Social enterprises the world over are bursting at the seams with innovations to tackle poverty and promote social good, but precisely how to measure the impact of their initiatives remains a recurring question.
The wealth of data amassed from an impact evaluation exercise is indeed informative, yet understanding how it applies to a specific social investment can be downright daunting. How and when should social impact data be interpreted? What does all that data say about a particular investment? And when does lots of data become too much data?
The topic took center stage at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ annual gathering last week in Washington, D.C. Understanding that no one-size-fits-all set of metrics can evaluate social enterprises across the board, researchers and business leaders instead honed in on best practices to alleviate so-called metrics angst — the idea that a culture of data can inundate an organization with development objectives.
About the author
Naki B. Mendozamfbmendoza
Naki is a former reporter, he covered the intersection of business and international development. Prior to Devex he was a Latin America reporter for Energy Intelligence covering corporate investments and political risks in the region’s energy sector. His previous assignments abroad have posted him throughout Europe, South America, and Australia.
