What Does Impact REALLY Mean?
Guest post by Anne-Lynn Nilius (Social Impact Fellow, 2023)
The Social Impact Fellowship is a three-month transformative program for aspiring changemakers seeking to explore their purpose and understand how they can drive greater social and environmental impact through their work and beyond. The fourth cohort kicked off in March with a panel discussion on "What Does Impact REALLY Mean?". In this post, 2023 Fellow Anne-Lynn Nilius, a highly skilled marketer motivated by making a difference in the world, shares a summary of the session and her reflections and insights.
Have you ever pondered about what "impact" really means?’. I know I have. That's why it was an excellent opportunity to attend the first panel as part of the fourth Social Impact Fellowship on this exact topic. Thought leaders and changemakers, including Paul Ronalds (Save the Children Global Ventures), Georgia Matthews (Australian Communities Foundation) and Ben Pecotich (Dynamic4), explored different perspectives of what impact is and, just as importantly, what it isn't. While the panel of experts came from various backgrounds, they all agreed on one thing: impact is a complex and multifaceted concept. It's not just about measuring outcomes or hitting targets - it's about understanding the broader systemic issues that underlie the problems we're trying to solve.
The panel touched on many insightful and thought-provoking ideas. Here are some of the most valuable takeaways from the discussion:
It's crucial to involve the communities we're trying to serve in the process of defining impact.
Too often, impact is defined from a top-down perspective, with funders or policymakers setting the agenda. But if we want to create meaningful change, we need to engage with the people most affected by the issues being tackled.
Long-term thinking is essential when it comes to impact.
Funders often look for quick wins or easy solutions, but the most meaningful change takes time and sustained effort.
Collaboration and partnerships are crucial.
No one organisation or sector can solve these complex problems alone - we need to work together and share our resources and expertise.
Storytelling is essential when it comes to impact.
We need to be able to articulate the change we're trying to create in a way that resonates with people and inspires them to take action. Moreover, we should be transparent about our successes and failures so that we (and others) can learn and improve over time.
Measuring impact in a way that is meaningful and relevant is essential.
Frequently, impact is expressed in terms of outputs or activities rather than outcomes and the changes that truly matter. To determine these, we need to listen to the people we're serving and understand what matters to them, only then can we measure impact in a truly meaningful way.
What was made clear is that impact can take many forms and should be considered from a broad perspective. There are different ways we can all make a (positive) impact and it is important to recognise that it can be jeopardised if it is only seen from an organisational perspective. With this in mind, one of the benefits of the Social Impact Fellowship is that it supports me in defining what’s important to me and provides the tools to identify and pursue my own personal and professional impact journey.
As a B2B marketer, the strategies and tools I use are typically designed to achieve revenue or sales pipeline goals, which are some of the key measures of "impact" within this space (amongst other KPIs). However, I want to harness my skills, energy and ambitions to contribute towards a better future. For me, impact means doing my part in supporting purpose-driven organisations and initiatives which offer solutions to social or environmental problems moving forward. It's just the beginning but I’m already looking forward to all the great content, learnings and connections that are still to come on my journey as a Social Impact fellow.