The quest for measurable impact

Change rarely arises from a single cause. It is usually an interplay of factors such as policy, public opinion, economic incentives and technological innovations. All of these influences interlock, making it difficult to determine exactly what really made the difference. Yet it remains essential to understand how social change comes about so that it can be managed more effectively and responsible choices can be made. To better understand this process, an approach known as Theory of Change is often used.

Theory of Change helps make change understandable. It starts with formulating an end goal: what do you want to achieve? Then you work backward to determine what intermediate steps, actions and conditions are needed to achieve that goal. In doing so, you examine what assumptions you are making and what influences are crucial to making the change possible. This creates a roadmap that provides insight into the interrelationship of factors and helps you learn from what works and what doesn't.

But Theory of Change is more than a model for naming outcomes. It is a method for unraveling the complexity of social change and understanding which efforts have the most impact. It allows you to gain insight into what actually matters so that you can better manage sustainable change.

Although Theory of Change is a broad tool, we as an agency cannot map out the entire puzzle of causes and effects for all of our clients. Therefore, we focus on what we ourselves can influence: our own output and its effects. We distinguish three layers: output, outcome and impact.

• Output concerns the direct results of our activities, such as the development of an app, a digital platform or a campaign.
• Outcome is about the changes these outputs bring about, for example changes in behavior among people who use the tools.
• Impact is the broader, long-term change we seek, such as more social cohesion or less waste in a community.

By distinguishing these three layers, we can better understand how our efforts contribute to broader societal goals and where we are making a difference.

A concrete example is our collaboration with HVC, a company focused on renewable energy and waste management. Together, we developed an app to help residents better separate waste. At the same time, HVC introduced a recycling tariff, where residents pay for the amount of residual waste they produce. Within six months, residual waste in the municipality was almost halved.

On paper, that seems like a clear success, but what exactly was the driving force behind this change? Was it the financial incentive of the recycling fee, the app, or a combination of factors? Our approach to Theory of Change helps to understand what our own contribution was, without pretending we can explain the full impact. In this project, we focus on the output (the app) and the outcome (user behavior change), with the goal of helping to maximize the ultimate impact (decrease in residual waste).

We also apply this approach in our collaboration with the Orange Fund, which focuses on social inclusion. We develop platforms that connect people with each other, one of the goals being to bring people out of social isolation. The platforms measure how many people signed up and how many connections were made, but we realize that this is only part of the story. The question remains to what extent these interventions have actually led to profound social change. Other factors, such as social trends and campaigns, also play a role. Our focus is on what we can influence - the outputs (the platform) and the direct outcomes (number of applications and matches) - to get the best possible picture of our own contribution to the broader impact (social connection).

Impact measurement is not an endpoint, but an ongoing process of evaluation, adjustment and learning. By recognizing the complexity of change and navigating the landscape of diverse influences, we can responsibly make our role visible. It is not just about good intentions or results achieved, but about understanding how those results came about and how we can further enhance our contribution in an ever-changing world.

As B Corp, we are committed to creating tangible social and environmental value. Our Impact Business Model focuses on projects that actually create social change. With Theory of Change, we evaluate our projects and continue to learn, without pretending to control all factors. We focus on the concrete results we can influence (outputs) and their direct effects (outcomes), so that we not only measure impact, but continually strengthen our contribution. It's about telling an honest story about what we do know and being open to what we still need to learn. This is how we continue to work on sustainable change that is truly meaningful.