The search for social impact, a central element of our practices

We support and participate in the event “3S: Manage for Impact Conference” to be held in Barcelona on September 27 and 28.

With two days dedicated to training and networking, the event will pay special attention to good practices in impact management. Stone Soup and Tiime co-organize this congress aimed at all those organizations that develop or finance the impact economy: social bodies, social enterprises or non-governmental organizations, as well as public administrations, financial institutions, universities, etc.

Marie-Stéphane Maradeix, General Delegate of the Foundation, and Isabelle Le Galo-Flores, Deputy Delegate of the Foundation in Spain, will participate in these exchanges and moderate a panel discussion on 28 September where they will be able to share their experience on issues related to impact.

Although it has been possible for organizations to consider quantitative tools and monitoring indicators as key elements, when assessing the real impact of these organizations on their ecosystem, it is necessary to go even further and move from the mere measurement of impact to its management. How can we use the data obtained to optimize or improve our practices and generate an ever-increasing social impact?

We took the opportunity to ask Marie-Stéphane Maradeix, General Delegate of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, a few questions about what this search for social impact represents for the Foundation.

Why is the issue of impact important for a family foundation like the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation?

The vocation of a foundation is to accompany actors who try to respond to social needs of general interest for which public services and the private sector offer scarce, inadequate or even non-existent coverage. This work is carried out within the framework of its own theory of change, defined by the foundation based on the needs identified, but also in line with its values and history. Therefore, it is essential to be concerned both with the impact of the organizations supported, and also, and more generally, with their own impact as a foundation, to analyze whether the right direction has been taken and if they are achieving learnings that we can collectively obtain and share. In addition, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation was created by a family whose history comes from the business world, so the question of size is in its DNA.

What actions does the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation develop to work on issues related to impact?

Created in 2010, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation is a relatively young foundation. After a period of observation of the different methodologies for measuring impact in our sector, since 2013 we have been carrying out a series of tests related to different quantitative and qualitative methods. More specifically, we launched three initiatives to support the impact based on the principle of participation. With the advice of three different consultants, three groups of projects selected in three of our calls (two from the Sustainable Food axis and one from the Citizen Art axis) jointly built tools and indicator benchmarks in order to develop self-assessment methodologies. These experiences have turned out to be very enriching for both the Foundation and its collaborators. And they have made it possible to create two methodologies called “Syalinnov” and “The Compass of Citizen Art”, which have been tested by the projects and which we are eager to share, if they wish, with all our partners. In addition to these participatory methodologies, we also commissioned evaluations from external suppliers, especially when we considered redirecting our multi-year collaboration. We have experimented with a very interesting methodology that consists of the same team, in parallel, evaluating two projects that have more or less the same objectives. In Spain, we have also contributed to the realization of a territorialized impact study on the project of the ConArte International Association, which highlights the importance of art education in schools, especially with a view to promoting integration. We have also just received an external evaluation, which we had previously commissioned, on the set of a series of 16 initiatives funded in 2015 and 2016 related to the theme “Innovative devices for the mobility of arts education”. It should also be noted that we have launched several initiatives to collect learnings that represent another way of evaluating actions, for example in the field of territorialized food systems in France and Spain, or in the framework of the Art and School projects in Spain.

What has led you to support the “3S: Manage for Impact Conference” event?

With this background from our first learnings, we wanted to contribute our support to this event to continue enriching our practices and allow actors from different horizons to carry out an exchange around these issues. We found the format of the event very interesting to address the impact, as it breaks with the codes of traditional congresses in Spain. The day of September 27 will focus on training, with different workshops designed to improve the skills of the actors of the impact economy; while the second day will have a more participatory format focused on exchange.

How to make the leap from measurement to impact management?

Before talking about managing impact, we must ask ourselves what is the ultimate goal of measuring that impact, or rather of evaluating it, since impact is a long-term data that is difficult to measure in our sector for different reasons. When the evaluation takes place at the project level, it is important that the partner takes ownership of the purpose of this measure: to have an objective view of the results; adapt methodologies; providing “evidence” to stakeholders; to know the beneficiaries better, etc. When the value of this evaluation is well understood, the project manager knows how to integrate it into the definition and implementation of their future projects, but above all knows how to manage it. When we talk about a foundation, more or less the same thing happens. If we know well what the purpose of “measuring impact” is, we know how to “manage” it better. For the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, this action of measuring has three main objectives: a) to determine if our partners are contributing adequately to our theory of change and to decide if we maintain the collaboration in the longer term; b) analysing and sharing learning in order to share it with as many people as possible; c) adapt our strategy with respect to the “impact” we may have had on our ecosystems. At the moment, I think we are still in a trial period and it will be interesting to talk about it again in a few years’ time.

Learn more about the “3S: Manage for Impact Conference” event and its program. #3SCONF2018