Measuring Social Performance for Non-profits

Much has been written on the measuring of social value and impact derived from social ventures. However, there remain several limitations on how non-profits measure impact.

In their paper ” The Limits to Nonprofit Impact: A Contingency Framework for Measuring Social Performance,” Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan explore the debates surrounding performance and impact, based on three bodies of literature: philanthropy, nonprofit management and international development.

Based on this, the authors develop a contingency framework for measuring results. The framework suggest that some organizations ought to focus on long-term impact, while others ought to focus on shorter-term outputs and outcomes. The strategy adopted depends on the the operational strategy adopted as well as the “theory of change” that the organization subscribes to.

Read the paper here.