What Common Approach is and is not
Common Approach helps to create interoperability of impact measurement by knitting together existing standards, tools, methods and data.
Using Common Approach’s four Standards alongside existing impact measurement and management tools, methods, and standards infuses impact measurement with the flexibility needed to support innovation. They allow for right-sizing for resource-constrained organizations and give a greater voice to those whose lives are most affected.
Common Approach is not… |
Common Approach is… |
| …standardized indicators. | …a way for SPOs networks, investors, funders and networks to make sense of diverse indicators (Common Framework) |
| …standardized tools and methods. | …a way to know if a tool or method meets the minimum criteria if impact measurement practice (Common Foundations) |
| …a software. | …a way to exchange data between softwares (schema, ontology using linked data.) (Common Impact Data Standard) |
| …a taxonomy. | …a means of incorporating taxonomies into software to simplify form filling (Common Form) |
| …investor or funder driven. | …community-driven. Common Approach is designed to be low-burden on SPOs, to give them the flexibility they need to give voice to those they serve and to get food value out of their measurement efforts. |
To use the Common Approach standards, social purpose organizations (SPOs) and investors need to:
- Choose or invent their own indicators (they may choose standardized ones.)
- Choose or invent their own tool and/or method, so long as it meets the Common Foundations minimum standard.
- Use any software aligned with the Common Impact Data Standard.
Common Approach knits other standards together:
- Standardized indicators such as IRIS+, GRI, and SASB can be used with Common Approach standards.
- Existing tools and methods, such as SROI, results-based management, and impact-weighted accounts, can be used with Common Approach standards.
- Impact measurement softwares create
interoperability by bringing investors and SPOs onto the same platform. Common Approach’s Common Impact Data Standard can be used by any software to create interoperability between it and any other aligned software.
Social purpose organizations: Take the lead! Articulate your own impact measures for your own learning. Choose software that suits your needs.
Investors and funders: Follow the lead of the SPOs! Empower the organizations you support, and refrain from imposing any particular indicators, tools, or methods.