This book explores the history of social impact measurement, offering justifications for the use of social impact measurement in modern society. It seeks to uncover the tensions inherent in social impact measurement, especially between creating and measuring social value creation. As the world becomes ever more globalised in its focus to deliver sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems, frameworks such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide basic structure through which social impact can be assessed and compared globally. Nevertheless, constructive critiques of such approaches are required to ensure that they do not misinform stakeholders, disenfranchise the disadvantaged and exacerbate existing social problems. In providing this overview, the book seeks to offer a critical review of the social impact measurement field centred on concepts of ‘empowerment’ and ‘social action’ (Weber, 1978), whilst also demonstrating best practice and potential pitfalls to policymakers and practitioners.
Author(s): Richard Hazenberg, Claire Paterson-Young
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 367
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Acronyms
List of Figures
List of Tables
1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction: Social Impact and Social Value
1.2 The How, What, Why and Whom of Social Impact Measurement
1.3 Agency, Expertise and Partnerships
1.4 Politics and Public Good
1.5 Power, Accountability and Ethics
1.6 Conclusions
References
Section I: The How, What, Why and Whom of Social Impact Measurement
2: The Development of Social Impact Measurement
2.1 Introducing Social Impact Measurement
2.2 Defining Social Impact
2.3 Social Impact Measurement and the SDGs
2.4 Existing Frameworks and the Future of Social Impact Measurement
2.5 Summarising Social Impact Measurement
References
3: Placing People at the Centre of Social Impact Measurement: Current Approaches, Challenges, and Future Directions
3.1 Beneficiaries and Impact
3.2 Current Approaches in Social Impact Measurement and the Scope of Stakeholder Engagement
3.3 Towards People-Centred Social Impact Measurement: Legitimising Social Value
3.4 Power in Social Impact Measurement and the Power of Social Impact Measurement
3.4.1 Why Is Power Analysis in Social Impact Measurement Important?
3.4.2 What Can Be Done? Elements of the Framework to Analyse Power Relations
3.4.3 Important Questions to Ask
3.4.4 The Utility of the Framework
3.5 Participatory Methods
3.5.1 What Can Practically Be Done to Incorporate Participatory Methods into Social Impact Measurement?
References
4: Why and What to Measure? The Justification for Social Impact Measurement
4.1 The Sustainable Development Goals and Impact Measurement
4.2 Systems Context for the Goals
4.3 Making It All Possible: Vision, Mobilisation, Legitimisation
4.4 Delivering Against the SDGs: What Are We Seeing?
4.4.1 Fragmented Governance Models
4.4.2 Non-aligned Activities and Resources
4.4.3 Strategies for Change Tend Towards the Linear
4.4.4 Insufficient Focus on Communication and Engagement
4.5 Closing the Gap: How Can Social Impact Measurement Help?
4.6 Is Measurement Key?
References
Section II: Agency, Expertise and Partnerships
5: Impact and Gender: Agency and Capability in Empowering Women in Kenya
5.1 Gender Equality
5.2 SDG 5 and the Challenge of Achieving Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls
5.2.1 Challenges of Social Impact measurement on Gender Equality and Development
5.3 Social Innovation and the Capability Approach
5.3.1 Capabilities Approach and Social innovation in Kenya
5.4 The Capabilities Approach as a Means for Gender Inclusion
References
6: Competing Discourses of Impact Measurement: Insights from the Field of Impact Investment
6.1 Impact and Investors
6.2 Diverse Rationales of Impact Measurement
6.2.1 Impact Measurement, Accountability, and Legitimacy
6.2.2 Impact Measurement, Strategising and Decision-Making
6.2.3 Impact Measurement and Organisational Learning
6.2.4 Impact Measurement and Stakeholder Dialogue
6.3 Critical Discourse Analysis
6.3.1 Case Selection
6.3.2 Data Collection and Analysis
6.4 Discourses on Impact Measurement
6.4.1 Impact Measurement as Legitimacy
6.4.2 Impact Measurement as Decision-Making
6.4.3 Impact Measurement as Identity
6.4.4 Impact Measurement as Reflection
6.4.5 Impact Measurement as Learning
6.4.6 Impact Measurement as Dialogue
6.4.7 Impact Measurement as a Response to Grand Challenges
6.5 Impact Measurement as Performative and Multi-Disciplinary
6.6 Researching Impact Measurement
References
7: Putting Stakeholders at the Centre: Multi-Stakeholder Approaches to Social Impact Measurement
7.1 Economic, Social and Financial Accounting
7.2 Social Impact Measurement and the Control Over Output and Outcome/Impact
7.3 The Role of Stakeholders in Social Impact Measurement
7.4 Social Impact Measurement to Foster Sustainable Development
7.5 Sustainable Change at the Micro and Macro Levels
References
Section III: Politics and Public Good
8: The Politics of Social Impact Measurement in Indonesia
8.1 ‘Just’ Impact Measurement
8.2 The Politics of Social Impact Measurement
8.3 Social Impact in Indonesia
8.4 Government-Driven Social Impact Measurement Initiatives
8.5 Social Impact Measurement in the Private Sector and in the Third Sector
8.6 Social Impact in the Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investment Sector
8.7 The Importance of Context in Social Impact Measurement
8.8 Contextualism and Localism
References
9: Social impact Measurement in Public Service Delivery in the Age of Austerity: The Case of Community Libraries in Vietnam
9.1 Impact Partnerships
9.2 Public Service Delivery and Social Impact Assessment
9.3 How Partnership Can Facilitate Social Impact Creation?
9.4 Does Partnership Benefit or Challenge Social Impact Measurement?
9.5 Multi-level Social impact measurement Approach
9.6 Transformational Impact in Public service Delivery
References
10: Classification of Social Impact Assessment Models in South Korea
10.1 Impact Measurement in South Korea
10.2 Social Impact Assessment
10.3 Social Impact Assessment in the Korean Context
10.4 Social Impact Assessment Model Classification Methods
10.5 Classification of Korean Social Impact Assessment Models
10.6 Common Characteristics of Korean Social Impact Measurement Models
References
11: Monetising Social Impact: A Critique of the ‘Financialisation’ of Social Value
11.1 What Is Value?
11.2 Fictitious Commodification
11.3 Social Impact Bonds
11.4 Social Return on Investment (SROI)
11.5 The Evolution of Homo Economicus?
11.6 Moving Beyond the Market?
References
12: Measuring Outcomes in Social Care
12.1 Social Care Outcomes: An Introduction
12.2 Economic Evaluation in Social Care
12.2.1 Adult Social Care Outcome Toolkit (ASCOT)
12.2.2 Broader Measures of Capability Well-Being: ICECAP
12.3 Social Return on Investment (SROI)
12.4 Comparison of Our Three (Economic) Approaches
12.5 Making Sense of Impact Measurement in Social Care
12.6 Empowerment in Social Care
References
Section IV: Power, Accountability and Ethics
13: Enhancing Impact Materiality: Lessons from Evidenced-Based Policy Making
13.1 Impact and Policy Evidence
13.2 Impact Measurement and Materiality
13.3 Impact Materiality: Validity of Data and Risk
13.4 Impact Materiality: End-User Voice
13.5 Evidence-Based Policy Making
13.6 Impact Materiality: Validity of Data
13.7 Impact Materiality: End-User Voice and Accountability
13.8 Accountable Impact Models for Evidence-Based Policy-Making
References
14: Mapping SDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa: Highlighting System Effects
14.1 Mapping SDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa: Highlighting System Effects
14.2 Wicked Problems and the SDGs
14.3 Systems Theory
14.4 Mapping the SDGs as a System
14.5 Mapping SDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa
14.6 Interacting Issues Related to Cooking
14.7 The Influence of Urbanisation
14.8 Food Supply, Hunger and the SDGs in Africa
References
15: Ethical Issues with Social Impact Measurement
15.1 Ethics in Social Impact Measurement
15.2 Ethics: The Fundamental Principles for Social Impact Measurement
15.3 Ethical Issues in Evaluation Research
15.4 Guidance for Evaluation Research
15.5 An Ethical Framework for Social Impact Measurement
15.6 Ethics and Impact
References
16: Impact in the Twenty-First Century: Utilising Measurement to Empower the Disadvantaged
16.1 Impact Must Empower
16.2 The How, What, Why and Whom…
16.3 Human Agency, Knowledge and Collaboration
16.4 The Politics of Value
16.5 Ethical Evidence as Power
16.6 Final Thoughts: Ensuring Inclusive Impact Measurement
References
Index
