How to Measure Impact and Outcomes and Avoid 3 Common Mistakes

Send us Fan MailWhen are your prime opportunities to capture data? In part three of The Impact Diaries, Heidi Fisher describes her approach to measuring your impact – the central stage of the LEAN social impact approach.If you've planned effectively then measuring your impact is easy, she says – but if you haven't this is where everything goes wrong.Heidi describes how a client sought to measure six key outcomes – having both defined and planned well. This organisation provides multiple services for adults with physical or learning difficulties.She explains how her 'brick wall' philosophy means impact measurement is embedded into everything an organisation does – and what that looks like in reality for this organisation.She covers how using the 'Impact Pitch' makes you focus on the crucial questions to ask to capture your impact.And she describes three common ways in which measuring and capturing your impact can go wrong and how to avoid them.1:00 Quick recap: why you must complete stages one and two before you start measuring1:40 Heidi worked with a client running adult day care centres and home help for adults with physical or learning difficulties and providing a range of diverse services2:15 What was the biggest issue for this client in terms of measurement? How did the organisation address this?3:00 This client's stakeholders and key outcomes5:04 Heidi's approach to physical measurement5:50 The Brick Wall Philosophy, how it applies to this specific organisation, and enables staff members to measure the right things8:00 What is the Impact Pitch?9:57 Aside from skipping the planning stage, what are the most common mistakes made in the 'Measure' stage? Heidi explains how to avoid these pitfalls12:04 How this process helped this particular organisation and its stakeholders13:50 The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and LearnHeidi's new book, out in Autumn 2020, shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation.Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions ofImpact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-firstSupport the showHi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have. I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives. You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.