Measuring social, ecological and economic impact for social entrepreneurs

Today's world confronts us with complex societal challenges in various (interrelated) areas, such as growing poverty and inequality, loneliness and social exclusion, migration, climate, and more.

We need new ways of thinking: complexity requires systems thinking and adaptive management based on fast data-driven feedback loops

We need new ways of doing business: transcending the classic divide between profit-driven economic gain and non-profits focused on social gain. True societal benefit lies in the connection between the two.

To leverage these new ways of thinking and doing business, we need new ways of evaluating. This project aims to build a shared vision, language, and tools to map impact—economic, ecological, and social—and to use evaluative thinking and reflection to facilitate innovation and adaptive management in complex contexts.

We focus on three research questions

1. KNOWLEDGE: What are the needs regarding wicked evaluation among social entrepreneurs? What existing knowledge and expertise, both domestic and international, is relevant?
2. TOOLS: How can relevant knowledge and expertise be translated into tools and processes for implementing wicked evaluation?
3. MINDSET: How can we contribute to a shared language and recognition of wicked evaluation as a lever for sustainable societal change?

The research itself will also necessarily be wicked in order to be able to adaptively manage the complexity of the subject :)

Stakeholder participation and co-creation are essential for close alignment with the needs, opportunities and barriers in practice and for monitoring the usability of the developed output.

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