Saint Mary's

Impact Assessment of the Retail Activities of a Social Enterprise

The present research aims to assess the social impact of the retail activities of a social enterprise: . This is the test phase (third phase) of the Social Impact Assessment research project (see Figure 1 for a project overview). A better understanding of how their retail activities relate to their social impact is important for social enterprises as they need to justify their relevance to funders and society. While their retail activities can help sustain and provide funding for other activities, some have argued that it can also be source of conflict with the social mission. A more complete understanding of the total social impact would help social enterprises to better structure the services they provide to their members.

Project 2: Applied Impact Assessment

Impact Assessment of a Community-based Initiative

This project aims to assess the impact of initiatives from the . We have a partnership with Happy Community Project through the Impactlab of the Center for Leadership Excellence. In this project, the intent is to measure through a unique approach engagement and community involvement. Our model begins from the premise that social impact assessment must start by understanding why and how actors come together, and who they consist of. It also looks at both positive and negative impacts as well as negative space.