Aspire Circle and Aspire Impact teamed up with Capgemini and other CSR & Non-Profit leaders to launch India’s first set of independent standards for non-for-profit organizations (NPOs)
Publication provides India’s first framework for NPO Impact Assessments. Framework to trigger better impact performance, greater transparency & increased funding for NPOs
Bangalore: In a bid to further catalyze India’s non-profit sector and provide a framework for standards-based Impact assessment & ratings, Aspire Circle and Aspire Impact teamed up with Capgemini and other CSR & Non-Profit leaders to launch India’s first set of independent standards for non-for-profit organizations (NPOs) in presence of 100+ social leaders of India.
The publication, called ‘Impact Assessment Standards for NPOs’ provides a framework for NPOs, including philanthropies and CSR units to measure their impact, secure third-party independent ratings through key performance indices and make impact comparable across causes and projects for enhanced impact performance. This has been necessitated not just by recent CSR guidelines mandating corporations to report impact assessments for projects over INR 1 crore but also by the proposed rules for imminent Social Stock Exchange in India.
This publication was put together by more than 20 industry practitioners over a period of six months. It comes on the heels of concerted efforts and in-depth research to achieve the required coverage, acceptance, validity, and transparency that a project of this magnitude requires.
These practitioners, put together by Aspire, documented 13 impact categories, 41 impact themes, and 130 KPIs, to be collated from primary and secondary data sources, for a well-rounded NPO project rating. The framework rests on a 4P impact assessment strategy of product, people, planet, and policy in a bid to move with the times and cover all the bases of present-day impact evaluation parameters.
The 15 industry players who came together to co-author the Standards include Amit Bhatia, Founder & CEO- Aspire Impact; Anna Bruni Sabhaney, Founder- The Confluencers; Anurag Pratap, VP & CSR Leader- Capgemini; Apoorva Oza, Global Lead- Aga Khan Foundation; Archana Joshi, Director- Deepak Foundation; John Alex, ED & CEO, Equitas Holdings; Meenakshi Batra, Ex-CEO- Charities Aid Foundation; Nidhi Bhasin, CEO- NASSCOM Foundation; Pavithra YS, Founder & MD- Vindhya e-Infomedia; Pratyush Panda, Head, Sustainability & CSR- Larsen & Toubro Infotech; Raman K., Head of Strategy- Tata Trusts; Sachin Golwalkar, CEO- United Way Delhi; Shashaank Awasthi, Co-Founder, V-Shesh; Viiveck Verma Chief Impact Officer- Recykal Foundation; and, Vivek Prakash, VP & Head CSR- Jubilant Ingrevia.
Amit Bhatia, Founder and Managing Trustee of Aspire Circle, said- “India needs an impact assessment framework which is based on standards and makes Impact empirical and comparable. We are confident that legislated impact assessments for CSR projects over INR 1 Crore, the Social Stock Exchange and drive for greater transparency in the NPO sector will act as catalysts for the Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) practice. Our survey shows that whereas 100% of non-profit leaders consider impact measurement a top priority, 84% find it hard to measure impact and 67% find current approaches & methods ineffective. Aspire’s impact assessment standards and 4P framework will transform NPO impact assessments.”
The framework is introduced as a crucial part of Aspire’s Impact Future Project (IFP), which seeks to maintain a sustainable balance in the relationship between people and the planet. The rising scope and influence of NPOs makes it impossible to ignore their activities and how their actions affect communities and the planet, especially with respect to the SDGs.
In the words of Anurag Pratap, VP & CSR Leader- Capgemini, “It is important to measure the impact of NPOs, not just because it enhances transparency and builds brand trust, but it also affords them the opportunity to showcase their real impact on people, communities, and the planet. With that, they are better able to attract more donors, be financially sustainable, and improve their scale, programmes, and reach. Although there are some tools out there which help organizations measure certain indices, they are not comprehensive enough.”
This Impact Assessment Standards for NPOs published by Aspire Circle, Aspire Impact, Capgemini, and other stakeholders is, therefore, a timely intervention as it fulfils a need that has long stood in the way of effective measurement and evaluation of the Impact of NPOs, including NGOs, philanthropies, CSR units of organizations, and other not-for-profit establishments in India, and across the world.
