In late August, we hosted the first of four Impact Measurement Roundtables for Social Enterprises, bringing together a passionate and diverse group of social enterprise leaders to share, reflect, and explore the evolving landscape of impact measurement.

About the Learning Community

SIMNA and Understorey established the roundtable to create a safe space for peers to explore challenges, ask questions, and test their thinking on social impact measurement. 

It aims to foster a supportive environment where social enterprise practitioners can learn from each other’s experiences, develop their skills and contribute to the growth and innovation of social impact measurement practices in Australia.

Who Was in the Room?

Laura Glynn, Executive Officer at SIMNA, and Paula Simões, SIMNA Board Member, were in attendance to facilitate the conversation. 

Attendees for our inaugural session included representatives from ShoreTrack, Mosaik Experiences and Allara Creative.

With backgrounds spanning health, youth employment, energy, accessibility, education, storytelling, and technology, this was a dynamic and insightful first conversation.

A Space for Shared Stories

We kicked off the roundtable by inviting participants to share a recent success story from their work. These stories set the tone for the session and reflected the real-world, person-centred impact social enterprises are achieving across the country.

Some common themes that emerged from the stories included:

Youth empowerment and employment: Participants shared powerful outcomes from working with at-risk youth, demonstrating how consistent, values-led support can lead to long-term employment, skills development, and peer mentorship.

Community-led health and care models: Some organisations highlighted their work in rural and remote areas, creating sustainable systems that continue supporting communities well after initial engagement.

Inclusive storytelling and language: A few stories focused on the importance of language and voice in co-designing services, especially with historically excluded people. This work has already shifted the communications strategies of the organisations involved.

Scaling regenerative impact: One project involved bringing renewable energy solutions to rural areas while simultaneously building the funding and measurement frameworks to scale the model.

Each example highlighted different ways of defining and demonstrating impact, from the deeply personal to the systemic, setting the stage for a rich discussion around measurement.

Challenges and Insights in Measuring Impact

The second half of the roundtable focused on how organisations are currently measuring their impact, what challenges they face, and which tools or frameworks they’re finding helpful.

Common themes included:

• Balancing quantitative and qualitative data: Many are striving to tell more complete impact stories by integrating numerical data with lived experiences, using interviews, testimonials, and case studies alongside traditional metrics.
  
• Capacity and resourcing: Gathering, analysing, and acting on impact data, especially over the long term, can be resource-intensive. This is particularly challenging for small teams or volunteer-led enterprises.
  
• Longitudinal tracking: Some organisations raised questions about measuring long-term outcomes—like employment retention or behaviour change, especially when working with individuals facing complex challenges.
  
• Ethics and story ownership: There was a thoughtful discussion about collecting and using participant stories ethically and ensuring individuals feel empowered, not exploited, by the storytelling process.

Tools & Resources Shared

A few resources and platforms were mentioned during the session that others found valuable:

• Better Evaluation: Most Significant Change
• Ethical Storytelling
• SIMNA’s Impact Measurement Resource Hub
• SeedKit – a data collection tool shared by one of the participants.
• Three Horizons Framework and Cornerstone Indicators – helpful in exploring multi-dimensional, regenerative impact.

Where to Next?

This was a strong, reflective opening session that allowed participants to connect, learn, and start identifying common questions and opportunities. It was clear that everyone brings different strengths and challenges to the table, and there’s much to learn from one another.

We’re currently compiling a resource document based on the insights, tools, and case studies shared in this session, and we’ll circulate it soon.

We have three more social enterprise roundtables planned, and we look forward to continuing the conversation during the sessions and the connections and collaborations between them. Future sessions will explore key themes such as:

• Developing and implementing social impact strategies.
• Measuring impact across different organisational areas.
• Overcoming challenges in impact reporting.

A huge thank you to those who attended and shared their experiences and learnings so far.

If you’re interested in joining the social enterprise conversation or would like to learn more, look for future updates or reach out to admin@simna.com.au