You're working in a social impact career. How do you measure the impact of your work?

In social impact careers, good intentions aren't enough. To truly drive change, we must move beyond outputs (activities completed) and focus on outcomes (the change we create). Measuring impact allows us to justify investments, attract mission-aligned partners, and identify areas for improvement. Most importantly, it ensures we're truly serving communities, not just our own assumptions of what they need.

Em um negócio social, medir o seu impacto é chave essencial para você entender onde destinar melhor os seus esforços e atenção nos projetos internos. E por isso, a cultura de dados é tão importante.

Social impact is a long term sport. Changes are measured in years, not in days. If we fail to track our impact over time, we fail to see the true results of the work we do on a day-to-day basis.

Impact goes beyond feel-good metrics. It's the tangible, long-term difference your work makes on a social or environmental issue. It encompasses both intended and unintended consequences that occur because of your actions. Understanding impact isn't about simple numbers; it's about capturing the complex, interconnected stories of change.

💎 First, think about the big picture. 💎 Then, think about the actions you do each day, no matter how small. 💎 Be sure to explain how your work translates into the bigger picture, and what your unique contribution is. 💎 Try to quantify as much as possible. When not possible, use qualitative indicators. Ask for feedback. In the end, it's all about how you explain what you do and how this fits into the ultimate goal. That's your impact.✨

No one-size-fits-all solution exists. Effective impact measurement starts with a clear theory of change – a map of how your inputs, activities, and outputs contribute to desired outcomes. Select indicators aligned with those outcomes, ensuring they're SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Mix quantitative data (e.g., number of people served) with qualitative insights (e.g., changes in community well-being). Always involve stakeholders to ensure you're measuring what truly matters to them.

At Girls Future Ready we defined the areas of our work that we need to track. This is a range of metrics from social media reach to beneficiary applications to events. Once you define the metrics you want to pay attention to, create a tracking timeline: do you want to check in on these metrics weekly, monthly or quarterly? Which one makes the most sense for your organization?

There are so many tools now that allow us to measure this, from logic models to social impact scorecards. Some are industry-specific, others more general. The key is selecting tools that align with your mission and capacity. Don't underestimate the power of simple surveys, interviews, or focus groups to capture the human element of change.

Cater your tools to your scope and projects. This can range from 1-1 interviews, feedback surveys or community polls but it can also be tools that you already use to for ex. track your program applications where this data can tell you a lot about the trajectory of your impact.

Depending on the kind of social impact work you do and political context, qualitative approaches can add a level of depth to impact measurement that quantitative data/metric-centric approaches can miss. Your assessment should incorporate qualitative information that offers context for metrics, stakeholder stories, and lessons learned.

Impact measurement can be complex, time-consuming and finding appropriate funding can be difficult. Start small and iterate as you learn. Balance data rigor with practicality. Don't let the pursuit of perfect metrics become a barrier to action. Finally, embrace transparency. Share not just successes, but challenges and lessons learned – this fosters sector-wide progress.

If you do not meet your campaign/project objective before a reporting deadline, consider how you can measure and illustrate incremental social impact. For example, if you are a community lawyer engaging in collaborative legal services approaches but are unable to meet your objective by a reporting deadline due to political barriers, consider how you can illustrate (e.g., via community stories) how the project work has built community power (e.g., through a better understanding of their rights, increased confidence in engaging in self-advocacy, etc.) which will ultimately contribute to lasting change.

My final 2 cents: Impact measurement is an ongoing journey, not a destination. As situations evolve, so should your metrics. Think creatively about how to capture both ripple effects and large-scale systems change. Above all, remember that impact measurement isn't about vanity metrics – it's about a relentless commitment to doing better and creating a world where positive change is both measurable and undeniable.

Remember your final goal and measure what truly counts. Sometimes we find ourselves to be data-obsessed over metrics that don't truly highlight the core of our work. Think about why you need to measure impact and how that specifically contributes to your final destination.