Driving impact, making a difference and shaping change are all great intentions and key targets for any organisation guided by a sustainable vision and the purpose to improve the world we live in.

But how can such impact and change be effectively measured? How to track the right data to verify that meaningful results are achieved for the programmes’ participants, while collecting evidence and learning lessons for continuous improvement?

As a grant Foundation, the Julius Baer Foundation aspires to target its donations consciously for a lasting effect.

A project’s outcome is the driving force behind any grant-making decision. Hence, measuring outcomes becomes the hallmark of pursuing a path where decisions are no longer intuitive. The ‘Seven Steps’ framework recently adopted by the Julius Baer Foundation has a step-by-step approach backed by evidence and data, allowing both the Foundation and the partner organisations to clearly identify and communicate on ‘how’ and ‘why’ their programmes work.

Looking at the broader effects

Outcome measurement systematically analyses the broader effects emerging from a project’s outputs. It focuses on the two to five years after a project’s imple­mentation, providing an understanding of how a project is creating social change, thus indicating its effectiveness in creating a lasting impact.

Although it is a time-consuming process, meticu­lous outcome measurement benefits all stakeholders. Donors receive more comprehensive, data-based information on how their contributions are targeted and with what effect. Partner organisa­tions gain a clearer understanding of their initiatives’ progress – or of any unintentional adverse effects. The Founda­tion obtains evidence-based criteria leading to more strategic grant-making decisions.

Assiduous data collection is key

The ‘Seven Steps’ approach commences with specifying the current situation as a baseline. Once this is determined, a map of the intended path to outcomes is devised, namely an Impact Canvas. This framework includes an overview of the inputs, outputs and estimated outcomes of the project. To quantify the desired changes over a specific period, outcomes are transformed into KPIs which are then monitored and analysed to reveal the positive changes brought about by the project.

It is a shot: defining standards process, and its devised methodology is crucial for its accuracy. Identifying the appropriate research method depends on the data available. Factors such as existing infrastructure and gender aspects to avoid any biased results must be taken into consideration. The process relies on a perfect balance between quantitative and qualitative approaches.  

Moon Shot: Defining Standards

Successful outcome measurement is comparable to a well-oiled machine. When introduced at an early stage, the process operates smoothly and the resulting insights are beneficial to the project partners, as they are proof of effectiveness.

The Julius Baer Foundation is committed to measuring outcome consistently and scaling its interventions systematically. As a learning organisation, the Foundation strives to develop replicable and scalable standards mitigating wealth and education inequality despite their intricate nature.

Q1. Beatrice, why is it so complex to define univocal parameters to assess societal impact? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to standardise by measuring consistently simple variables such us changes in local households’ income, for example?

Comparing aspects of wealth inequality across different geographies and thematic areas is difficult and complex. Inequality can be considered as a multi-dimensional concept that encompasses a range of intertwined sub-domains such as access to education, healthcare, financial literacy and so on. Reducing inequalities and working across the wealth divide is the Julius Baer Foundation’s mission and to tackle this, a range of dimensions should be taken into account which go beyond purely financial aspects such as income. For example, let’s consider BICEIA, the project led by CLUSTER and supported by the Foundation. The initiative connects high-end design industries with micro artisanal enterprises and informal economic practices in metropolitan Cairo. Given Egypt’s fragile economic situation and large informal market, it is challenging for CLUSTER to collect quantitative data such as income. On the other hand, by leveraging CLUSTER’s progress reports we focus on qualitative data that is collected via 1-1 interviews and surveys with the artisans and the designers, which might highlight improvements in product quality and sales processes due to the artisans’ acquired skills. In the case of TAWAH (Tanzanian Women Architects for Humanity), we focus, for example, on measuring the financial literacy of the 28 women from the Mhaga village

Q2. In the specific case of the Julius Baer Foundation, what kind of outcomes and KPIs are deemed relevant to achieve the final goal of reducing inequality? 

As I just mentioned, it is paramount to think about impact measurement operating on a spectrum. The first 3 of the 7-step process mirror this spectrum and can be defined as the social sector equivalents of business analytics. Once an organisation is collecting and analysing data, it can begin to make claims about its impact. The objective is to obtain standardised analytics that address the multi-faceted dimensions of wealth and education inequality that are agnostic of geography or thematic area and can be applied to future projects that are seeking support. For example, it would be very interesting to uncover how the notion of gender and female empowerment, or social mobility could both be linked to reducing inequalities in the long term. In this respect, the Julius Baer Foundation’s role is pioneering, specifically in the domain of reducing inequalities.

Q3. The Foundation recently celebrated a key milestone for the TAWAH (Tanzanian Women Architects for Humanity) project in Tanzania, with the inauguration of the Vocational Centre for Women. From the production of each mud brick, to raising the whole construction, the Centre was built from scratch by 28 women from the Mhaga Village who were trained by TAWAH to gain the skills to work and thrive in the sustainable housing business.

Could you please consider this specific case to exemplify how this milestone is being evaluated within the impact assessment process, and what comes next?

In the case of TAWAH, the inauguration of the Vocational Centre for Women is considered as an output, a direct result stemming from TAWAH’s activities, training women in brickmaking, soil testing and sustainable construction techniques. It is important to underline that this group of 28 women have also leveraged their skills to build new homes for the elderly in their community with an adjacent toilet facility, which they did not have access to previously. This is also considered an output.

In terms of outcomes, we will monitor the changes within three related axes. The first is linked to training and the skills acquired. To give a few examples, we will monitor how they will translate these skills into future income-related activities (such as masonry, painting or flooring) or how the recently created women-led bank account will be able to finance the creation of a maternity ward that currently does not exist. The second will be monitoring how the Vocational Centre evolves as an epicentre for the wider community in providing vital services such as access to clean water, or launches women-led micro-enterprises that will sell the TAWAH sustainable bricks to local partners. For further context, the Centre has a waste-water plant and dedicated rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of 10,000 litres. Finally, the third axis will be monitoring the effects on the elderly of the community and how their healthcare and social activities, specifically farming, will be impacted as a result of them living in a sustainable house with an adjacent sanitary facility. 

Q4. To reduce inequalities in wealth and education, the Julius Baer Foundation currently supports 30 projects in the most unequal countries in the world. Their area of application is highly diversified, ranging from sectors as far apart as fair housing and women’s empowerment.

Could you please share with us two concrete examples of what success should look like 2-3 years after the start of activity for two different projects like TAWAH in Tanzania and CLUSTER in Cairo? 

In the case of TAWAH, success could be defined by the creation of a blue-print model for women-led sustainable housing within Tanzania and beyond. If the TAWAH model is successful and scaled up it might evolve in two ways. The first as a model of women-led micro-enterprises that seek to become self-sustainable and the second is the creation of other Knowledge Hubs that serve as an epicentre for the whole community in terms of access to training, water and in the future maybe sanitation. However, in both cases the key to success in 2-3 years will be the scaling-up of the model outside its present boundaries. As for CLUSTER, success could be defined as the artisans being able to scale-up their designs and operations by acquiring more personnel and a bigger space – this would be synonymous with a growing clientele and a sustainable business. As the artisans work in the informal sector, success could also be translated into specific legislation or government subsidies to boost the informal economy in Cairo. But I expect this to require a longer timeframe.

Generally speaking, success will be witnessing the partner organisations, TAWAH and CLUSTER, independently monitoring outcomes and leveraging the data to improve and scale up their activities. Outcome assessments are especially critical to help partner organisations learn about themselves and improve their performance and reach.