Where Impact Measurement Meets Evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne T. Vo ◽  
Christina A. Christie
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Social Value ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Analytic Capacity ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Impact Measurement ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Evaluative Thinking ◽  
Meaningful Data

In 2016, the American Evaluation Association cosponsored a conference themed “impact convergence” with Social Value International, an international organization focusing on impact measurement in the context of social investment. These meetings spurred interest in the intersection between evaluation and impact measurement. We organized this forum in the spirit of continuing the conversation about common and unique challenges along with potential solutions that each community might further explore. We invited members of both organizations whose work situate them at the nexus of evaluation and impact measurement to contribute thought pieces on the demand for meaningful data and evidence, the need for analytic capacity, and measurement challenges—contemporary issues at the heart of both fields. Contributors highlight the need for crossing disciplinary boundaries and propose strategies for arriving at this end goal. Solutions include creating space for meaningful discourse, representing diverse stakeholder perspectives, building intersectional communities of practice, and leveraging evaluative thinking.

Challenges to measuring social value creation through social impact assessments: the case of RVA Works

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Balashankar Mulloth ◽  
Stefano Rumi
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Real World ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Impact Measurement ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Value Creation

PurposeDespite the prevalence of academic literature debating and proposing competing conceptions of social value creation through socially driven enterprises, there is a lack of empirical studies on established impact measurement methodologies in the context of real-world ventures. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a structured process of conducting social impact assessments (SIAs) through the real-world case of Richmond, Virginia Works Enterprise Support (RVA Works), a social enterprise in Richmond, Virginia, that provides educational programming on small business ownership to minorities and lower-income individuals.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study incorporates an in-depth case study methodology. Evidence was collected through interpretive/qualitative interviews and direct observations by the researchers.FindingsUsing the example of RVA Works, the authors show that there is a lack of standardization and guidance for social entrepreneurs in choosing methods to assess their organizational performance, and that leading conceptions of social impact continue to face key weaknesses in their methodologies.Practical implicationsBy incorporating a qualitative case study approach, the authors present a real-world study of a social enterprise – specifically a microenterprise development organization – that may serve as a valuable example to social entrepreneurs and not-for-profit leaders facing similar challenges of social value creation and impact measurement.Originality/valueIn studying the experience of conducting SIAs by social enterprises, the authors illustrate the real-world challenges faced by entrepreneurs in applying theoretical conceptions of social value to the outcomes of their ventures, thus illustrating a need for additional clarity and discussion around a more comprehensive, standardized and broadly applicable measurement approach.

scholarly journals Social Value Creation and Impact Measurement

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25
Author(s):  
Roland Z. Szabó ◽  
Noémi Krátki
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Impact Measurement ◽  
Social Value Creation

scholarly journals Feeding young people to the social investment machine: The financialisation of public services

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania De St Croix ◽  
Ian Mcgimpsey ◽  
John Owens
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Public Services ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Impact Measurement ◽  
The Social ◽  
Green Book ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Citizen Service

Public services operate increasingly through financialising policy technologies in which governments and other funders ‘invest’ in programmes and interventions that can measure and monetise their social impact. This article investigates this shift towards social investment, focusing on the UK government’s flagship youth programme the National Citizen Service and UK government Treasury guidance, particularly the ‘Green Book’ (HM Treasury, 2018). We argue that policy on social value operates in conjunction with new approaches to impact measurement creating a ‘social investment machine’. The machine operates through innovations in policy alongside ‘evaluation entrepreneurship’ at a programme level to reposition young people as the subjects of investment with imagined futures as economically productive citizens, while their data becomes the currency of investment. This shift towards financialisation in policy also promotes ‘high volume’ services, which in contrast to universal welfare services obscure the structural inequalities that shape young people’s lives.

Stakeholder Perspectives on the Stigma of Suicide Attempt Survivors

Crisis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay L. Sheehan ◽  
Patrick W. Corrigan ◽  
Maya A. Al-Khouja ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempt ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Public Stigma ◽  
Suicide Method ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Prejudice And Discrimination

Abstract. Background: Past scholarly efforts to describe and measure the stigma surrounding suicide have largely viewed suicide stigma from the perspective of the general public. Aims: In the spirit of community-based participatory research (CBPR), the current study brought together a diverse stakeholder team to qualitatively investigate the suicide stigma as experienced by those most intimately affected by suicide. Method: Seven focus groups (n = 62) were conducted with suicide attempt survivors, family members of those who died by suicide, and suicide loss therapists. Results: Themes were derived for stereotypes (n = 30), prejudice (n = 3), and discrimination (n = 4). People who attempted suicide were seen as attention-seeking, selfish, incompetent, emotionally weak, and immoral. Participants described personal experiences of prejudice and discrimination, including those with health professionals. Conclusion: Participants experienced public stigma, self-stigma, and label avoidance. Analyses reveal that the stigma of suicide shares similarities with stereotypes of mental illness, but also includes some important differences. Attempt survivors may be subject to double stigma, which impedes recovery and access to care.

The Impact of Endorsing the Belief in a Just World on Social Judgments

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Testé ◽  
Samantha Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Just World ◽  
The Social ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
The Impact

The present research examines the social value attributed to endorsing the belief in a just world for self (BJW-S) and for others (BJW-O) in a Western society. We conducted four studies in which we asked participants to assess a target who endorsed BJW-S vs. BJW-O either strongly or weakly. Results showed that endorsement of BJW-S was socially valued and had a greater effect on social utility judgments than it did on social desirability judgments. In contrast, the main effect of endorsement of BJW-O was to reduce the target’s social desirability. The results also showed that the effect of BJW-S on social utility is mediated by the target’s perceived individualism, whereas the effect of BJW-S and BJW-O on social desirability is mediated by the target’s perceived collectivism.

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