This document summarizes a presentation on approaches and difficulties in measuring social impact. It discusses what social impact is and why measuring it is important for social entrepreneurs and investors. It outlines key challenges like social impacts often being non-quantitative and heterogeneous across organizations. The presentation then reviews common impact measurement methods and provides an overview of its own approach which examines contribution to SDGs, impact areas, target groups, and uses an impact value chain. Available resources on measuring social impact are also listed.

1. Social Entrepreneurship Conference 2022
Online | 23/03/2022
Social Impact Measurement – Approaches and Difficulties
CE RESPONSIBLE | Salzburg University of Applied Sciences | Dr Magdalena Weiglhofer

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What is social impact?
Effect of activities on social Effect of activities for the
and/or ecological level goal of maximising profit
Social Impact vs Economic Impact
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Social impact measurement
What is it?
Process of finding out about
the contribution of certain
activities of an organisation
to solve a specific social or
environmental issue.
©iStock/Viktoria kurpas

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Why is it important?
For social entrepreneurs:
• To prove the effectiveness
and efficiency of their
activities
• For internal management
decisions
• Raises awareness of this
sector
For investors:
• To compare enterprises
within a thematic area
• To increase trust and
decrease personal risk
when making allocation
decisions

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Difficulties I
• Social impacts often not
measurable in quantitative ways
• Hard to translate into money as a
common denominator
• Hard to assign numeric values to
certain outcomes
• Heterogeneity of social enterprises
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Overview of Impact Measurement Methods
(c.f. Maas, K. and Liket, K., 2011)

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Difficulties II
 Many existing measurement
methods do not show a
common understanding of
what to measure, why or for
whom to measure, or how to
measure
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Our Approach to Reporting on Impact
Collected Information to compare impact:
• Description of ecological and/ or social challenge (motivation,
goals and context of project)
• Contribution to SDGs
• Sustainable Development Impact Areas
• Content of Project – Idea of problem solution
• Target Groups
• Financing Model

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Our Approach to Reporting on Impact
Impact Value Chain (Hehenberger et al., 2013)

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Outcome
Available at:
https://net4socialimpact.eu/

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Impact brochure

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Impact brochure

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Activities in the field – example from
Austria

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Used literature
• Achleitner, A.-K., Bassen, A., Roder, B. and Lütjens, L. (2009) ‘Wissen, was wirkt. Ein Standard für die Berichterstattung von Social
Entrepreneurs’. Ökologisches Wirtschaften, 4, 30-34.
• Clark, C., Rosenzweig, W., Long, D. and Olsen, S. (2004). Double Bottom Line Project Report: Assessing Social Impact in Double Bottom Line
Ventures. UC Berkeley: Center for Responsible Business.
• Epstein, M. J. and Yuthas, K. (2014). Measuring and improving social impacts: A guide for nonprofits, companies, and impact investors,
London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
• Grieco, C. (2015) Assessing Social Impact of Social Enterprises, Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Hehenberger, L., Harling, A.-M. and Scholten, P. (2013). A Practical Guide to Measuring and Managing Impact, Rotterdam/Berlin: Pitch
Black.
• Herkenrath, F. V and Vallaster, C. (2018). Measuring the impact of strategic corporate social responsibility (S-CSR). Finding the right
approach, in Lindgreen, A.; Vallaster, C.; Yousafzai, S. and Hirsch, B. (eds.) Measuring and Controlling Sustainability. Spanning Theory and
Practice, London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
• Kroeger, A. and Weber, C. (2015). ‘Developing a conceptual framework for comparing social value creation’, Academy of Management
Review, 1(4015), 43–70.
• Maas, K. and Liket, K. (2011). ‘Social Impact Measurement: classification of methods’, in Burritt, R., Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M., Pohjola,
T. and Csutora, M. (eds.) Environmental Management Accounting and Supply Chain Management, 171-202.
• Pärenson, T. (2011). ‘The criteria for a solid impact evaluation in social entrepreneurship’, Society and Business Review, 6(1), 39–48.
• Vanclay, F. (2006). Principles for social impact assessment: A critical comparison between the international and US documents,
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 26 (1), 3–14.

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Dr Magdalena Weiglhofer
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
CE RESPONSIBLE
+00 0 000 00 00-00
Magdalena.Weiglhofer@fh-salzburg.ac.at
http://www.interreg-central.eu/ce-responsible
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