Understanding and Demonstrating Impact: An IIU Perspective

Many public servants are very familiar with the terms “outcomes” and “results”. We have worked with these terms in the development and design of our policies for decades. We continue to do so but now we add the concept of “impact”, which takes these concepts a step further by challenging us to examine more closely our work and its effectiveness. In this blog, we provide some clarity on what the Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU) means by impact, and the value to the federal government and our partners in measuring it.

For the IIU, “impact” is the enduring change attributed to our program and policy investments. It represents the ultimate aim or objective of a policy — a specific response to a societal challenge. The evidence of our impact tells us that our decisions associated with our policy design and delivery were the best ones in that context.

The IIU’s desired impact is at societal as well as institutional levels — with a focus on not only improving the lives of Canadians but also changing the way in which the federal government works. There are other perspectives equally important, including achieving impact at the level of individual (knowledge, skills and abilities), organization (changes in policies, practices, capacity), and community (geographic, sector, populations). In the government context, impact is often a combination of these perspectives while in the impact investing space it is often more narrow and focused.

Impact measurement as well as impact evaluation are equally important to our work. We support impact measurement within our Impact Canada Initiative as a means of rigorously assessing the immediate effects of outcomes-based policy projects. We also support impact evaluation to gain insights into the nature of these effects the extent to which they are lasting in nature.

In both cases, we apply the most rigorous methods required in the specific context. We do this because we have built a team and a network of partners to support this effort. We also do this because of the standards we have set for ourselves in regards to leading change in the public sector. Clarity of purpose, confidence in the change achieved, and a commitment to learning and evidence-based decision-making drives our pursuit of demonstrating impact. This is work all of us can and should do as we design policies and programs.

In future blogs, we will share more information about how government can rigorously assess its impact by using experimental and quasi-experimental designs and the types of research and assessment methods that are best suited for various outcomes-based policy approaches.

For now, we encourage you to start working with your stakeholders to articulate a shared vision of impact and to reach out to your evaluation colleagues early and often to help develop the data collection, analysis and evaluation strategies appropriate to your initiative. All public servants want to achieve better outcomes for Canadians. Measuring our impact is one way to achieve this.