23
May 2016
Impact – the Heart of the Matter
By Sandy Blackburn-Wright. The following article appeared in Generosity Magazine on 5 May 2016 Why does impact matter, how has it become important and how do we measure it? These are fundamental questions that we have been asking recently but they also speak to the very heart our ongoing search for meaning. One of the most fundamental human needs is for validation – “do you see me, do I matter
When I first started working with One Earth Future Foundation in the USA, we were a small team looking at how to suppress maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia. In the initial stages of our counter-piracy strategy, we and our international partners, were focused on deterring the crime. The emphasis was on keeping the lid on the criminal activity. However, it didn’t take long to realise that you can’t
On 23 July 2015, Social Outcomes released the report, Shared Value in Australia. The report looks at how companies in Australia and globally, are seizing the opportunity of shared value creation – growing their businesses, markets, and revenue streams, through innovations that reduce social and environmental problems. Business is rapidly changing, fuelled by increased transparency, digital innovation, consumer engagement, finite resources and supply chains, and dynamic demographics and workforces. Traditional
23
Jun 2015
Impact measurement – its confusing…
By Sandy Blackburn-Wright, Managing Director, Social Outcomes We are told at every turn that we need to measure impact, whether we are a not-for-profit (NFP), philanthropic foundation, business, or government department, and it’s all very confusing. There are lots of measurement tools and approaches, and we’re not always sure whether we should use these, or build something ourselves, so we end up doing a bit of both. Here are a
In Australia, the combination of a long-standing commitment to the ‘Aussie fair go,’ along with an increasing strain on government resources, creates a fertile environment for various forms of blended social and financial value to thrive. A number of businesses, social sector organisations, private foundations, and government agencies across Australia, are spearheading innovative models that create social value for our communities, but are structured or funded in ways that we
13
Apr 2015
Innovating With Development Impact Bonds
The following article was published in Conscious Company Magazine, Spring (USA) edition, 2015. The article is available here. Photo credit: GAVI Alliance In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of the importance of using the lesson of Ebola to “build a more effective global effort to prevent the spread of future pandemics, invest in smart development, and eradicate extreme poverty.” What if this “investment” he mentioned wasn’t just
Through our work with the social sector, we at Social Outcomes quickly came to realise that many stakeholders in the sector want more training and information about the measurement of social outcomes. As a sector, how do we measure our impact and performance? How do we robustly measure who our interventions benefit? What about the potential cost savings of our programs? How do we build budgets for programs? With all these
By Anna Bowden, Social Outcomes It seems almost impossible to go a day in Australia without the topic of property coming up, and more specifically, the rapid rate at which housing prices are escalating. For low-income earners in Australia, access to housing is a serious concern. Across the country, the proportion of households spending more than half their incomes on rent rose from 20% in FY2007-08 to 25% in FY2009-10.
Social Outcomes is collaborating with the NSW Council on Social Services (NCOSS) to provide NCOSS members with a Social Finance Innovation 101 Workshop for Senior Managers. The workshop will be split into two half-day sessions from 9am – 12:30pm on Thursday 12 March and Thursday 19 March, in Sydney. Background to the Workshop is provided below: The social sector is undergoing a period of rapid change and increased pressure. Traditional sources
18
Dec 2014
Collaborating for Better Outcomes
You know something is shifting when a senior Government executive says of a two day design forum “I’ve never had a conversation like that in all my time in Government”. The Department of The Premier and Cabinet and Queensland Corrective Services, Department of Justice and Attorney General invited 80 colleagues from the community sector, half a dozen other Government agencies, social enterprises, philanthropists, universities and the private sector, to attend