New Delhi: Aspire Circle and Aspire Impact collaborated with Capgemini and other CSR and non-profit leaders to launch India’s first set of independent standards for non-profit organisations in order to further catalyse India’s non-profit sector and provide a framework for standards-based impact assessment and ratings (NPOs).
The publication, titled “Impact Assessment Standards for NPOs,” provides a framework for non-profit organisations, including philanthropies and CSR units, to measure their impact, secure third-party independent ratings via key performance indices, and make impact comparable across causes and projects for improved impact performance.
This has been necessitated not only by recent CSR guidelines requiring corporations to report impact assessments for projects exceeding INR 1 crore, but also by proposed rules for India’s upcoming social stock exchange.
Over a six-month period, more than 20 industry practitioners collaborated to create this publication.
It follows months of hard work and extensive research to achieve the coverage, acceptance, validity, and transparency that a project of this size necessitates.
Aspire assembled these practitioners, who documented 13 impact categories, 41 impact themes, and 130+ KPIs to be compiled from primary and secondary data sources for a well-rounded NPO project rating.
The framework is built on a 4P impact assessment strategy of product, people, planet, and policy to keep up with the times and cover all of the bases of current impact evaluation parameters.
“India needs an impact assessment framework that is based on standards and makes impact empirical and comparable,” said Amit Bhatia, founder and managing trustee of Aspire Circle.
We are confident that mandated impact assessments for CSR projects exceeding INR 1 crore, the social stock exchange, and the push for greater transparency in the NGO sector will serve as catalysts for impact measurement and management (IMM) practice.
According to our survey, while 100% of non-profit leaders consider impact measurement a top priority, 84% find it difficult to measure impact, and 67% believe current approaches and methods are ineffective.
The framework is presented as an important component of Aspire’s Impact Future Project (IFP), which aims to maintain a sustainable balance in the relationship between people and the environment.
“It is important to measure the impact of NPOs, not just because it enhances transparency and builds brand trust, but also because it affords them the opportunity to showcase their real impact on people, communities, and the planet,” says Anurag Pratap, VP and CSR Leader at Capgemini.
They are better able to attract more donors, be financially sustainable, and improve their scale, programmes, and reach as a result. “
Although some tools exist to assist organisations in measuring certain indices, they are not comprehensive enough.”
This Impact Assessment Standards for Nonprofits, published by Aspire Circle, Aspire Impact, Capgemini, and other stakeholders, is thus a timely intervention, as it fills a long-standing gap in effective measurement and evaluation.
The 15 business leaders who collaborated to write the Standards include Amit Bhatia, founder and CEO of Aspire Impact, Anna Bruni Sabhaney, founder of The Confluencers, Anurag Pratap, vice president and chief social responsibility officer of Capgemini, Apoorva Oza, global lead for the Aga Khan Foundation, Archana Joshi, director of the Deepak Foundation, John Alex, executive director and chief executive officer of Equitas Holdings, Meenakshi Batra, Ex-CEO- Charities Aid Foundation; Nidhi Bhasin, CEO- NASSCOM Foundation; Pavithra YS, Founder & MD- Vindhya e-Infomedia; Pratyush Panda, Head, Sustainability & CSR- Larsen & Toubro Infotech; Raman K., Head of Strategy- Tata Trusts; Sachin Golwalkar, CEO- United Way Delhi; Shashaank Awasthi, Co-Founder, V-Shesh; Viiveck Verma Chief Impact Officer- Recykal Foundation; and, Vivek Prakash, VP & Head CSR- Jubilant Ingrevia.
