Get Started Impact Measurement and Management for Impact Networks (IMM4IN)

Impact networks are associations of organizations or of other actors that pursue common goals and are, at least to a certain extent, formally organized. They can be found in all sectors, from international and inter-regional networks of political institutions (e.g. city networks) to business networks (e.g. startup associations) to networks in culture (artists’ associations) and civil society (international network of foundations).

Just like other impact-oriented organizations, impact networks are interested in measuring their success not only in terms of their input-output-performance but also in terms of outcomes and impacts within and outside the network, in order to be able to communicate these impacts to stakeholders (“prove”) and to further develop their strategies based on evidence (“improve”).

However, networks have certain features that differentiate them from hierarchically centralized organizations. This results in particular challenges for impact measurement. Specifically, networks are less centralized: they enable contacts and transfers between network members that do not pass through a central “coordination point”, which makes them notoriously difficult to monitor and evaluate.

The aim of the exploratory project Impact Measurement and Management for Impact Networks (IMM4IN) is to build on current knowledge of organizational impact measurement, including past work by the Centre for Social Investment (CSI), and to adapt it to the context and needs of impact networks. Specifically, this FoF4-funded explorer project will further develop an innovative method of impact measurement that is partly based on the Qualitative Impact Assessment Protocol (QuIP) and test it together with a network of cultural organizations located in Baden-Württemberg during the last quarter of 2024. Results will be discussed at two academic conferences in 2024 (DGnet, Darmstadt; REvaluation, Vienna). In 2025, a second pilot study with a network from the business sector is planned.

Project Runtime

1.10.2024 – 31.12.2024

Projectlead

Dr. Filip Zieliński

Student Assistant

Lena Andres, Marie Weber