The Covid-19 pandemic this year has focused our minds on the structures, needs, positives and negatives of healthcare systems across the world. Last month news of a potential new vaccine raised hopes a little bit. But it also brought into focus the issues around access: who will get the vaccine Read more…
Recently I was invited to speak at the digital edition of the European Third Sector Forum hosted by EUConsult Italia. I was asked to speak about the relationship between organisational governance and social impact. This is an emerging issue across Europe as civil society of all sorts gets to grip Read more…
The Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit has shown us the limitations and challenges of a Westminster-style government (once so revered across the world). As we re-imagine our lives in a post-Covid, post-Brexit world we shouldn’t stop at the economy or society. A social impact lens suggests that we should also re-consider Read more…
If there is one thing that 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, its that social impact organisations, just like any other business, have to be flexible enough to pivot their business models quickly, effectively and efficiently. We can no longer rely on only looking backwards to estimate what Read more…
As communities around the world continue to navigate the Covid-19 world, civil society is routinely calling for policy makers to build back better, usually greener. Recently I saw a mind-bending tweet about how care jobs could be considered green too, in an effort to ensure that essential service roles are Read more…
Everyone from Simon Sinek to Socrates will tell you at some point that leaders have to be humble and listen and seek help. While they are right and their advice is excellent, few leaders listen. Why? Because most leaders value self-interest first and foremost. A couple of weeks ago I Read more…
Over the past few months regular readers will have realised that there are certain themes to these posts. I talk a lot about participation. I talk about concepts that sit within systems thinking and complexity; and I’ve now added access to the list. These four ideas form the core of Read more…
A few weeks ago I wrote that the UK and its devolved governments tried to fix a problem with student grades that wasn’t there. What I meant by that was that rather than tackle the issue of a final assessment of performance, which had been interrupted because of the pandemic, Read more…
“We become like that on which our hearts are fixed. …We are gods in the chrysalis.” Elbert Hubbard Two weeks ago I wrote about understanding your vision for social impact very well to avoid unintended negative impacts as much as possible. The definition of Social Impact that I tend to Read more…
I’ve been working on a social return on investment analysis for a carbon storage programme in Indonesia, when I came across a relatively new concept in valuing social impact. The project currently uses the Climate Community Biodiversity (CCB) Standards and has structured its outcomes accordingly, which has been very useful for identifying Read more…