Lean Data Approaches to Measure Social Impact - Acumen

Social enterprises and non-profit organizations often collect data to satisfy funders and create glossy reports, rather than to improve impact for the people they aim to serve. What if it didn't have to be this way? For the past 2 years, Acumen has been applying lean experimentation principles to the collection and use of social impact data. We call this new approach 'Lean Data." We've learned that social entrepreneurs can use new technologies to gain information about customers more quickly and efficiently than ever before, yielding powerful business insights about how they can make products, services and programs more meaningful for customers.

In this 3-module course, you'll get started on building a Lean Data approach for your own social enterprise or organization. Participants will explore and discuss case studies from companies in Acumen's portfolio that have used Lean Data to gain new insights and refine their value proposition. Then you'll select your own data collection tool, build a streamlined survey, and run a live demo with customers. The course will provide you with access to survey templates that Acumen has tested in the field, along with step-by-step guides on how to use free technologies to collect and organize your data. You'll end the course by building basic data dashboards and creating an action plan run your own Lean Data sprint for your enterprise or organization.

This Lean Data initiative recently landed Acumen on Fast Company's list of the Top 10 Most Innovative Non-Profits. Now we want to share what we've learned and equip you with some of these tools and methods too.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Build a streamlined survey to understand why your product, service or program is meaningful to customers
• Identify an appropriate technology to rapidly collect data
• Run a Lean Data sprint within your own company or organization
• Develop a basic data dashboard to display and act upon your data

Please visit our
+Acumen Page for more information. We invite participants to form groups to work together on this course.

If you don't have a group, no problem. On the the NovoEd platform you will have an option to form a group. Or, you can also participate as an individual and interact with others on the course forum.

• You are a social entrepreneur looking to align your impact priorities with your business priorities and collect data in the least disruptive way possible

• You are a social sector organization looking to shift from a monitoring and evaluation approach to an impact measurement approach

• You are anyone in the impact investing space looking to learn more about how to measure impact

• You took +Acumen's longer course on “Measuring Social Impact" and are looking to learn more about one approach to data collection

This course consists of 3 modules. Each entails 1 hour of individual prep work and 2 hours of team work. The materials can be accessed at any time and do not have to be completed in one sitting.

You will need a computer that allows you to upload all your assignments.

Subject to course completion (completion of all assignments), you will receive a statement of accomplishment signed by Acumen.