Creating Better Solutions for Social Causes — It’s In What You Ask

When a social organization is just getting started, many times it lacks the funds or manpower to create a rigorous set of evaluations. Tom Adams at Acumen Investing, a large firm that invests in social change businesses, was interviewed by Impact Design Hub about what he calls “Lean Data,” Measuring Made Easy — Acumen’s Lean Data Model. We thought it was a pretty great article, so here’s what we think you should know:

The concept of Lean Data is simple: Reduce the barriers for measuring social impact, and more organizations will have the ability to see what’s working, what’s not working, and create better solutions that produce better results.

He breaks down the process into five easy steps: diagnose, design, deliver, analyze, and advise. He wants to take the standard, complex measuring process and turn it into something anyone can do. Essentially, the article says to ask yourself what you wish you knew about the population you’re serving… and then go out and ask them!

What you measure (what you ask) should add value to your organization and the services you provide (what you offer). It should give you insights into what your customer really needs, and if it doesn’t, go back and ask yourself what do you really want to know? As Tom says, “Build-measure-learn seems pretty universal. I’d say a problem with some development programs is that they assume their solution works, don’t listen enough to beneficiaries, and aren’t able to pivot. Our aim is to use Lean Data to help companies get data faster and respond more effectively to their customers’ wants and needs. This should be just as applicable to folks aiming to impact non-paying beneficiaries.”

By measuring our impact, we can better know the results of our efforts. If our main goal is to help others, then we need to be open to the best solutions for the problems we’re attempting to solve. Asking the people you’re attempting to help can be the best way to get those solutions.