The Problem

Understanding social return on investment

Queensland Government invests billions of dollars each year into creating a society that is fair, sustainable, and well. Millions of these dollars are invested into myriad community organisations and charities working hard to improve the lives of Queenslanders.

A major ongoing challenge, however, is measuring the outcomes of these organisations and ensuring donated dollars generate a positive social return on investment.

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The Solution

Impact assessment

Reviewing and evaluating impact is critical. Yet, we look beyond simply assessing current impact and look for ways impact can be improved, too.

So, our approach wasn't to simply "audit" the social impact of the organisations, but to also mentor, coach, and help them understand how to better measure, address, and articulate their social impact against resourcing.

We worked deeply with funded organisations to understand how they demonstrably improve their community.

The Process

Holistic analysis and recommendations

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The workshop was based around questioning:

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1 · Analysis

An holistic analysis of the organisation's documentation, reports, social media, financial records, and anything else that speaks to the work of the organisation and its achievements.

2 · Workshops and mentoring

A series of workshops, mentoring, and meetings with the organisation to discuss the findings of the analysis and to better understand any "metric gaps".

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3 · Recommendations

Recommendations made to both the organisation and government in regards to how to increase social impact and how the organisation should be funded in the future.

The Impact

Impact-focused organisations

Government-funded organisations have demonstrable social impact that can clearly be articulated against funding.

Greater impact can be developed over subsequent years by better linking outcomes created through their work to the funding provided by Government: A win for the organisation, the government, and the community.

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