Determine the Impact Question: Matrix-Method
Determine the ‘focus’ of the impact measurement through the definition of an impact question. To be able to resist the temptation of ‘wanting to measure everything’ it is important to determine a clear direction. What exactly do you want to evaluate? To whom do you want to make the impact visible?
Organisations that do not know their mission yet are advised to first follow a mission trajectory before continuing with impact-oriented work. Conversely, an impact process ensures that the mission is periodically evaluated and adjusted if necessary.
STEP 1: Make your mission and your goals explicit.
Since the mission is already contained in the desired impact, this exercise starts with the recalling the mission. This is then translated into concrete objectives, where we continue working with the three most important ones.
STEP 2: Mapping the stakeholders.
- Who is involved in your organisation?
- Who is involved in your mission?
STEP 3: Formulating a relevant impact question
- Choose the three most important stakeholders to whom you would like to demonstrate your impact, or for whom it is important to know the impact of your organisation. Write these down in the box (picture above) at the bottom right of the drawing.
- Also note the three most important organisational goals in this box.
- The three most important stakeholders are then linked to the 3 most important organisational objectives, each time asking the question what this objective means for the stakeholder in question. Given the objective of what effect the stakeholder wants to see and what impact they are interested in.
- From the matrix with nine possibilities thus created, you now choose the most interesting/important impact question.
Example WAAK
WAAK is a social economy organisation that works with and for people distanced from the labour market. This is an example of them competing this exercise of determining the impact question, depending on each stakeholder.
