A Deeper Inquiry #14: Rethinking Impact Measurement A Deeper Inquiry

Impact. A buzzword in philanthropy, often used to frame wins and failures through the lens of measurable political changes or outcomes. Rooted in market logics of maximization, quantification, and categorization, traditional impact thinking shapes funding decisions—even when it fails to capture the complexity of social justice work.

The challenge of measuring systemic change has led to a reliance on “phantasy data”, feeding performative realities rather than meaningful learning. If social justice is about redefining our value system, then “impact” itself is in urgent need of reframing.

Alternatives exist, from warm data approaches to models that prioritize learning and the interrelationality between and among systems. In this Deeper Inquiry session, Toby Lowe will explore human-centered alternatives to outcome-driven impact measurement, drawing from his Human Learning Systems approach which is being experimented with in the UK. Join us on zoom to deepdive into how we can better harness the power of social justice work beyond the myopic view of traditional impact measurement.

About our speaker

Toby Lowe has a PhD in Political Theory from Newcastle University, exploring “The Concept of Community in Political Theory”. He was Chief Executive of a participatory arts charity in North East England, supporting marginalised and excluded people to explore creativity.

He has also done policy work addressing poverty in neighbourhoods for the Social Exclusion Unit, and worked as a public management action researcher – helping public service organisations across the world to change their approach to management, so that it better serves the lives of real people, in what is called a Human Learning Systems approach. At the Centre for Public Impact, Toby is passionate about helping to change how public service is managed, as he believes that how we perform in public management is directly connected to governments’ ability to address the complex challenges faced by people.

Resources

A Guerrilla Impact Narrative: https://guerrillafoundation.org/a-gue…
Learning as Management Strategy: https://www.humanlearning.systems/upl…