Social impact
NARROWER TERMS
Report
A contributing life: a snapshot of the value of social production
Social production is made up of unpaid contributions to society through activities such as volunteering, the education and care of children, building community infrastructure, or informal mentoring. This report shines a spotlight on the unseen value Australians contribute to national prosperity in terms of social...
Report
Collapse and recovery: how the COVID-19 pandemic eroded human capital and what to do about it
Other authors
Joana Silva, Andres Yi Chang
Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has been an enormous shock to mortality, economies and daily life. This report estimates the impacts of the pandemic on the human capital of young children, school-age children and youth, and discusses the urgent actions needed to reverse the damage.
Report
Meals on Wheels Australia social impact report
This report measures the social impact of 'Meals on Wheels' and the importance of meaningful customer and volunteer connection, further supporting the essential role the service plays within almost every Australian community.
Evaluation
Evaluation of the Aspire Social Impact Bond: final report
Aspire is a homelessness intervention involving more intensive case management for a longer duration than most programs which respond to homelessness. This report outlines the findings of an evaluation of the Aspire program and social impact bond (SIB) in Adelaide, South Australia.
Report
Mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 period in Australia
More than two years since the first cases in Australia, now is an opportune time to assess medium-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and wellbeing. This paper provides data on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians during the first two-years of...
Report
Accelerating social impact research: libraries at the intersection of openness and community-engaged scholarship
The goal of this pilot program is to meet institutional needs for developing a strategic approach for advancing the social impact of research, aimed at building and reinforcing institutional points of influence for open research practices and community engagement.
Report
Nurturing links across civil society: lessons from Australia’s for-purpose sector’s response to COVID-19
The impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic have stretched far beyond the immediate public health concerns. Built on in-depth conversations with civil society leaders from across Australia, this report offers crucial insights into the for-purpose sectors ability to help people in need during crisis and...
Case study
Mission-oriented innovation in action: 2021 casebook
The Mission-Oriented Innovation Network (MOIN) is a learning community, focused on purpose-driven policy and mission-oriented innovation within public bodies globally. This casebook is a compilation of stories documenting mission-oriented innovation in practice from members of the MOIN.
Guide
Public policy engagement guide: a toolbox for UWA researchers
This guide is designed to break down what research engagement and impact are in practice, offering core advice on how to sharpen your appeal, setting out different ways in which you can get going, and describing what the constituent parts of government are and do.
Report
Australia’s social venture ecosystem: understanding the support and development landscape
This research report focuses on Australia’s social venture ecosystem – the entrepreneurial ecosystem that grows and sustains social ventures across Australia.
Guide
Roadmap to social impact
This guide has been prepared for anyone working towards the creation of positive social impact in Australia. It may assist those wanting to measure the change they are making for individuals, organisations and communities.
Journal article
The societal impact puzzle: a snapshot of a changing landscape across education and research
This paper explores ‘impact’ in the areas of education and research into government practice.
Working paper
Social protection response to COVID-19 and beyond: emerging evidence and learning for future crises
If the COVID-19 crisis and social protection crisis response to date are to make a difference to progress towards inclusive, adaptive and sustainable social protection moving forward, harnessing the momentum around social protection and institutionalising learning to date are key. This paper aims to contribute...
Report
Philanthropy: the continued journey to real impact and better practice
This report revisits the progress the Australian philanthropic sector has made against the five pillars of best practice and, through the contribution of the members of the Philanthropy Impact Pioneers Program, does a deep dive practical into the challenges of genuinely engaging and holding ourselves...
Article
Going deeper in social impact assessment: a focus on meaning rather than monetisation
Central to social impact is a focus on outcomes, the change that occurs in a person or program participant resulting from an intervention. Many social impact frameworks, however, encourage measuring outcomes to remain at a surface level, leading many social purpose organisations to question the...
Journal article
Vulnerability and resilience in the social sector: what we learnt through COVID-19
This article discusses the capabilities of social purpose organisations which are protective in a crisis. Philanthropists, government funders and social purpose organisations need to work together to nurture these protective factors.
Report
The COVID decade: understanding the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19
The British Academy was asked by the UK Government Office for Science to produce an independent review on the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19. This report outlines the evidence across a range of areas, building upon a series of expert reviews, engagement, synthesis and analysis...
Policy report
Shaping the COVID decade: addressing the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19
No single metaphor can capture the complexity or ramifications of the societal impact of COVID-19 pandemic. This report presents the British Academy’s review of the policy implications of COVID-19.
Report
Build back stronger
Drawing on the contributions of over 50,000 citizens, the landmark report of Renew Normal: the People’s Commission on Life After COVID-19 says that without radical reform to build a stronger, more resilient and more united nation, the UK risks never recovering from the huge social...
Journal article
Developing sustainable and high impact NFPs for Indigenous Australians
In this article, Aboriginal non-profit leader and Fulbright Scholar, Adam Davids, offers insights for Indigenous not-for-profits by drawing on the experience of successful racial minority-serving institutions in the USA.
Journal article
Meaningful Evaluation: a holistic and systemic approach to understanding and assessing outcomes
After briefly reviewing some of the key problems with how outcomes measurement is practised, this article presents some recent approaches from the evaluation field that attempt to address some of these concerns before introducing a new approach to understanding and evaluating outcomes – Meaningful Evaluation...
Discussion paper
Discussion paper: Co-operatives and Mutuals as social enterprises
This paper discusses how co-operatives and mutuals sit alongside contemporary definitions and accreditation processes for social enterprise and the alignment between the objectives of social enterprise policymakers and the purpose of co-operative and mutual enterprises. The case study section, provided as an appendix, includes important...
Report
Sprinting for good: using co-design to collaborate for social impact
The Centre for Social Impact (CSI) and the Community Governance Steering Group (a collaboration of people and organisations interested in developing and supporting good governance practices in Aotearoa New Zealand’s community sector) used a 'co-design sprint' process, with more than 150 people involved, to develop...
Report
Halting lives: the impact of COVID-19 on girls and young women
COVID-19 is having an impact on all sectors of society across the world. But its impact does not fall equally: the virus is taking advantage of pre-existing inequalities. Plan International commissioned this research to look specifically at the impact of the current pandemic on girls...
Report
Rebuilding business for society
This report reveals the contrasting views employees of different types of firm have about their workplaces in terms of purpose, and the importance of ownership to these perceptions. Taking these results, the authors discuss why diverse forms of ownership are necessary to achieve the broader...