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Key impact terms

We use these terms in the Change Pathway and elsewhere.

You’ll fill in each section of the Change Pathway. You’ll have to know what each section means, so here we define each term.

 Impact

Changes that occur for stakeholders or in society as a result of activities (for which the organisation is accountable).

 Outcomes

Actual or intended short, medium and long-term changes experienced by the stakeholder through their engagement with activities. These can be experienced at any point, e.g. in the long or short-term.

 Outputs

The tangible, quantifiable and measurable products and services delivered by activities.

 Activities

The actual or planned actions undertaken by a person or an organisation in order to achieve their goals.

 Resources

The investments (inputs) you are making in time and money to realize your activities.

 Stakeholder

A person, group, community, or organisation expected to experience a change (that is, to benefit in some way from an organisation’s work). In the impact design phase, activities and impact assessments are designed around stakeholders.

In your Change Pathway you will set out where you are and where you are not solely accountable for change, by drawing out the accountability line.

 Accountability line

Marks the dividing line between the 'impact' you contribute to (e.g. increased literacy) and the outcomes that are directly attributable to you (e.g. open access to information).

You measure outcomes by identifying and measuring indicators.

 Indicator

A metric that indicates if and to what extent a programme or activity is contributing towards the anticipated outcomes.

Take the quiz!

Test your knowledge of the key terminology that you’ll need to navigate your way through the Impact Playbook.

Types of impact

 Economic impact

The results of activities delivering economic benefits to society, stakeholders or to the organisation.

 Social impact

The result of activities that lead to stakeholders and wider society being affected and changed in a beneficial fashion.

 Innovation impact

The results of activities delivering economic benefits to society, stakeholders or to the organisation.

 Operational impact

The results of activities that have led to an improvement or refinement of internal processes to the organisation delivering the activities.

 Environmental impact

Generally referred to as the negative impact caused to the environment (e.g. through carbon emissions from travel) directly or indirectly due to an activity. It also includes positive impact, if changes are made that have a positive effect on the environment.

Other impact terminology

 Digital carbon footprint

The total greenhouse gas emissions caused by digital services or activities, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

 Data collection

The process of gathering and measuring information in a systematic way (definition drawn from Wikipedia).

 Digital transformation

The process and the result of using digital technology to transform how an organisation operates and delivers value. It helps an organisation to thrive, fulfil its mission and meet the needs of its stakeholders. See Europeana’s working definition.

 Europeana Impact Framework (EIF)

This framework sets out how the Europeana Initiative, led by the Europeana Foundation, applies an impact assessment approach to our work. A key resource in the EIF is the Impact Playbook.

 Evaluation

The process of judging or calculating the quality, importance, effectiveness or value of something (definition drawn from the Cambridge Dictionary). Evaluation is usually part of an impact assessment approach and evaluation can be conducted separately from impact assessment.

 Impact assessment

A research activity to understand if activities lead or contribute to the changes (short and long-term outcomes, impact) designed for stakeholders.

 Impact toolkit

Resources and tools developed in the Europeana Impact Framework (EIF), including the Impact Playbook and its complementary resources.

 Intended learning outcomes (ILOs)

These define what a learner will have acquired and will be able to do upon successfully completing a specific training session or training course. Intended Learning Outcomes are expressed from the learners’ perspective and are measurable, achievable and assessable.

 Network analysis

The analysis of social structures in terms of nodes (those people or objects under investigation) and the links (the connections between them). The findings are most often represented in a sociogram.

 Problem statement

A brief description of the problem that the activities of the organisation seek to address.

 Research question

This sets out the question that you want to answer through your impact assessment.

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