Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 4 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 4(2023) - Редакция журнала «Позитивные изменения»

Irina Efremova-Garth, another regular contributor and expert of the magazine, and the Director of Sustainable Development at Mobius Technologies, has used the pages of Positive Changes to delve into the perspectives of grant-making organizations on evaluation in the present and future.[56] She has also shared her views on the role of knowledge and knowledge management practices within philanthropic organizations,[57] in addition to providing insights into the professionalization of evaluation in both Russia and globally.[58]

In her response, Irina noted the burgeoning interest in social impact assessment and introduced a synonym for the word “impact” — “transformation,” as suggested by participants at a conference in Karachay-Cherkessia.

“Impact revolves around the image we aspire to create. We recognize the paramount importance of visualizing this image. If you embark on a venture armed with a clear vision of your intended outcomes, you can subsequently gauge whether you’ve reached your desired destination. I believe ’transformation’ serves as an excellent synonym for ’impact,’ and I encourage everyone to embrace it,” expressed Irina Efremova-Garth.

Irina also emphasized that social impact assessment is gaining increasing significance within the donor community. This is because the pool of available resources remains constant, while the responsibilities entrusted to decision-makers regarding programs and investment projects are incredibly huge.

“Colleagues within the donor community are actively engaging a diverse array of experts to explore evaluation approaches from various perspectives. This growing interest is resulting in methodologies, practices, and solutions that are becoming accessible to all stakeholders, which is especially heartening. You can experiment with these solutions or methodologies, provide feedback, enhance and adapt them, ensuring that the projects and programs into which you invest your resources, time, and expertise achieve the highest possible levels of effectiveness,” Irina Efremova-Garth noted.

Vladlen Zamorsky, the Chief Executive Officer of Better, the Chief Sustainability Officer of Okkam, and the Co-Chair of the Sustainability Committee at the Association for the Development of Interactive Advertising (ARIR), received recognition for advancing practices in evaluating the media effectiveness of social projects. Vladlen played a pivotal role in evaluating the impact of the Khabensky Foundation’s #this-cannotbecured #cancercanbecured campaign, which was featured in the pages of Positive Changes Journal.[59]

“Media plays an indispensable role in addressing social and environmental challenges. Without media, knowledge and trust-building become unattainable, which in turn hampers efforts to influence behavioral change — and without these attributes, social change is out of the question. Consequently, all outreach campaigns should undergo thorough measurement. Fortunately, there exists a wide array of tools and approaches for this purpose. This is why none of our media campaigns proceed without comprehensive measurement. Efficiency is the cornerstone of our approach. I strongly recommend that social projects also leverage industrial methodologies that enable the measurement of all aspects related to communication effectiveness,” Vladlen Zamorsky advised.

Furthermore, the award recipient expressed his appreciation for our journal, stating, “This is an outstanding project in terms of both content and form. It is commendable that a substantial amount of meticulously curated, high-quality scientific content is emerging, driving the entire sustainability industry forward by enabling the measurement of its impact.”

“DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY” CATEGORY

The accolade in this category was awarded to the Vladimir Potanin Foundation for its pivotal role in evolving the methodology for assessing investments in mass sports.[60]

“Significantly, we are witnessing a shift towards more adaptable and diverse approaches to evaluating and scrutinizing experiences. In this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, the necessity arises to discard many erstwhile immutable rules that have ceased to be effective. Therefore, a noteworthy trend for 2023 and a driving force for 2024 can be defined as adaptability, audacity, and a willingness to experiment. This paradigm shift is substantiated by the category in which our foundation has been honored. The assessment of investments in mass sports, much like in several other social domains, is now an amalgamation of issues and mechanisms that were previously unconventional to consider collectively. For instance, it encompasses financial and social impacts, but not limited solely to the realm of SROI,” emphasizes Irina Lapidus, Program Director of the Potanin Foundation.

“BEST CASE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT INTEGRATION IN THE ACTIVITIES OF A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE / SOCIALLY ORIENTED NGO” CATEGORY

The Our Children Foundation was bestowed with an award for its successful implementation and propagation of evidence-based social project design practices.[61] The Foundation has been working with orphanage residents and graduates since 2006.

Since 2018, it has been focusing on preventing social orphanhood by assisting families at risk of child removal, thereby preventing children from being taken into orphanages in the first place. The mission of the Our Children Foundation revolves around transforming the child protection system within the country, ensuring that children grow up in nurturing family environments, ultimately emerging as prosperous adults. By embracing and employing evidence-based practices, the Foundation becomes an important partner to the government agencies and businesses, and it enables the Foundation to scale its activities more effectively. Notably, four of the foundation’s practices have earned inclusion in the federal registry of evidence-based practices.

“I strongly advocate for evidence-based philanthropy, and I am glad to witness our sector finally embracing rigorous self-assessment. Today, it is inconceivable for any reputable charitable foundation to abstain from evaluating its own operations. It serves as a hallmark of a well-established, mature organization. At Our Children Foundation, we embarked on the path of evidence-based philanthropy and the incorporation of evidence-based approaches quite some time ago. We have established an entire methodology department that diligently focuses on monitoring the outcomes of our programs. We strive to integrate the assessment findings into our projects. This is a constant, cyclical process: we take a look, analyze what worked or did not, repeat it from the start, introduce new approaches and technologies, see how it changes the outcome and then move on. Understandably, evaluation is not a task that can