IMPACT

Write down what to measure

Know what will tell you if meaningful progress is being made

Preview how this activity will happen in this two-minute video from the template. Turn on closed captioning to read instructions in your preferred language.

To know if any project is making an impact, you’ll need to measure if progress is being made or not but identifying what to measure is not always straightforward.

Why write down what to measure?

Thinking broadly about all the ways progress can be measured goes beyond obvious things to count and considers overlooked or even intangible or ambiguous proof. Specific measures clarify what we are doing and why while reducing uncertainty when doing things that are new.

To start listing the ways your work can be measured, you could:

  • Look at examples of how others measure impact

  • Consider measurement categories commonly used in your work

  • Take advice from a measurement specialist

  • Generate your own measurement descriptions

A good approach will:

  • Include measures relating to both external and internal stakeholders 

  • Consider what you can count and what you can observe

  • Determine short-term and long-term measures

  • Gather input from a diverse range of people

Our recommended approach is to:

  • Refer to your vision, the people it’s for and the challenges faced

  • Ask the question  “What difference will be made?”

  • Note all answers that occur, regardless of how hard to measure they may seem 

  • Review and group similar answers together

What does a successful list look like when complete?

Here, colleagues in different time zones have spent ten minutes to capture initial thoughts, group them and highlight which they believe matter most. Note how some are clearly “countable”, such as revenue or failure rate, while others less so, “making professionals better” for example.

Using this structure we hope you now feel ready to start listing ways to measure the difference you are making.

 

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