Capability Assessment Survey
We have identified the increasing need for organisations to develop capabilities in the area of Impact Management and Measurement to support more effective achievement of their impact goals and objectives. We have adapted a maturity model and assessment approach to Impact Management. The process is initiated with an online survey to assess your current level of maturity and inform practical recommendations. The resulting report gives you a ‘point-in-time’ view of current maturity and a roadmap of key actions you can take to progress and optimise the value you can derive from Impact Management.
During our complimentary beta testing phase, seize the opportunity to participate in the Impact Management Capability Assessment Survey. Upon completion, receive your personalised report delivered to your inbox within minutes, free of charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of this survey?
Your input helps us to explore your organisation’s impact management capability – the ‘ability’ your organisation requires to achieve strategic goals and manage processes in an optimised way. Upon completing this survey (which should not take longer than 25 minutes), you will receive a PDF report outlining and interpreting your results in your email inbox. This report will summarise your results and provide some high-level suggestions around how your organisation can progress its maturity.
How long will it take?
Completing the survey should take less than 25 minutes, depending on your organisation’s current capabilities.
What will I receive once I've completed the survey?
Within 5 – 10 minutes of completing the survey, you will receive an email with a PDF report outlining and interpreting your results. This report will summarise your results and provide some high-level suggestions around how your organisation can progress its maturity in the area of impact management.
Who should complete this survey?
Anyone who is wanting to better understand their organisation’s Impact Management Capability is welcome to complete this survey! Due to the varied nature of the questions, we recommend that someone who is familiar with the operations of and work being done within each of the dimensions covered (Strategy, Talent, Processes, Data, Measurement, Reporting, and Technology) complete the survey so as to provide an accurate reflection of your organisation’s current capabilities.
What sorts of questions will I be answering?
This survey asks about your organisation’s capabilities across a number of dimensions: Strategy, Talent, Processes, Data, Measurement, Reporting, and Technology. Within each of these dimensions, you will be asked more specific questions around your organisation’s resources, abilities, and understandings (please see the figure below for an overview of the dimensions and their associated elements). Some of the terms and phrases in this survey may be unfamiliar to you, and we understand that different organisations use different language. We have aligned the language of this survey with existing standards and recommendations, and we have provided definitions throughout the survey to support your understanding. We have also included a Glossary of Key terms for reference.
Do I need to prepare anything in advance?
While you do not necessarily need to prepare for this survey, it is important that you answer the questions accurately and that you are aware of the various elements that make up your organisation’s impact management capability. If there are any sections or questions that you are struggling to understand or answer, please reach out to a Relativ Impact team member.
What is the background of Capability Maturity Models?
Capability Maturity Models originated in the late 1980s, when the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University, began developing a process maturity framework to help organisations improve their software processes. The initial framework was developed with a maturity questionnaire, and later evolved into the Capability Maturity Model for Software as the basis for improving software process along a five-level path of increasingly organised and mature processes [1]. Since then, capability maturity models have evolved as part of the broader practice of capability and enterprise design as a means to design the architecture of an organisation and organise its people, processes and technology to align to and enable strategy achievement.
[1] Paulk, M.C., Curtis, B., Chrissis, M. B., & Weber, C.V. (1993). Capability Maturity ModelSM for Software, Version 1.1. Technical Report CMU/SEI-93-TR-024. Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University.
Glossary of Terms
- Capability Purpose
- Capability Stakeholders
- Collateral
- Data Access
- Data Architecture
- Data Collection
- Data Governance
- Data Quality
- Equipping
- Impact Management Capability
- Impact Management Processes
- Impact Management Technology
- Impact Performance
- Impact Strategy
- Organisational value chain
- Research, Knowledge, and Insights
- Reporting Framework
- Reporting Standards
- Responsibility Framework
- Tools and Templates
Each capability (defined as processes, tools, skills, behaviours, and coordination that help an organisation deliver an outcome) within an organisation has a purpose – a role to play in relation to achieving the organisation’s purpose and strategic objectives (PWC, 2019). Ideally, this purpose should be clearly aligned with the organisation’s strategy and desired impact (Turner, Crawford & Hobbs, 2004).
Stakeholders are groups of people who gain direct benefits from or are affected by your organisation’s operations (Benn, Abratt & O’Leary, 2016). Stakeholders could include shareholders, investors, beneficiaries, customers, employees, suppliers, financial supporters, and communities. In this case, we are considering the stakeholders served and / affected by your impact management capability.
Collateral here refers to organisational processes, tools, and templates.
Data access refers to how readily accessible and available data is to enable relevant internal and external stakeholders to utilise data to make decisions and meet their needs (National Academy of Sciences et al., 2009).
A data architecture describes how data is managed–from collection through to transformation, distribution, and consumption.
Data collection is the process of gathering information which will enable one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes (Harwood & Vang, 2009).
Data governance is the process of managing the availability, usability, integrity and security of the data.
Data quality refers to how well the data management system reflects the real world. Dimensions of quality data include accuracy, reliability, completeness, precision, timeliness, integrity, and confidentiality (Brown, 2007).
Equipping refers to processes, tools, and templates that are created and utilised to support the Impact Management process (Stories for Impact 2024).
The processes, tools, skills, behaviours, and coordination that help an organisation measure and manage their impact.
Processes are sets or groups of related activities carried out by the organisation (Faugier-Contreras, Guevara-Flores & Hernández-Calderón, 2023). Here we are considering any processes which help an organisation understand, act on, and communicate its impact.
This refers to the standardised tools and / applications available to support the Impact Management processes and systems discussed in this survey (Carvalho et al., 2021). These may include a broad range of enabling technology for purposes such as project management, stakeholder (or ‘customer’) relationship management, data collection, data analysis, or reporting, that help track and understand progress and change.
Impact performance refers to how well a person, project, or programme is performing against planned impact goals or objectives (Global Impact Investing Network, 2023a). Various metrics and data points help to provide a view of this performance.
An impact strategy clearly outlines your organisation’s purpose. It is a detailed roadmap to achieve your intended impact and provides a long-term vision of how such impact will be achieved and measured to determine success (Investment Impact Index, 2019). This could take the form of a Theory of Change, impact thesis or something similar.
A value chain refers to the full lifecycle of a product or process. A value chain is a series of consecutive steps that go into the creation of a finished product or service.
This may include research into underlying theory, best practices, market research, insights from evaluations, and knowledge from data (McKinsey & Company, 2022).
A reporting framework is a standardised system used to consistently report performance (Idowu et al., 2013).
These standards provide principles for preparing reports and determine the types and amounts of information that must be provided to users so that they can make informed decisions (Global Reporting, 2024).
A responsibility framework outlines the roles and responsibilities of the processes lead by and / performed within the Impact Management Capability (Zein, 2010). Examples of these frameworks include RACI (which allows one to indicate who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed), or PACE (which identifies the Process Owner, Approver, Contributor, and Executer).
These are the tools and templates that enable your team to implement your impact measurement framework. These may include templates, user guides, and process notes to guide implementation of impact measurement according to your plan (Global Impact Investing Network, 2023b).
