The following post was authored by Michele Tarsilla on a symposium on Measuring the Impact of Doing Good held at the University of Toronto.
Measuring results, as challenging as it could be, is nowadays an indispensable activity for all non-profits in Canada that want to stay abreast of the increasing competition within the sector, aggravated by the ongoing financial crisis. That notwithstanding, a considerable number of non-profits nationwide are still struggling to meet the funders’ growing demand for accountability and effectiveness, primarily because they lack the technical capacity to conduct rigorous evaluations of their programs’ impact.
As a result, there is a lack of evidence on the actual benefits produced by a large contingent of social programs and that ends up questioning quite severely the non-profits’ legitimacy vis-à-vis the public opinion. As no viable strategy seems to be available to alter the current scenario as of today, a general consensus is urgently needed within the sector on the two following issues:
- turning impact evaluation into a strategic management tool
- enhancing mutual understanding and closer technical collaboration between funders and non- profits
Given the current challenges but also the opportunities embedded within the Canadian Third Sector, the Rotman School of Management’s idea of organizing a symposium on measuring the impact of doing good was particularly welcome. The general response to the Toronto event was so positive that over 200 representatives of non-profit organizations and funders attended it on January 21, 2009.
