Community of Practice on Impact Measurement and Management
Community of Practice on Impact Measurement and Management
Since November 2020, the Esade Center for Social Impact (ECSI) and BBK are bringing together a group of foundation professionals from all over Europe to increase the level of transparency, knowledge-sharing, and exchange within the European foundation sector on the topic of Impact Measurement and Management (IMM). This Community of Practice (CoP) on IMM works towards specific collaborations such as research project on the governance of impact and non-financial support. The initiative started with two separate communities: one European and one Spanish. As members were benefitting from sharing practices between the communities, both CoPs merged into one community from January 2023.
To disseminate the key learnings and insights from the community to the sector, we publish reports and articles throughout the year. Our latest report ‘Walking the Tightrope - How Foundations Can Find a Balance Between Learning and Accountability Lenses’ is published in March 2023. By sharing this knowledge, we hope to help the whole European foundation sector, as well as any other organizations who want to measure and manage their impact. Our partners EVPA, AEF, and SERES help us disseminate knowledge across the sector.
Featured articles with key insights from the CoP
The key for foundations to get greater impact: cultivating a learning culture
January 18th, 2023, written by Laura Reijnders for Do Better
Measuring Social Impact Can Help Foster a Stronger European Social Economy
May 12th, 2021, written by Leonora Buckland & Lisa Hehenberger for Stanford Social Innovation Review
Social impact management: 5 key themes for foundations
September 22nd, 2020, written by Lisa Hehenberger for Do Better
Report 'Walking the Tightrope'
In March 2023, we published the report 'Walking the Tightrope - How Foundations Can Find a Balance Between Learning and Accountability Lenses.’ This report contains key insights and case studies from the second year of the European and Spanish Communities of Practice on IMM.
Authors: Leonora Buckland, Deborah Gold, Lisa Hehenberger, and Laura Reijnders
DOI: 10.56269/lb20230307
Report 'Taking the Pulse of the European Foundation Sector'
In January 2022, we published the report 'Taking the Pulse of the European Foundation Sector – Moving from Proving Impact to Improving Impact.’ This report contains key insights, survey data, and case studies from the first year of the European and Spanish Communities of Practice on IMM.
Authors: Leonora Buckland, Deborah Gold, Lisa Hehenberger, and Laura Reijnders
ISBN: 978-84-09-37697-1
About the Community of Practice
The Community of Practice emerged from recommendations in the report ‘From Measurement of Impact to Learning for Impact: the Learning Journeys of European Charitable Foundations’ written by the ECSI team (then part of the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute) with the financial support and involvement of BBK.
Currently, the community consists of over 40 foundations from 13 countries on the European continent. The community meets regularly online to exchange knowledge and practices, and work on several issues such as: transparency; learning; data sharing; and innovative tools. We also strive to meet once per year in-person. Although the meetings of the CoP are private, general insights are shared on this page to ensure that more professionals in the sector can benefit from the knowledge generated within the community.
Authors: Lisa Hehenberger, Leonora Buckland, and Deborah Gold
ISBN: 978-84-09-37697-1
Current members of the Community of Practice