Handbook : Assessing social impact

A source of insight for those funding an activity of social utility

This Handbook is intended for decision-makers, sponsor or funder of social utility organisations: national and local government, philanthropists, impact investors, solidarity lenders and corporate CSR policymakers. It provides content to help them get to grips with the issues at stake and get started with the most appropriate tools.

For a manager of a social utility organisation, assessing its social impact provides a means of showing that its activity is useful for the society as a whole affirming its identity, improving its performance or its practices. For a funder, social impact assessment can provide a basis for choosing actions gauging their effects and above all establishing new forms of dialogue with the managers of the organisations funded.

However, irrespective of the underlying reasons or the form, the purpose of the assessment remains the same: to assess the "social value" generated by the organisation. It has therefore become vital to share a common language and objectives regarding social impact assessment, and in particular between managers of SSE organisations and funders–who have an important motivational role to play in developing these approaches.

Contents

• What is it all about?
• The importance of social utility and social impact
• How to lead a social utility assessment process
  • Defining what matters
  • Measuring
  • Building a shared point of view
• A few considerations before you start
• 5 things to do right now