their data continuously, including information that, among other things, reflects changes in the lives of the children: the participants provide social impact cases three times a year, describing how the children’s lives change. These cases are based on interviews with the child or his or her representative (parents, guardians, specialists) and follow a predefined structure.
We also collect data three times a year on the number of children receiving support. At the end of the first, or in some cases, second year of participation in the program, the participants provide social impact assessment data, i.e., changes in the lives of children/community, reflected through specific indicators or metrics.
The alumni receive a shorter questionnaire, which, however, contains more complex questions: whether they measure social effects, i.e., the achievement of long-term social impact goals, whether their actions are contributing or have already contributed to creating systemic change, etc.
THEORY OF CHANGE AS A MUST-HAVE TOOL
I have already mentioned the need for impact projects to adopt theory of change. I want to emphasize that this is a tool that is used by many infrastructure organizations working with social entrepreneurs both in Russia and around the world. We consider our experience of using this tool, as well as that of our colleagues, as extremely positive.
The theory of change helps impact projects, especially in early stages of development:
• to recognize and structure changes in the lives of their beneficiaries and the society (often referred to as social results and effects in Russia);
• to adjust the evaluation system accordingly;
• to build the organization’s development and product strategy. The theory of change makes it possible to model the future, and based on this make changes to the project in the present. However, it is important to realize that this is just a useful tool, not a magic pill.
The main challenge for the social entrepreneur is balancing social impact goals captured by the theory of change, against financial and organizational sustainability goals, given the opportunities and constraints of a changing environment. That is a daunting task.
In our programs, the theory of change is a mandatory work tool for the participants. Each year, up to 50 semifinalists in the Pre-Incubator training course and later in the Incubator program formulate hypotheses and complete an evaluation system and a project development plan based on this tool.
THE RUSSIAN PRACTICE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISES AND SOCIAL PROJECTS WORKING WITH CHILDREN
Social impact assessment in both social entrepreneurship and social projects will always depend on:
• project development stages: a social startup has very different approaches, demands, and opportunities at the idea stage and at the sustainable development stage;
• the area of impact — for example, the requirements of evidence-based approach and measurability of results in medicine and rehabilitation are and/or should be stricter;
• stakeholder requirements — if your partner or donor expects complete or at least partial clarity of the results, this will inevitably affect you;
• motivation of the project leader and/or team and their involvement in the assessment process — any assessment risks ending up in misrepresentation if it is not backed by a sincere intrinsic motivation to understand how things really are moving.
Many people talk about the existing problems associated with social impact assessment. We would like to note some progress: assessment tools will continue to develop in the social sector; databases are being collected and systematized on the basis of real-life cases, including those proven effective; standards and regulations are being elaborated.
It is encouraging that an ever-growing number of projects and programs are striving to comply with the principles of evidence-based approach, and it makes absolutely no difference whether it is a social entrepreneur or another socially significant project, if they have the same goal — achieving a social effect [6].
EVALUATION OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECTS AND REGULAR SOCIAL PROJECTS
Let’s think about the complex evaluation that a project/organization goes through when it applies for various support competitions and programs.
Each competition and program is unique, but they share many common principles and assessment parameters: issues related to the problem and effectiveness of the solution, assessment of the results for the beneficiaries (although it is done very differently), (co)funding of the grant project and continuing its work after the funding is over, assessing the capacity of the project leader and team, reputational issues, etc.
Roughly speaking, the key difference in the assessment of projects submitted to the social (impact) entrepreneur support program is the detail and depth of the organizers’ focus on the financial sustainability, or in some cases, the profitability and investment appeal of the project.
If we talk about a startup at the idea or prototype stage, the potential for financial sustainability is assessed. It always depends on the market, the value and demand for the product, on the personal and professional qualities of the project founder and his or her team.
Some programs, including our competition and the Incubator, provide social startups with tools and support that enable them to test hypotheses, related both to social impact and business models, so to speak, under expert supervision. Projects that maintain the best balance between social impact and financial sustainability have a better chance of receiving additional support in such competitions and programs.
Нам это (не) нужно? Оценка воздействия социальных предприятий в России
Валерия Завгородняя, Ирина Лактюшина
DOI 10.55140/2782–5817–2022–2–2–16–20
Оценка воздействия не относится к задачам бизнеса, от которых непосредственно зависит его существование. Поэтому оценка пока не является обязательным элементом проектов в сфере социального предпринимательства. Но, по мнению многих экспертов, а также опыту тех, кто добровольно и уже сейчас выбирают путь профессиональной «рефлексии» результатов своей работы, благодаря ей значительно расширяются возможности и перспективы развития. С какими сложностями сталкиваются социальные предприниматели в оценке своих проектов, и какие возможности при этом могут получить — пойдет речь в нашем материале.
Валерия Завгородняя
Кандидат экономических наук, программный директор Impact Hub
