15. Social Impact

I refer to The Ross School of Business (University of Michigan) definition of the term social impact as “a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge… having a social impact is the result of a deliberate set of activities with a goal around this definition”. Having been through the journey of working with organisations in this space, observing social activism events that are underway in the world and having understood select social impact models and consulting frameworks, in this chapter I will highlight some of the key considerations that social impact consultants need to bear in mind. I will argue for collaborative dialogue between change agents and cross-pollination of ideas as important elements for successful social impact interventions. This chapter does not intend to craft solutions for the management challenges for social impact organisations, neither does it intend to create a framework for systems intervention for social impact. It will rather make an attempt to place social impact intervention as a collective effort in the systemic context. I will argue for the case of holistic thinking and flexibility if social impact interventions are to be led to deliver to address “pressing social challenges” as put forward in the definition with which I began this chapter.