Reimagining Impact Management and Measurement in South Africa

Reimagining Impact Management and Measurement in South Africa: Unlocking Opportunities, Overcoming Barriers, and Shaping the Future

Impact Management and Measurement (IMM) is a rapidly evolving field that holds transformative potential for South Africa’s social, solidarity, and impact economies. Yet, in South Africa, its practice remains uneven, with organisations often unable to fully capitalise on its transformative potential. Despite growing interest and adoption, the sector struggles with systemic inefficiencies, resource constraints, and a lack of strategic alignment.

The result? IMM data is underused in strategic decision-making, limiting its capacity to drive meaningful change and deliver on the promise of inclusive, transformative and systemic impact.

Emerging Trends Shaping IMM Globally 

Insights from the Sowen 2025 – State of Social Impact Report reveal ten key trends shaping IMM. Among these, the following hold particular relevance for South Africa:

1. Data maturity as a driver of impact: Data maturity, defined as an organisation’s ability to integrate, analyse, and act on data, correlates strongly with higher impact outcomes. In South Africa, most social investors, non-profits and social enterprises remain in early stages of data maturity, with fragmented systems and limited analytics capabilities.
2. AI and predictive analytics: AI offers unprecedented opportunities to optimise resource allocation, forecast trends, and measure impact in real-time. Despite low adoption rates, successful pilots in sectors like healthcare and renewable energy highlight AI’s transformative potential.
3. The storytelling imperative: Effective IMM goes beyond reporting metrics; it requires compelling narratives that contextualise data, humanise impact, and inspire action. Organisations that excel in storytelling often enjoy stronger stakeholder engagement and funding outcomes, yet it remains a severely underutilised practice in South Africa.
4. Audience-centric design: Placing communities at the heart of IMM ensures that strategies align with the needs and aspirations of those they aim to serve. Yet, many South African organisations still focus disproportionately on satisfying funder requirements rather than beneficiary needs.

The State of IMM in South Africa: Where Are We Now?

South Africa’s IMM sector is marked by a paradox. While some organisations engage in some form of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), few integrate IMM as a core strategic function. The 2024 Trialogue research report indicates that:

• Only 50% of all surveyed companies have a M&E Policy, which is less than previously reported.
• Of companies surveyed, less than 5% of CSI budgets are spent on M&E expenditure.
• Similarly, a third of NPOs (34%) surveyed indicated that they have an M&E budget and they also spend less than 5% of their budget on M&E activities.

In as far as the usage of M&E data is concerned, the following is reported:

• Companies cited they use M&E data to report to their boards (93%), planning and revising projects (80%), and strategies (76%)
• NPOs reported that they use M&E data to report to their boards (66%), sharing data with funders and other stakeholders (61%) and revising projects and strategies (59%)
• Most worrying however is the fact that only half of companies (51%) and a third of NPOs (31%) shared the data with recipients or beneficiaries.

Barriers to effective IMM practices in South Africa:

Despite its potential, IMM remains under-leveraged due to challenges in capacity, technology, and organisational intent. From our engagement with organisations, a range of common challenges are cited which include:

• Fragmented data systems: Fragmented data systems hinder the ability to analyse and act on impact data timeously and comprehensively.
• Short-term focus: Funders often prioritise immediate outputs over systemic, long-term outcomes which drives unsustainable impact measurement activities.
• Resource deficits: Chronic underfunding of IMM functions restricts the ability to innovate and scale impactful practices. 
• Organisational structure and skill gaps: Many organisations lack dedicated IMM teams or skilled personnel, limiting their ability to design relevant measurement frameworks or implement sophisticated IMM systems.
• Resource limitations: IMM often competes with other priorities, leading to underinvestment in tools, training, and systems.
• Measurement complexity: Defining and attributing impact, especially in complex systems, remains a significant challenge.
• Organisational culture: Leadership buy-in, middle-management alignment, and operational integration are essential to embedding IMM into organisational DNA, yet it is a practice that lacks both commitment and implementation.
• Technology and data challenges: Limited access to technology and data analytics tools inhibits effective measurement. A lack of standardisation complicates comparisons and benchmarking across projects and organisations. And even when data is collected, it is often not used strategically to inform decisions or improve outcomes.

Future Directions: Unlocking the Potential of IMM

The path towards integrated impact management and measurement practices for South Africa requires bold, intentional action across multiple dimensions including:

1. Investment in data ecosystems: Development of shared data platforms and governance frameworks to facilitate collaboration and break down silos.
2. Leveraging AI thoughtfully: Investment in digital tools to streamline data collection, and reporting such as automating data analysis or predicting program outcomes.
3. Foster a culture of learning: Encouraging and supporting organisations to embrace IMM as a continuous improvement tool, integrating feedback loops and adaptive strategies.
4. Focussing on impact storytelling: Training teams to combine quantitative metrics with qualitative narratives, creating compelling impact stories that resonate with all stakeholder groups.
5. Prioritise capacity building: Offering specialised training in IMM standards and frameworks, such as Theories of Transformation or Theories of Change and Logic Models, to address skill gaps. As well as equipping teams with the skills and knowledge needed to implement robust IMM practices.
6. Standardise frameworks: Encourage the adoption of global standards like the Operating Principles, Impact Frontiers guidelines for impact management and reporting, UN SDGs, IRIS+, and others to ensure comparability and consistency.
7. Prioritise learning and adaptation: Use IMM as a learning tool to refine strategies and improve portfolio, program, operational and strategic effectiveness.
8. Engage stakeholders: Include (co)funders, implementing partners, and beneficiaries in the IMM process to ensure alignment and relevance.
9. Start with intent: Clearly define impact goals and align these objectives with a theory of change, investment themes and return on investment expectations.
10. Integrate IMM into strategy: Make IMM a core component of organisational strategy, not a standalone function.
11. Focus on Storytelling: Use engaging impact narratives to showcase the value of your work to stakeholders.

Based on our extensive work in impact strategy design, impact management, measurement and reporting practices we have identified four case studies that speaks how the social economy is starting to leverage the power of impact management and measurement.

In-Depth Case Studies: Local Best Practices

Case Study 1. Youth Development Fund: Moving from Outputs to Outcomes
A prominent South African foundation focused on youth employment moved beyond counting beneficiaries trained to tracking long-term outcomes such as employment retention, income growth, and entrepreneurship success. By integrating predictive analytics into their IMM system, they could identify which interventions had the highest impact on long-term job creation.

Key Takeaway: Adopting AI and longitudinal tracking systems enables stakeholders to move beyond immediate outputs and focus on sustainable outcomes.

Case Study 2. Agricultural Social Enterprise: Linking Data Silos
An agricultural cooperative used IMM to unify data from diverse sources including farm yields, market prices, and community development indicators. This integration enabled them to measure systemic impact, such as improvements in food security and rural livelihoods, while identifying bottlenecks in supply chains.

Key Takeaway: Breaking down data silos enhances the ability to measure interconnected outcomes across value chains.

Case Study 3. Renewable Energy Initiative: Leveraging IMM for Stakeholder Buy-In
This enterprise integrated AI to predict energy consumption patterns and identify households with the greatest need for solar installations. The impact included measurable reductions in household energy costs, increased community resilience, and lower carbon emissions. Then, the organisation used immersive impact storytelling to communicate its outcomes to investors and communities. This approach combined high-quality visuals, community testimonials, and rigorous data, which resulted in increased investment and community support.

Key Takeaways: Predictive analytics can bridge operational outputs and systemic impact, enhancing resource allocation and community outcomes. Impact storytelling, rooted in robust IMM data, can transform stakeholder relationships and increase buy-in.

Case Study 4. A Health Initiative: Leveraging impact data to improve impact Leveraging audience-centric IMM, this initiative co-designed healthcare programs with community members, addressing cultural barriers and improving health outcomes. Real-time data feedback loops allowed for program adjustments, significantly enhancing implementation effectiveness as well as increased impact.

Key Takeaway: Co-designing programs with program participants ensures relevance and maximises impact.

In conclusion: The Transformative Power of IMM

The evolution of IMM in South Africa is not just a technical challenge but a strategic imperative. The future of IMM lies in its ability to connect impact intent with outcomes, and aligning investments with measurable impact. In doing so, South Africa’s social impact ecosystem can set a global example of how IMM can transform not just organisations, but entire communities and systems.

Impact management and measurement hold immense promise for driving meaningful social impact, systemic change, and sustainable development in South Africa. However, realising this potential requires intentional action. By addressing current challenges and embracing the opportunities, we can move from mere monitoring to meaningful measurement and, ultimately, transformative impact. 

It’s time for South Africa’s social, solidarity, and impact economies to fully embrace IMM, not just as a compliance exercise but as a powerful tool for driving change and demonstrating the value of every investment in our collective future.

About the Author

Reana Rossouw is the owner of Next Generation Consultants, an impact advisory firm that specialises in social innovation and impact management and measurement. Reana has worked with some of South Africa’s largest social investors, social franchises and social enterprises and social impact organisations to develop impact strategies that deliver both return on investment as well as meaningful and large scale impact. For evidence of her work as well as research and case studies, practice notes and more articles visit our website.