Economic & Social Impact Measurement and CDFIs – The CBS Experience
This presentation discusses the Social Impact for Local Economies (SIMPLE) model that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) could use to measure the economic and social impact of their programs.
The policy and sectoral context for CDFIs in the UK emphasizes the strategic priority of impact measurement. Capitalize Business Support (CBS) is a pilot project that aims to improve impact measurement and better demonstrate impact. CBS applied SIMPLE by:
- Planning and briefing on the CBS context and sectoral needs;
- Facilitating in-house workshops with CBS staff team;
- Stakeholder engagement;
- Ongoing learning, review, and amendments;
- Development of measures;
- Follow-up testing of measures with key stakeholders and experts.
The SIMPLE model uses a five-step approach that measures the quadruple bottom line, which includes social impact, quantitative and qualitative business skill impact, quantitative and qualitative personal impact, and economic impacts. Finally, the presentation discusses results to demonstrate how CBS successfully used the SIMPLE method for impact measurement.
