Using impact data for internal decision making

Case studies and learnings from NEF Consulting

16 July 2014Jon Gardner

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NEF (New Economics Foundation)

• Founded in 1986

• Economics think-tank working to promote high well-being, environmental sustainability and social justice

• Created: Jubilee Debt Campaign, Ethical Trade Initiative, Social Auditing, Inner City 100, Measuring National Progress, Banking Reform, Social Stock Exchange etc.

• NEF Consulting founded in 2008 and owned by NEF

• We use NEF’s tools to put its ideas into practice and to help organisations demonstrate their impact

• Clients include: The Crown Estate; British Land, London Borough of Camden; Milton Keynes Council; Bridgend County Borough Council; WWF; The Prince’s Trust

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Overview

• Case studies– Gingerbread: SROI– The Crown Estate: Total Contribution

Reporting

• Key learnings

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Gingerbread: Intro

• UK’s national single parent charity

• Runs four main programmes: – Helpline – Access to training – Peer to peer support groups – Online membership

• Gingerbread approached NEF Consulting to help them professionalise their approach to understanding and measuring the impact of their work with single parents

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Gingerbread: Our work

• NEF Consulting developed a social impact measurement system for all four of Gingerbread’s services based on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology

This involved:• A common outcomes framework based on an

organisational theory of change• Agreed indicators and data collection tools for four

services• Socio-economic models for each service• Impact reporting template

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Gingerbread: Impact on decision making• Gingerbread discovered the impact of their services and

a new set of learning

“We have concrete proof of the difference we make”

• Significant unintended impact– Change in staff mind-set– Impact on funding bids– Influencing funders– Integration of impact reporting into normal working practices

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Gingerbread: What did we learn?• Importance of inducting and engaging of senior people

• Importance of a champion in an organisation to drive impact forward

• Need to reign in people’s enthusiasm for adding to and amending a rigorous process and system

• Embedding impact takes time

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The Crown Estate (2013): Our Contribution

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The Crown Estate: Total Contribution Economics

ECONOMIC SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL

DIRECT

INDIRECT

ENABLED

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The Crown Estate: Impact on decision making• Bottom up approach

– Workshops and meetings with project teams, understanding the contribution they make

• Top down approach– Total Contribution incorporated into integrated report

• Management decision making– Moving forwards from baseline data– Index and/or Natural Capital Coalition approach (valuation)

• Strong commitment internally to use data to improve performance across the triple bottom line

“…creating significant value beyond financial return”

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The Crown Estate: Learnings

• Economic and environmental data more easily standardised than social impact data

• Process is resource intensive and intellectually demanding

• Need to be pragmatic

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NEF Consulting Key Learnings

What key factors ensure internal decision makers continue to use social impact data?

1. Leadership

2. Measuring things that are meaningful to staff and funders

3. Embedding good quality social impact data takes time

4. Strong narratives