What are Some Impact Measurement Frameworks For a Healthcare Social Enterprise?

Talking about what frameworks she prefers, Anushree says, “There are two frameworks that have wide acceptability. The first is the IRIS+ indicators framework, and it does have certain indicators for healthcare specifically. A lot of the focus is on how well-governed  is the startup itself and how strong are its products and services. The other framework is the Impact Management Project. They have some great resources and templates for startups, especially social enterprises, to articulate different categories of impact and what they need to follow.” 

Furthermore, she also adds, “I’d also like to mention a third framework, the Theory of Change Framework, which is majorly used in the non-profit world but can be quite useful for social enterprises as well. It lets you make logical connections; it is more about devising a logical pathway to make your intent become an action.”

1. IRIS (Impact Reporting & Investment Standards):
   
   A framework from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) aims to integrate environmental and social factors into investment decisions. IRIS+ makes it seamless for impact investors to measure, manage and optimise their impact. 

• • Core metric sets to increase data clarity and comparability. The tool collects data from organisations anonymously, allowing users to choose what metrics to incorporate.
  • Updated catalogue of metrics used by leading impact investors.
  • Thematic taxonomy, based on generic impact categories to help define a company’s performance.
  • Curated resources with practical guidance to align with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and other conventions.

2. Lean Data
   Created by Acumen to measure the impact their investments created on the people from the low-income group, Lean Data approaches are an innovative way to get insights.

• • It is a customer-centric impact measurement framework.
  • It uses lean experimentation principles to collect and aggregate high-quality data much faster than other methods. 
  • It aids better decision-making by giving on-ground reports.
  • It can help in collecting patient-reported outcome measures (a person’s perception of their own health through questionnaires) 

If you want to see lean data in action for impact measurement, Acumen’s interesting Energy Impact Report will prove to be useful.

3. GIIRS (Global Impact Investment Rating System):
   Developed by a non-profit, B-Lab, it is also an impact ratings and analytics tool. It uses its own criteria + IRIS metrics to measure a company’s impact. 

• • It measures the impact of a business on all the stakeholders involved.
  • It measures all the ways through which a company can be making an impact.
  • 15,000 users in 57 countries across 176 industries have used GIIRS. It is the gold standard for impact measurement.
  • It has bronze to platinum (four levels) of impact model rating and one to five stars for impact operations rating. 

B-Lab’s B Analytics integrated an impact assessment tool called PULSE into its platform. IT was originally co-developed by Acument to help impact investors collect, manage and report on portfolio data.