Social Impact 🟢 Impact Strategy 🟢 Theory of Change ✴️ Impact Measurement

Summary

Chris Gaines from SoPact outlines eight principles for building an effective impact strategy to secure funding for projects that aim to make a real difference. Starting with leveraging existing resources like GIIN's IRIS profiles, he emphasizes the importance of a theory of change, selecting impactful metrics, ensuring indicator quality, considering context, aligning with sustainable development goals, and integrating data sources with impact metrics. The video encourages viewers to subscribe for more insights on creating a global social impact.

Takeaways

• 📈 Start with existing resources: Utilize pre-built impact frameworks like GIIN's IRIS profiles to jumpstart your impact strategy.
• 🌟 Build on a solid foundation: Establish a theory of change as the basis for demonstrating the evidence of your impact creation.
• 📋 Craft a clear impact statement: Define the problem you're solving to guide your impact, outputs, outcomes, activities, and inputs.
• 📊 Prioritize impact metrics: Choose metrics that effectively communicate the desired change and progress to funders.
• 🔍 Ensure quality in indicators: Assess the measurability, definitiveness, and balance between quantitative and qualitative indicators.
• 🌍 Consider the context of metrics: Provide definitions and context to avoid misinterpretation of your impact metrics by different stakeholders.
• 🔗 Align with sustainable development goals: Sync your project with SDGs to resonate with investors and highlight your project's global relevance.
• 🤝 Integrate with impact management: Use the five dimensions of impact management to understand and communicate stakeholder engagement and impact depth.
• 📝 Align data sources: Correlate various data sources with your impact metrics to monitor progress and build a strong case for your impact.
• 💡 Present data effectively: Learn to showcase your collected data in a way that compellingly demonstrates the evidence of your impact.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the video by Chris Gaines from SoPact?

The primary focus of the video is to share eight principles for building an effective impact strategy to secure funding for projects that aim to make a difference.

Who is the speaker in the video and what is his role at SoPact?

The speaker in the video is Chris Gaines, who is the lead trainer at SoPact.

Why is it important for mission-driven organizations to have an impact strategy?

An impact strategy is important because it serves as the foundation for demonstrating the evidence of the impact they are creating, which is crucial for raising capital and ensuring the success of their initiatives.

What is the first step Chris Gaines suggests when starting to build an impact strategy?

Chris Gaines suggests not starting from scratch but leveraging existing resources in the impact community, such as the GIIN's impact themes and IRIS profiles.

What is a theory of change and why is it important for impact-driven organizations?

A theory of change is a foundational element that outlines the process of how an organization's activities will lead to desired outcomes and ultimately to its long-term impact. It is important because it helps demonstrate the evidence of the impact being created.

How does an organization derive its impact statement?

An organization derives its impact statement by asking the question, 'What is the problem we're trying to solve?' It is often derived from the mission and vision statements but is more definitive.

Why are impact metrics essential in an impact strategy?

Impact metrics are essential because they help design a program that creates the desired change and are crucial for communicating progress to funders.

What should an organization consider when determining the quality of its selected impact indicators?

When determining the quality of impact indicators, an organization should consider whether they are measurable, definitive, and if there is a good balance between quantitative and qualitative indicators.

Why is the context of impact indicators important and what should be done to clarify it?

The context of impact indicators is important because the same dataset can be interpreted differently by different stakeholders. To clarify, organizations should provide definitions, help links with context, and show calculations for each data point.

How can aligning with sustainable development goals (SDGs) benefit an organization seeking funding?

Aligning with SDGs can benefit an organization by showing investors that the project aligns with global priorities, which can make it more attractive for funding.

What does the Impact Management Project define, and why is it important for investors and entrepreneurs?

The Impact Management Project defines five dimensions that help both investors and entrepreneurs understand stakeholders, types of impact, depth of impact, contribution, and risk associated with impact, which is important for making informed investment decisions.

How does aligning data sources with selected impact metrics help an organization?

Aligning data sources with selected impact metrics allows an organization to monitor the progress of key indicators, build robust impact evidence, and track the outcomes of stakeholders regularly.