I think you are absolutely correct, we need to figure out who will pay for assessment. But, really, the bigger question is who will pay for infrastructure, capacity, R&D, etc., all of those things that are routinely paid for in the for-profit sector, but very difficult to fund in the social impact space. However, I see this trend changing as (mostly) foundations and individual major donors are realizing that they can get a much higher return on their investment when they invest in smart infrastructure, capacity, assessment, planning, etc. I think the change here will be by example, not by some big entity stepping up and starting to fund these things. But nonetheless, change is coming.

With respect to social enterprises, who should bear the cost of impact assessment? Companies, investors, clients/customers? In light of the current challenges facing the social venture space, none of these potential actors seem to fit the bill. Would very much enjoy your thoughts on this.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by aaronsklar: Many nonprofits’ lack of theory of change is a major hindrance for social impact measurement! http://twurl.nl/kdvziy #socent RT @sc_seo…

You variation on the logic model is interesting and definitely much deeper than the model I suggest. I think it would be great if the average nonprofit organization could create a logic model like the one you describe, but I worry that it is too complex and has too many steps to work for the majority of nonprofits. I wonder if it is better to at least start with a simpler version that gets to the core argument they are making in their organization (how they use resources to create outcomes), and then the more sophisticated nonprofits could delve deeper with a model like the one you suggest.

Best, Gayle

I too think the tide is turning. I have always been challenged by the notion that things like strategy, program/implementation and evaluative thinking are separate rather than threads when woven together are the fabric of success.

I completely agree that the process of modeling is really the key part. If a nonprofit can come together and agree about what it is that they are trying to do, the impact they are trying to achieve, that is huge.

And I also agree that funding the evaluation, or even the creation of the logic model, is a critical hurdle. Most foundations and donors want their money to go to “program” as opposed to planning, strategy, infrastructure, etc. But I think that is changing. And so I believe that soon there will be more money for this type of planning and the resulting evaluation of the social impact nonprofits are working toward.

It is not a silver bullet for what ails the sectors but it can bring to light, and thus make more transparent, what we hope will be be achieved for our efforts. After that, to be honest, the evaluative piece, which in our opinion is merely a focus on “to what end” is much easier to determine. Funding it however is another issue.

Thanks for the list of tools. This is very helpful. It looks like you are doing great work. Thanks for writing.