Measuring Impact
As I discussed in an earlier post on social enterprise, the efforts of non-profits and corporate social responsibility departments are often confounded by the difficulty of measuring results in the absence of a bottom line. A new methdology put out by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the IFC aims to remedy that. Entitled Measuring Impact, this new methodology has the goal of helping "companies understand their contribution to development and use this understanding to inform their operational and long-term investment decisions and have more informed conversations with stakeholders."
Printer-friendly version
Comments
Just a couple of thoughts: 1...
Just a couple of thoughts:
1. Measuring impact is far easier in the absence of a bottom line than the conventional wisdom might suggest. Very few of a for-profit's metrics are targeted directly toward the bottom line, and measurement in the corporation can often be less sophisticated than that seen in government and development organizations.
2. These efforts succeed to the degree they are able to create value (insight and decision criteria) greater than the effort required to maintain a measurement regime. Most organizations that undertake such an effort find that in their enthusiasm to capture their KPIs, they create an industry that diverts attention from the mission of the organization. This is a paradox of measurement.
3. Measurement is an inherently political activity. Any organization that undertakes to implement such a system would do well to acknowledge and make transparent biases both in the preparation of the numbers (including selection) and in their eventual consumption by stakeholders.
None of this is to cast aspersions on the intent. The framework should be a good addition to the community, especially in fostering consistency and clarity. It will be important to acknowledge, though, that the Measuring Impact framework requires a behavioral change at least as great as the change of measurement.
Post new comment