Oxford Impact Measurement Programme

Learn how to measure and optimise your social and environmental impact

Organisations are no longer measured purely on their financial outputs but also on how they achieve social and environmental goals.

How can we measure and quantify the outcomes to deliver higher returns and wider community benefits?

On this programme, you will explore the nature of impact while developing a practical impact measurement strategy and action plan for your organisation in discussion with academics, industry pioneers and experienced peers from across the globe.

You will:

• critically assess the main impact methodologies and frameworks
• look at how to achieve management buy-in
• examine the choices, trade-offs and opportunities posed by impact measurement
• assess a range of measurement tools and methods
• learn how to optimise impact

The programme blends theoretical study with practical case studies to help you understand how impact measurement can work effectively in real-world contexts.

On completion, you will have access to our growing network of public and private sector institutions, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs, all keen to share the challenges of social change.

Benefits

To you

• Achieve senior management buy-in and stakeholder alignment
• Learn how to critically assess the main impact methodolgies and frameworks and select the right one for your situation
• Understand choices and trade-offs to optimise impact across a portfolio

To your business

• Create an impact measurement strategy and implementation plan for your organisation
• Develop the impact management infrastructure and culture to deliver effective social impact projects
• Achieve buy-in from your senior management team enabling the integration of impact measurement into your organisation

Programme outline

Day one – Framing the impact measurement challenge

• What is impact? Who defines impact? 
What counts? Who decides?
• Create your impact measurement strategy
• Situate the different perspectives across the capital chain
• Social risk and unintended outcomes
• Perspectives from experts - the current landscape and next generation approaches
• Case study (TBC): Valuing impact – social return on investment

Day two – Strategy

• Developing an impact thesis and target focus

• Impact Management
• Selecting Methods and Tools
• Impact Standards
• Optimise impact for individual organisations and across a portfolio
• Examine choices and trade-offs based on impact expectations
• Case study (TBC): Standards and ratings for impact performance

Day three – Perspectives

• Developing your impact measurement strategy
• Whose impact matters?
• Feedback and constituent voices
• Accounting for impact
• Case study (TBC): Unintended consequences and their implications

Day four – Evidence

• Lean data and technology for impact measurement
• Outcomes-based approaches
• Materiality and reporting
• Developmental evaluation 

• Case study (TBC): The value of impact measurement

Day five – Responsible Measurement in Practice

• Responsible leadership – principles, values and choices
• Pitch of your impact measurement and management (IMM) strategy
• Establish post-programme networking goals