Sustainable Social Impact Measurement in Small Organisations

Approaches to social impact measurement are often built on assumed foundations of generally held principles and values, which can create uncertainly for organisations who attempt to identify and embed appropriate standardised impact measurement tools that do not align with the organisation’s held social impact practices. For smaller organisations, the development of a sustainable and cohesive social impact measurement framework, which effectively evidences the organisation’s social impact, can face a range of challenges. With fewer internal resources to draw on and little influence within the legal-institutional context of their funders, evidence has shown a disconnect within how the organisation is fiscally managed, and its social and environmental managements (Depken and Zeman, 2018). There are, however, opportunities for smaller organisations to become exemplars of social impact measurement.

This chapter explores three dynamics within the social impact measurement field and the approaches taken by smaller organisations to develop sustainable tools and practices, including innovative impact measurement practices, resource management, and the development of participatory measurement. The chapter builds on the authors’ experience of conducting social impact measurement work with over 60 third and public organisations, with case-study anecdotes (Yin, 2009; Creswell, 2014; Tremblay et al., 2022) drawn upon to inform the assertions made . In so doing, it seeks to demonstrate both the value (and pitfalls) of social impact measurement to smaller organisations, both with regard to their own internal development and impact efficacy, as well as the external validation of this to key stakeholders. However, first the chapter seeks to define social impact measurement and how it is achieved in practice.