Design impact strategy
Strategy plays a crucial role in data collection and analytics, which can be costly and time-consuming. While the process of developing a strategy may seem daunting, there are many organizations that have gone through the same process and can provide valuable guidance. Sopact has worked with hundreds of social purpose organizations and has developed a robust strategy that builds on commonly available knowledge. The Sopact strategy provides this knowledge and helps organizations implement their strategy, collect data, and perform analysis and dashboard reporting as integral activities.
It's important to remember that strategy is a continuous process. You will likely need to iterate and adjust your strategy based on important impact experiments. The Sopact Strategy document includes at least one or more impact experiments aligned to different activities in the strategy. Still, these activities may need to be personalized based on stakeholder feedback and continuously optimized.
If you are interested in developing a social impact strategy, the first and most crucial step is to sign up for Sopact's Impact Strategy App. This app is unique in that it allows you to design your strategy without spending thousands of dollars on consulting fees and, most importantly, lets you OWN data from the start.
Strategy is a collaborative platform that enables you to work with internal and external stakeholders to achieve collective impact. You can use it to share your work with the Sopact team for review and certification, and when you are ready, you can also share it with your funders. This app is designed to help you collaborate effectively and efficiently to make a meaningful impact.
To begin, choose the team you wish to work with. One notable feature of this platform is the ongoing guidance for designing your process. If you encounter any challenges, the community can answer any questions.
Sopact's strategy library contains hundreds of strategies categorized by sector and impact themes. To begin, start by reviewing the problem statement for the impact category that aligns with your strategy. This will allow you to find a strategy that is similar to your own, which will save you time and effort in aligning your strategy with others. Once you have found a strategy closely aligned with your own, you can use it as a template or example, but you will need to personalize it to fit your specific context to make it effective.
Strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve specific goals or objectives. You can take several different approaches when creating a strategy, such as a lean approach (Impact Experiments), a KPI-based approach, or a program-based design like a Logframe or a Logic Model (Input first)/ Theory of change (Impact first) -- BTW both are useful!
It is important to start with a clear and concise problem statement that defines your activities to achieve your goals. Each strategy should include specific activities, outputs, and outcomes, which must be aligned with e SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) metrics. Tracking metrics over time can also help you understand progress toward your goals.
To be data-driven, you should also define the data sources you will use to track your metrics, create a prototype of the data table if necessary, and develop calculations to derive your metrics. For example, activity and output metrics may be sufficient if you focus on operational tracking. Still, for a deeper understanding of needs and long-term outcomes, it is also helpful to conduct stakeholder surveys and collect feedback using various methods (in-person, phone, email, WhatsApp, etc.). Be sure to personalize and tailor any surveys you use to fit your specific needs, and consider incorporating the five dimensions of impact from the Impact Management Project if relevant.
Documenting your data sources, "data tables" (fields), calculations, and surveys will also assist with data and dashboard design.