Measuring impact and observing the new

This week’s theme – Creating Policies and Ecosystems for Social Innovation deals heavily with the options for supporting and generating programs in social innovation. Many of the articles highlight the importance of the non-profit sector in many of the most innovative programs and projects to date.  While I appreciate this shout out, it seems obvious that this would be the case – many social innovations are born out of need and many non-profits lack the resources to follow a ‘typical’ process. Time, money and other resources are limited; you do what you can with what you have. Often, this leads you down a path of creativity and therefore toward innovative discoveries that deal with social issues. While I still believe credit should be given where it’s due, I also don’t think this is something particularly new – just something that has only recently been branded. As we discussed in some of the earlier lectures, many of the most innovative solutions of their day are nothing more than moments of common sense and acceptance today.

Additionally, because of the attention to this new approach, there is also now the enhanced focus on evaluating all of the time and efforts that go into these programs, especially as more models emerge that look to create ventures with a mission. While most can agree that public funds should go to social programs that work and not to those that don’t, it is an issue to determine which programs work and who gets to decide.

I found an article that discusses just this and the consensus is that those who set out to evaluate these programs fall into 2 categories – experimentalists and inclusionists. While merits of both are presented, there is an unfilled need to determine the common ground.Research and experience are valid methods to gather data in order to make informed decisions. But by nature, social innovations are varied across the board so can comparisons be made to each other and are we working toward a simple evaluation template that becomes a standard measure.

My question this week is: If we agree all experimental, observed, researched and experienced data is important, how is value placed on each type as a way to measure one social innovation against another? And then, how does this translate in terms of monetary and public support?

Broader Evidence for Bigger Impact - Lisbeth Schorr