THE DESTINATION
Social Impact.
Maximising Social Benefit in the Face of Complex Challenges
“What kind of world do we want to live in? Envisage a world where inequality is shrinking, where natural resources are regenerated, and people can benefit from shared prosperity.”
Sir Ronald Cohen, Author of Impact
Why should you make impact your destination?
It’s a simple question, but why is impact so important? When asked in this manner, you will say it’s obvious. Why spend so much time, energy and resources creating a response to a social need that doesn’t have much of an impact? Well, that’s what happens all too often.
If we stop for a moment we will quickly reflect on the fact that we are expected to create a precise plan, execute on it and stand back as we see lives, communities and our environment radically transform. Sadly it takes a lot more than that.
Like innovation, real impact rarely happens in the way we expect. As the ultimate destination of our endeavours, every stage of the process is an opportunity to throw us off course which takes us down a blind alley. The way we frame challenges, manage the funding process, approach innovation, and ultimately measure impact requires careful attention.
What does success look like at it’s very best level? How do we experiment with everything that comes before it to ensure the best chance of delivering on this aim?
How do we move beyond noble ambitions, and set the bar higher? Do you want to make someone’s health better today, tomorrow, or for the duration of their lives? Does our environment need another sticky plaster, or should we give it the space to breathe? How do we create ecosystems of people, communities, organisations, finance, and institutions that focus on the perpetual delivery of social impact?
Making social impact your destination is a commitment to making a difference in the pursuit of creating a sustainable future.
The Impact Revolution.
According to Social Value UK “Social Impact is revealed by the improvement in the wellbeing of individuals and communities, and by the enhancement in their ability to lead productive lives.”
Extending this concept to Environmental Impact forces us to ask, are we preserving the planet and passing it on to future generations so they too can benefit from it?
How do we reconfigure our economic system to incentivise our collective choice-making which align with these values? How will our institutions, policies, procedures, and technology evolve?
These questions are what Sir Ronald Cohen explores in Impact, a book which explores the three trends reshaping capitalism to drive real change.
MINIMISING RISK - The process regarding our consumption, employment, business, and investment decisions are increasingly scrutinised for negative social impact. This trend is forcing individual, public, private, and charitable bodies to become more conscious about the consequence of their actions in the pursuit of returns.
MAXIMISING RETURNS - New types of opportunities, or asset classes, provide investors with untapped potential. Often viewed through a high-risk, high-reward lens, there’s an argument to say that long-term impact investing done well is de-risked. This space is ripe for innovation and growth. New streams of revenue and jobs will emerge delivering returns, but improve lives and society as a whole.
MAXIMISING IMPACT - Pursuing this as an outcome has the potential to transform society like the scientific, industrial, and technological revolutions that came before. Leading the charge are young people and entrepreneurs who are pushing back against business models in favour of improving the health of people, communities, and the planet.
“Is it too much to ask, to live in a world where our human gifts go toward the benefit of all? Where our daily activities contribute to the healing of the biosphere and the well-being of other people?”
Charles Eisenstein
Measuring 360° Social Impact.
If entrepreneurship is the vehicle, then our ability to measure social impact is our navigation system and at Latitude we measure impact in 360°.
Our 360° model for exploring and analysing impact is a response to today’s limitations. Living and social systems are complex and dynamic and cannot be reduced to linear cause and effects. Will our measurements be accurate if we remove the object from a context which is always changing. Why do we measure impact in one domain, but ignore others? Should every impact be quantified? How do we get better at valuing qualitative changes? Why do we prioritise short term wins but neglect the long game? What are the cultural conditions which cultivate our thinking?
How do we set social challenges which explores how these dilemmas connect and dynamically interact? How do we develop solutions which deliver impact 360° within individual lives, community settings, culture, and society at large?
How do we assess the impact of healthy lives?
Wellbeing, Choice Making, Behaviour, Capacity, Handling Change (Individual) Relationships, Community Engagement (Culture) Reduced burden on state & institutions (Societal)
How do we evaluate the impact of resilient communities?
Engagement, Active Participation, Intergenerational Cooperation, Diversity, Prosperity Rankings, Meaningful Work, Local Supply Chains, Independent Business, Reduction in Isolation, Reduction in Inequality, Alignment of Institutions.
How do we measure the impact of lowering inequality?
Educational Outcomes, Health Outcomes, Economic Performance, Prosperity Rankings, Diversity & Inclusion
How does meaningful work impact productivity?
Economic Performance, Industry Spotlight, Quality of Jobs, Employment Rates, Community Prosperity Rankings.
How do we examine the impact of building 21st Century Capacities?
Aspiration, Educational Attainment, Improved choice-making, Economic Performance, Entrepreneurship, Community Resiliency.
How do we assess the ecological impact of interventions?
Sustainability goals & measurements, doughnut economics.
How do we help each other experiment with the ways we deliver and measure impact?
