Value for Your Dollar:

The Social Enterprise Impact Assessment Project

Introduction

Joanne Norris – Social Capital Partners

David LePage – Enterprising Non-Profits

Liz Lougheed Green – Potluck Café Society

Deanne Ziebart – Developmental Disabilities Assoc

Presentation Timing

• Introduction (5 mins)

• Canadian Social Enterprise Context (5 mins)

• Project context and history (5 mins)

• Key learnings (40 mins)

• Next steps: phase 2 (5 mins)

• Facilitated discussion (30 mins)

Social Enterprise – Community Investment Markets Spectrum

Funding options for social initiatives can be arrayed along a spectrum depending the degree of focus on social vs. financial outcome

GrantFunding

Investment

Funding

Social Service Social Enterprise

Increasing focus on financial outcomesIncreasing focus on financial outcomes

Focus on social missionSuccess defined more qualitativelyDifficult outcome measurementUses of funding restricted

Focus on ROISuccess defined more quantitativelyEstablished measurement criteriaRelatively Unrestricted funding

Canadian Social Enterprise – Community Investment Context

Access to risk capital for social entrepreneurs in Canada has been limited to traditional non-profit relative to entrepreneurs in other countries (the US in particular)

Venture Philanthropy

CDVCTraditional Foundations

Venture Capital / Private Equity

Government Funding

Community Loans

Social Service Social Enterprise

Canada

UK

United States

Area of Strength

Area of Strength

Area of Strength

Because risk capital is essentially non-existent in Canada, entrepreneurship and creativity are stifled

Project Context and History• Potluck working on issues not addressed by

Canadian social policy

• Wanted to show impact with a view to building:– Supportive Policy – Partnerships with government and other funders

• Searched for partnerships with both funders and practitioners to develop a universal SIA Tool

• Set goal to develop SIA tool proposal

• Built structure to guide proposal

Alignment with Funder • Three key points:

• Contributes to creation of 'blended value' businesses [Vancity]

• Expands support for social enterprises [Vancity and ENP]

• Collaboratively generates research and evaluation tools for investors and funded groups [ENP]

Need for a Shared SEIA Measurement Framework

• Desire and need to develop similar understanding among operators and investors

• Get operators and investors speaking the same language

• Establish commitment to measuring what both

stakeholder groups value

Why Are We Here? Building shared vision and goals amongst stakeholders

• Generating Common goals – Why Social Impact Assessment– What did the major stakeholder groups want to achieve

• Developing common language e.g. definitions and terms– Social Enterprise Definitions– Typology – Canadian Social Economy framework development– Blended value

• Build collaborative process with outcomes that satisfy all stakeholders.– Undertaking the stakeholder interviews– Literature review– Proposal development process

Key Research Learnings Social Enterprise Operators: Stakeholder Interviews (17)

• Currently multiple definitions of success

• Wide range in current organizational success measurement

• Purpose often to generate revenue for parent organization and to fulfill at

least one aspect of the social mission e.g. employment.

• Reporting focused on financials rather than social outcomes.

• Frustration at not having methods and tools for reporting and assessing the

scope and impact of their social activities.

• A standardized SIA framework used by both social enterprises and

investors is a good idea.

• Most SE organizations are interested in assessing social impact.

Key Research Learnings Social Enterprise Investors: Stakeholder Interviews (10)

• Success defined in various ways. Often based on reported achievements of investee

• No consistent process to assess potential or achieved impact

• Current short-term, grant funding acknowledged as inadequate

• Want shared and consistently used methods and metrics to:– Inform and influence strategies and goals– Create awareness of investment impacts– Advocate for the work being done

• Vision for a standardized SIA framework that different types of SE investors can use

• Acknowledge that SIA will have to come out of the organizational goals of both SE operators and investors and are eager to collaborate

Phase 1 – Outputs• Literature Review

– Extensive review of the literature provided proposal and interview foundation– SIA Project Literature Review now complete and will soon be available online

• Stakeholder Interviews– With representatives from 16 Social Enterprise orgs and 9 social investors– Phase 2 project proposal built on interview data– Stakeholder interview proposal completed and will be available online...

• Phase 2 Proposal– Used literature review, stakeholder interviews and advisory committee input to

build comprehensive proposal for implementation of Phase 2 SIA Tool pilot:• Target group and project beneficiaries – social enterprise operator and investor

organizations. • Project location will be primarily British Columbia, with national participants• Project Duration is one year

• Literature Review and Stakeholder Interview Report will both be available at www.enterprisingnonprofits.ca on May 15, 2006

Phase 2 – Going Forward

• Where is Phase 2 is at now– Proposal going forward– Additional funders engaged– Phase 2 underway in 2006

• Why this phase has engaged additional funders– Thoughtful process that funders will more clearly see the full

impacts of their investments

• Anticipated outcomes– Long-term learning process that begins with developing the pilot

with SE’s and funders/investors– Vision to establish an impact measurement tool that is

universally recognized and used across Canada

DiscussionQuestions?

• Costs: Social costs, business costs, performance measurement costs – who should pay for what?

• How to develop ownership and support among key stakeholder groups in the quest to create a universal impact assessment tool?

• Hurdles to implementation?