95% of social organizations want to measure their impact, but too few actually take action. The reason? A lack of appropriate tools and knowledge. But above all… More than 1 in 2 organizations lack the time and human resources to carry out an impact measurement approach. Are you considering getting started but still have questions? We’ve got you covered!
Source: Impact Measurement 2024/2025 Impact Track)
Impact measurement follows a continuous process with quantified indicators.
Impact assessment is often ad hoc, includes a qualitative study (interviews, focus groups, etc.) and is more in-depth, carried out at the end of the project by a third party.
Impact is the consequence that has an organization on people or on a planet thanks to the action they carry out.
The impact includes three key elements:
3**.The positive or negative effects**, whether intentional or not.
According to organizations that have measured their impact, the benefits of impact measurement are:
There are different options depending on your ressources, objectives and budget:
Many actors provide a first level of information:
Formations :
Tools specifically designed to manage the entire impact management process:
Support programs:
3. Hire a consulting firm
It depends on the type of project. Here are a few examples:
Discover examples of impact measures in various areas of intervention : disability, professional integration, youth support, circular economy...
Yes, multiple solutions are possible:
For beginers :
For beginners and experts :
For experts (Data collection and analysis)
"The theory of change is an explicit documeneted vision (and assessable) in a way where we think that change will be" Rick Davies
To understand my impact and build a theory of change, I will describe my actions, my results (instant effects), and my impacts (social, economical or environmental consequences).
An example:
My association aims to help people with disabilities find employment.
Depending on the stages of the process, different tools and methodologies are available. These are either complementary or alternative. The choice of one method or another depends on your needs and requirements. Not all methods are suitable for all projects, and the use of impact measurement is mainly determined by the suitability of the project objectives and the impact measurement process. There is a big difference in terms of complexity between the methods, and therefore in terms of cost.
What is the cost of an impact assessment ?
An impact assessment costs an average of €20,000 in France.
Impact Track is committed to making impact measurement more accessible in terms of time, methodology, and above all, cost. Our training + subscription packages are between 3000 and 4000€.
🔎 Request extra-financial support to help you train or get guidance on impact measurement.
✅ This will be seen as a desire to become more professional.
🔎 Include a percentage of funding for impact measurement in your responses to calls for projects.
✅ Reporting is often required at the end of the call for projects. You will be able to provide them with even more relevant results.
🔎 The DLA supports SSE structures in financing support missions.
✅ You will receive support in defining your needs and identifying the right service providers.
🔎 In various sectors, collective initiatives are being launched to create common standards and improve the skills of organizations.
✅ You will also benefit from peer exchanges and benchmarks within the sector.
An initial impact assessment takes between 6 and 12 months to complete all stages of the process. The time invested by the teams will depend on your objectives and the approach chosen.
Impact Track offers a solution that saves you twice as much time: launch your impact measurement in just two days!
There is no “perfect moment” to get started, except when your teams are ready. You can launch your impact measurement at any stage of your project. The important thing is to start a culture of progressive and evolving measurement.
Discover the experiences of project leaders through our case studies.
Labels such as B-Corp or Lucie, and scores such as the Impact Score or CSRD, are methods of assessing CSR policies but do not measure the impact of organizations.
Impact measurement aims to assess an organization's voluntary response to an identified and unmet social or environmental need.
CSR approaches make it possible to examine the company's predefined framework, i.e., professional practices, governance, strategy, and resources.
For further information, we recommend this webinar hosted by subject matter experts (french).
There is no label or certification for impact measurement as such. There is a wide variety of methodologies and indicator databases, but there is a consensus on one approach.
SROI is a method that assigns a monetary value to the social impact generated by an action. It allows us to say, for example: “€1 invested = €3 of social value created.”
It is a very sophisticated and therefore costly method.