Putting stakeholders at the centre: multi-stakeholder approaches to social impact measurement

Social impact measurement has attracted academic and professional attention in the last decade, with research showing that organisations deliver a variety of impacts on society and the environment. Metrics have been developed for the measurement of the economic and financial impacts; however, financial measurements present only an incomplete picture of the organisation. Thus social (and environmental) impacts remain dominated by different methodologies and metrics. Such methodologies agree on the key role of stakeholders, with the aim to implement more complex, multi-directional/multi-stakeholder performance measurement systems. This chapter reflects on the role of stakeholders in this process, examining whether such frameworks can help to shape tailored impact measurement tools based on co-development with various stakeholders [Relevant SDGs: SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals].