Impact Evaluation

World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as “The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.” Nearly all leading corporate in India are involved in CSR programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of weaker sections of the society. In recent years, changing market scenario, globalization, ethical consumerism all are adding heat to the CSR concept. Making profit and is the primary goal of all organizations; thus the companies target to increase their sales every year. In this CSR driven business scenario, it becomes vital to analyse the effect of CSR investments on the sales of the company. This paper gives an theoretical overview of the legal framework of CSR in India, discusses the trends of CSR in India that how CSR once considered as charity by a company has now transformed as a responsibility of the company towards society. This paper also analyzes whether there is any significant relationship between CSR investment and sales and finally, the possible impact of CSR investments on the sales of few companies selected at random for 3 years 2012 to 2015.

Evaluation of academic research plays a significant role in government efforts to steer public universities. The scope of such evaluation is now being extended to include the ‘relevance’ or ‘impact’ of academic research outside the academy.  We address how evaluation of non-academic research impact can promote more such impact without undermining academic freedom and research excellence.  Five questions on evaluation design are considered: (1) What should be the object of measurement? (2) What should be the timeframe? (3) How should non-academic users of research inform evaluation processes? (4) How should controversial impacts be managed? (5) When in funding cycles should impact evaluation occur? We conclude that non-academic impact should be selectively promoted and evaluated.  This is how greater gains from research might be best captured without imposing misguided and onerous reporting requirements on individuals and institutions.

No Projecto POCI/AGR/59180/2004, concluído em 2009 (cf. Lobo-Ferreira et al., 2009), apresenta-se uma metodologia para avaliação quantitativa dos impactos dos fogos florestais na quantidade e qualidade das águas superficiais e subterrâneas. Nesta metodologia procura-se avaliar as alterações que possam ter ocorrido após o fogo:(A) em volumes de recarga,(B) volumes de escoamento superficial,(C) qualidade das águas superficiais e subterrâneas. Esta metodologia considera:(1) tipo e densidade de coberto ...

Without a more systematice and comprehensive approach to evaluating cross-sector partnerships, further investment in the development and implementation of partnership approaches is likely to be curtailed in coming years. This is because the effectiveness and desirability of the cross-sector partnership approach is likely to be judged not just in relation to the impact of well-designed and well-run partnerships, but on the results of a myriad of initiatives and activities labelled as partnerships. Many of these underperform and do not achieve what is expected of them because they are badly conceived or poorly implemented. This is why more emphasis needs now to be placed on evaluation of the performance, effectiveness and impact of cross-sector partnerships.  With this motivation in mind, The Partnering Initiative (TPI) canvassed the views of partnership practitioners on current practice through a combination of desk research, literature review, questionnaire surveys and face-to-face interviews sought to answer the following quesitons: (1) DEFINITIONS: is there a consensu on the terminology related to evaluating cross-sector partnerships? FINDING - there is no consensus both within and across civil society, business and public sectors as to definitions as to what constitutes "evaluation" and what does not. A variety of terms are used including evaluation, tracking, assessing, monitoring, reviewing with no consistency of terminology; (2) ASPECTS OF EVALUATION: Which aspects of of partnering are considered to be the most important in evaluations of cross-sector partnerships? FINDING - The focus on 'producing tangible results' or assessing impacts dominates current practice in evaluating cross-sector partnership performance. More intangible or unexpected outcomes resulting from cross-sector partnering are not well addressed and are often ignored altogether. Partnership performance is seldom monitored and evaluated in relation to the potential advantages or benefits, which can be achieved. (3) PLANNING EVALUATION: In what ways do partnership practitioners plan to evaluate their partnerships and what is the focus of such evaluations? FINDING - Few cross-sector partnerships are subjected to formal evaluation. Of these only a minority are evaluated in a systematic or comprehensive way in terms of their overall performance and impact. Alternatives to partnership approaches are seldom considered in evaluations. Most partnerships are evaluated from the perspective of one of the partners in relation to financial investement and related reputation risks/benefits. (4) TOOLS: What tools are used for evaluating cross-sector partnerships? FINDING - Evaluations ofr cross-sector partnerships most commonly rely on judgement of specialist consultants, who make use of a wide range of specialised tools, frameworks, techniques and approaches. There is no single most favoured or accepted tool, framework or approach. Evaluators opt for the evaluation tools, which are most appropriate or relevant to meeting the needs, circumstances, purposes and organizational cultures of specific sectors. Frameworks and tools are typically selected by the agency, partner funding or commissioning the evaluation; (5) IMPROVING EVALUATION: What are the most important barriers to improving evaluations of cross-sector partnerships? FINDING - The most frequently cited barrirer to undertaking evaluations of cross sector partnerships relates to securing adequate resources. The availability of resources is closely related to the way evaluations are organised and carried out. In other words, who decides on their scope, who funds them, who carries them out and who uses and  interprets the results are crucial questions that must be dealt with by the partners working together in a cross-sector partnership. A key aspiration for partnership practitioners relates to finding ways of designing evaluations of cross-sector partnerships as a whole in ways, which draw on or include all partners, as well as those who have been affected by the activities of the partnership. The aspiration isn this regard is to ensure evaluation results contribute to improving partnership performance and impact.

Foresight has evolved as a distinct prospective analytical tool: it considers alternative futures of various S&T fields or socio-economic systems by bringing together the perspectives of various stakeholder groups, and thus assists the decision-making processes at different levels. However, in order to avoid hypes – and subsequent disappointments – about what foresight can deliver, the potential contributions to decision-making processes by foresight should be clearly understood. The paper puts foresight into this broader context of policy-making processes, with a particular emphasis on innovation policy: it describes the evolution of different policy rationales since the 1950s, develops a framework to classify the impacts of various types of prospective analyses, and reviews the evaluation results of several national foresight programmes by using this framework. On that basis, future directions of how foresight might evolve are considered to spur discussions.

Back cover text: Real Social Science presents a new, hands-on approach to social inquiry. The theoretical and methodological ideas behind the book, inspired by Aristotelian phronesis, represent an original perspective within the social sciences, and this volume gives readers for the first time a set of studies exemplifying what applied phronesis looks like in practice. The reflexive analysis of values and power gives new meaning to the impact of research on policy and practice. Real Social Science is a major step forward in a novel and thriving field of research. This book will benefit scholars, researchers, and students who want to make a difference in practice, not just in the academy. Its message will make it essential reading for students and academics across the social sciences.

This paper proposes a methodology for Design
Economy 2021 that will provide data and stories
on the environmental and social value of design
in the UK, in addition to economic value. It
envisages a programme of research over several
years which, as well as articulating the social and
environmental impact and value of design, will
result in new capacities in the design economy,
new kinds of evidence and a stronger orientation
to understanding the links between design skills,
action and social and environmental outcomes
and, ultimately, changing practices.