Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 4 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 4(2023)

“Colleagues within the donor community are actively engaging a diverse array of experts to explore evaluation approaches from various perspectives. This growing interest is resulting in methodologies, practices, and solutions that are becoming accessible to all stakeholders, which is especially heartening. You can experiment with these solutions or methodologies, provide feedback, enhance and adapt them, ensuring that the projects and programs into which you invest your resources, time, and expertise achieve the highest possible levels of effectiveness,” Irina Efremova-Garth noted.

Vladlen Zamorsky, the Chief Executive Officer of Better, the Chief Sustainability Officer of Okkam, and the Co-Chair of the Sustainability Committee at the Association for the Development of Interactive Advertising (ARIR), received recognition for advancing practices in evaluating the media effectiveness of social projects. Vladlen played a pivotal role in evaluating the impact of the Khabensky Foundation’s #this-cannotbecured #cancercanbecured campaign, which was featured in the pages of Positive Changes Journal.[59]

“Media plays an indispensable role in addressing social and environmental challenges. Without media, knowledge and trust-building become unattainable, which in turn hampers efforts to influence behavioral change — and without these attributes, social change is out of the question. Consequently, all outreach campaigns should undergo thorough measurement. Fortunately, there exists a wide array of tools and approaches for this purpose. This is why none of our media campaigns proceed without comprehensive measurement. Efficiency is the cornerstone of our approach. I strongly recommend that social projects also leverage industrial methodologies that enable the measurement of all aspects related to communication effectiveness,” Vladlen Zamorsky advised.

Furthermore, the award recipient expressed his appreciation for our journal, stating, “This is an outstanding project in terms of both content and form. It is commendable that a substantial amount of meticulously curated, high-quality scientific content is emerging, driving the entire sustainability industry forward by enabling the measurement of its impact.”

“DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY” CATEGORY

The accolade in this category was awarded to the Vladimir Potanin Foundation for its pivotal role in evolving the methodology for assessing investments in mass sports.[60]

“Significantly, we are witnessing a shift towards more adaptable and diverse approaches to evaluating and scrutinizing experiences. In this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, the necessity arises to discard many erstwhile immutable rules that have ceased to be effective. Therefore, a noteworthy trend for 2023 and a driving force for 2024 can be defined as adaptability, audacity, and a willingness to experiment. This paradigm shift is substantiated by the category in which our foundation has been honored. The assessment of investments in mass sports, much like in several other social domains, is now an amalgamation of issues and mechanisms that were previously unconventional to consider collectively. For instance, it encompasses financial and social impacts, but not limited solely to the realm of SROI,” emphasizes Irina Lapidus, Program Director of the Potanin Foundation.

“BEST CASE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT INTEGRATION IN THE ACTIVITIES OF A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE / SOCIALLY ORIENTED NGO” CATEGORY

The Our Children Foundation was bestowed with an award for its successful implementation and propagation of evidence-based social project design practices.[61] The Foundation has been working with orphanage residents and graduates since 2006.

Since 2018, it has been focusing on preventing social orphanhood by assisting families at risk of child removal, thereby preventing children from being taken into orphanages in the first place. The mission of the Our Children Foundation revolves around transforming the child protection system within the country, ensuring that children grow up in nurturing family environments, ultimately emerging as prosperous adults. By embracing and employing evidence-based practices, the Foundation becomes an important partner to the government agencies and businesses, and it enables the Foundation to scale its activities more effectively. Notably, four of the foundation’s practices have earned inclusion in the federal registry of evidence-based practices.