The Better Entrepreneurship Policy Tool

Hyvän Mitta (“Good Measure”) project, Finland

SOCIAL

Impact
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What

The Hyvän Mitta (“Good Measure”) project is an impact measurement framework developed to help social enterprises to assess and quantify their social value. Coordinated by the Finnish Association of Social Enterprises (ARVO), it is supported by the We Foundation, Stea, the Prime Minister's Office, Sitra, the Finnish National Agency for Education, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The project started in 2016 and ended in November 2019.

Why

Finland has a dynamic and active social and solidarity economy, with numerous organisations dedicated to improving people’s well-being across the country. However, the societal impact of their activities is often overlooked, as traditional indicators such as revenue do not aim to capture social value. The goal of HyvänMitta is to address this issue by developing a standardised methodology for measuring social impact, providing answers to important questions such as whether money, volunteer hours or income contribute to better well-being. 

Key Activities

The HyvänMitta tool uses a seven-step impact chain methodology to assess social impact: 

  1. Societal Challenge Definition: The organisation identifies the social problem it aims to address, including its causes, consequences and the specific target group affected.

  2. Vision: The organisation defines its long-term impact goal, describing the desired future status once the need has been met. 

  3. Goal Definition: Specific, measurable goals are set out, including details of the changes to be made, who will be affected, and the timeframe.

  4. Resources: The necessary resources are listed, including funding, human capital, expertise, and partnerships. Their allocation over time is also planned to ensure efficient implementation.

  5. Activities: The organisation plans specific actions based on the available resources. The rationale and assumptions behind these activities, which will lead to the desired results, are also listed.

  6. Results: Measurable outcomes of the activities are tracked. These results demonstrate the changes that have occurred within the target group and how these changes align with the initial goals.

  7. Impact: The long-term effects of the results are assessed. This includes determining whether the changes have been significant enough to influence systemic or regional outcomes, particularly when initiatives are scaled.

Impact

To test the tool and methodology, the Hyvän Mitta project assessed over ten sites, ranging from active reception centres to communal urban spaces. During the project’s initial phase (2016-17), 13 case studies were evaluated. Most of these evaluations focused on laying the groundwork for evaluation or developing an evaluation model. Case studies in this phase included organisations such as the Service Foundation for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Nummela Football Club or UNICEF. 

The second phase (2018-19) focused on evaluating three projects/services based on learning outcomes and previous evaluations carried out in the first phase. The organisations evaluated were SOS Children's Villages, Dynamo Juniors and the Lahti Diaconal Institute. 

To publicise the project’s achievements, a package for developing impact communication was produced, resulting in five videos based on the case studies. These were produced in collaboration with AIknow Agency Oy and Kreatos Films Osuuskunta. In addition, the project trained target groups on creating impact stories and presenting impact data visually. Almost 100 leaders, developers, and communicators took part in the training session held in November 2019. 

Sources

Hyvän Mitta. (n.d.). Hyvän Mitta - Case Studies. Retrieved from https://www.hyvanmitta.fi/caset/ 

Hyvän Mitta . (n.d.). Hyvän Mitta - Homepage. Retrieved from https://www.hyvanmitta.fi/ 

Hyvän Mitta. (n.d.). Hyvän Mitta - Impact Chain. Retrieved from https://www.hyvanmitta.fi/vaikuttavuusketju/ 

Hyvän Mitta. (n.d.). Hyvän Mitta - Impact Communications. Retrieved from https://www.hyvanmitta.fi/vaikuttavuusviestinta/ 

LAB University of Applied Sciences. (2023). LAB Health Review 2023. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/813071/LAB_2023_71.pdf;jsessionid=9B155CFC56ECF5355C5546F6146494B2?sequence=5 

Social Entrepreneurship Network in the Baltic Region. (2019, June 25). Measuring the Good – Developing Impact Measurement in Finland. Retrieved from https://socialenterprisebsr.net/2019/06/measuring-the-good-developing-impact-measurement-in-finland