http://www.socialedge.org Sara Olsen and Brett Galimidi, partners at Social Venture Technology Group, bring you the latest trends, approaches, examples and general musings on how to manage resources to generate the greatest positive impact possible. daily 1 2009-05-11T15:53:57Z http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/the-problem-with-sroi Few terms evoke such a passionate response in the impact management field as “social return on investment” or “SROI.” It’s not so much the idea itself that sparks debate, but the varying interpretations of how the term should be translated into practice. Perhaps in part the tension comes from conflating the generic concept of social return with conventional (financial) ROI or with methodologies like “Social Return on Investment Analysis.” But one thing is certain: everybody has their own intepretation of what SROI means. No publisher Olsen_Sara Social Return on Investment SROI 2009-06-02T05:20:14Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/from-socap-to-large-cap Corporate leadership can learn a great deal from the social capital marketplace. But will they? Or will new leadership be required to ensure true sustainable change...? No publisher galimidi Social Venture Technology Group Impact Intelligence Social Entrepreneurship 2009-08-19T15:50:49Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/what-is-the-right-thing-to-do In these early days of the impact management field’s evolution, the fundamental reasons people resist measuring impact—and the reasons people promote it—may not be so much psychological; based on their fear of exposure and failure, or on their desire to be shown to be competent or heroic; nor sociological, based on the desire to fit in; but moral. The question really comes down to, “What is the right thing to do?“ No publisher Olsen_Sara Michael Sandel 2009-10-13T21:39:30Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/doing-well-by-i-feeling-i-good Are social investments actually having a positive effect? Or just making us feel better about our consumer behavior, philanthropic efforts and investments. How does anyone know and who can push us forward? No publisher galimidi Impact Measurement Economic Development Social Venture Technology Group Social Entrepreneurship Social investment Entrepreneurship Impact Intelligence 2009-12-02T17:17:52Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/topic_images No publisher jclark 2009-05-11T17:38:19Z Folder http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/counting-what-counts-a-nod-to-201cworld-metrics-day201d "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Albert Einstein (or so the legend goes) No publisher galimidi Social Return on Investment Acumen Fund Impact Intelligence economic development Social Venture Technology Group Impact Measurement 2009-06-17T23:49:31Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/executives-weigh-in-on-sroi The elephant in the impact measurement room is that it might not always be such a good thing to be transparent about our impact. Aside from the usual concerns about cost and time, what mental obstacles hinder impact measurement? To unpack this question, SVT and NYU’s Stern School of Business are teaming on a series of Roundtables to ask for-profit and nonprofit executives what they really think about the concept of “Social Return on Investment,” or “SROI.” Here are some of the observations we've heard so far. No publisher Olsen_Sara NYU Stern School of Business SROI 2009-09-29T21:44:10Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/wanna-be-startin2019-something ...with deep gratitude to the King of Pop, and a grain of salt from the reader... No publisher Olsen_Sara Michael Jackson 2009-06-30T16:20:34Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/individual-versus-social-will Outside of a number of promising connections I made at the Opportunity Collaboration, the effect it has had on me that I’m noticing most right now stems from one conundrum we explored in the Colloquium: the power of social pressure and how it fights change and innovation, even when that change can benefit a community. No publisher Olsen_Sara 2009-10-27T18:59:29Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/scorecard-invites-the-sector-to-get-its-data-game-on Ever wonder where the gaps in funding are, which nonprofits need your help the most, and which are most effective on a certain issue? No publisher Olsen_Sara NonprofitMapping.org Non-profit sector 2010-01-26T19:20:20Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/doing-well-by-feeling-good-part-iii Are social investments actually having a positive effect? Or just making us feel better about our consumer behavior, philanthropic efforts and investments. How does anyone know and who can push us forward? No publisher galimidi Social Return on Investment Investing Impact Intelligence B-Corporation Social Venture Technology Group Entrepreneurship Social investment Environmental Management Social Entrepreneurship Impact Measurement 2009-12-30T17:00:43Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/impact-management-recap We thought we’d start the year off with a recap of the impact management basics we've covered so far. No publisher Olsen_Sara impact management overview 2009-01-14T05:09:26Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/addressable-impact-market-size-and-relative-value In our last post we spoke of standardization—its lure and its challenges. There were two key themes: the critical nature of reporting in context (geography, issue area, geopolitical situation, etc.); and also meaningful measurement (measuring what is most useful to drive value and make decisions, not just what is easiest to count). Here we address the third pillar—relative scale. No publisher galimidi Social Venture Technology Group Sustainability Impact Measurement Environmental Management Social-Impact 2008-11-17T16:59:06Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/impact-3.0 A brief history of all things impact related. No publisher galimidi Impact Intelligence Social Venture Technology Group Social Entrepreneurship Environmental Management SVT Impact Measurement Social-Impact 2008-08-26T17:59:47Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/svt-on-impact/weblogentry.2009-03-17.8371943600 No publisher Olsen_Sara 2009-03-17T12:23:44Z Weblog Entry