While having a well-grounded theory of change and robust IMM process are critical to the success of impact organizations, they are often so focused on solving the social and environmental issues that matter to them, that they lack the capacity to translate the important work they do into terms that meet investor demands and other stakeholder interests.

Much like a value proposition is crucial for business success, a comprehensive and cohesive theory of change (TOC) is crucial for the success of impact organizations because it clearly defines the benefits an organization offers to beneficiaries and demonstrates to funders its deep understanding of the pathways and underlying mechanisms that drive change in an area of impact. In the case of complex social and environmental interventions with a multitude of factors, the journey between the desired change and the inputs, activities and outcomes required to drive impact are often not obvious. Clearly mapping what inputs and activities produce which outputs, alongside all relevant context, mechanism and outcome pathways that generate causation, is critical for impact organizations to effectively communicate their value. 

In addition to mapping their theory of change, impact measurement and management (IMM) is critical for impact organizations to measure and manage their performance – from both an impact and economic perspective – on an ongoing basis. And selecting the appropriate frameworks for evaluation is crucial for properly evidencing impact and returns. For example, when assessing the IMM requirements for a non-profit career mentoring program, it became clear that the program’s specific intergenerational and intercultural approach was key to its success. Therefore, it was determined that a qualitative evaluation framework would be needed alongside a quantitative one to capture more nuanced data related to the dynamics between mentors and mentees, cultural factors and other hard to measure but critically important contextual variables. Taking this comprehensive, multi-framework approach to evaluation ensured the full value of this successful program was understood. 

While having a well-grounded theory of change and robust IMM process are critical to the success of impact organizations, they are often so focused on solving the social and environmental issues that matter to them, that they lack the capacity to translate the important work they do into terms that meet investor demands and other stakeholder interests – I want to help change that. I’m dedicated to helping impact organizations build their capacity in the areas of theory of change development and IMM to help further their missions.

Impact organizations play a key role in our transitioning economy, therefore, it’s critical for them to be able to translate the important work they do into terms that will effectively communicate their value to all relevant stakeholders, so they are appropriately supported and resourced and can deliver more impact.  

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