

Source: Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Impact Assessment, Investing
Tags
impact investing