Measuring the intangibles - good to see people tackling this issue. One of the mismatch problems between "real" development projects arising from local need, and projects that get funded because they "tick the right boxes" is that "real' projects have huge ripples of long term social impact but "ticking the boxes" measurements are short term and more to do with "bums on seats"

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Best bits: how to measure your social impact

Measuring social impact can be both complex and expensive. We round up our experts' advice about how you can avoid the pitfalls

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  • businesswoman with pencils
    Measuring social impact can be both complex and expensive. We round up our experts’ advice about how you can avoid the pitfalls. Photograph: Hans Neleman/ Hans Neleman/zefa/Corbis

    Kerry McCarthy - independent consultant

    Use a case study to demonstrate how your impact: Include information, for example, on where a person was before the intervention and what changed afterwards. Focus specifically on how the programme brought about change and remind the audience how things may have been if the organisation hadn't been available for the person. Present a combination of facts: what improved and by how much, how people felt, the change in their lives – to capture the hearts and mind aspects of impact. Finally, include people's voices, as quotes or videos or podcasts.

    Continued at http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2011/jul/19/measuring-social-impact-expert-advice?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed