Common Approach to Impact Measurement

Led by Kate Ruff in Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, The Common Approach to Impact Measurement is a community of non-profits, social purpose organizations (SPOs), grantmakers, investors and academics building a better way to measure social impact.

• The common approach will cut down on paperwork and data entry.
  Aligning data opens time and headspace for creating impact.
• The common approach will never impose indicators or metrics on any organization.
  It must be flexible enough that each organization can measure impact in a way that makes sense for it. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it is actually best practice. Research that shows uniformity kills standards. Effective standards are bendy, and the common approach will be bendy.
• The common approach needs you on board.
  Research shows that successful standards are not documents; they are communities of people that agree to work together – and keep working together – to bring their work into alignment for mutual benefit. More than a way of measuring, the common approach is a community.

Common Approach to Impact Measurement Website