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Scaling a social enterprise can feel like the only way to prove you are “serious”, but that pressure can quietly push brilliant organisations into growth they are not ready for. I’m joined by Clodagh O’Reilly, an Irish social enterprise practitioner turned researcher, to unpack what scaling really involves and why slowing down can be the most strategic move you make. We get into the reality behind the headline numbers: the messy middle where your mission, your income model, your capacity, and your leadership all collide. 

Clodagh shares what she learned from years of practice and her PhD research into social enterprise scaling, including the questions too many teams skip while they rush into staffing, operations, and financing. We talk about proving your concept, pulling your model apart to find the critical success factors, and avoiding the trap of “scaling on shaky ground”. We also challenge the idea that every organisation must expand sites or turnover, exploring alternative scaling pathways such as sharing your model, influencing policy, changing behaviours, partnering well, and even considering mergers where it strengthens long-term impact. 

We also zoom out to the social enterprise ecosystem in Ireland: what is improving, where support is still thin for later-stage growth, and how social procurement and public sector tenders are evolving. You’ll hear why consortium bids are becoming more common, what readiness really looks like for public contracts, and how EU funding could play a bigger role. If you care about social impact, impact measurement, sustainable growth, and practical strategy for mission-led organisations, you’ll leave with clearer thinking and sharper questions. 

Subscribe, leave a review, and share the show with someone building social change, then tell us what smart scaling looks like in your work.

Find out more about Clodagh's work at: https://www.socialenterprisesolutions.ie/

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Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Charles Rapson takes us on a fascinating journey through his accidental discovery of social enterprise and his current mission as Social Economy Growth Lead at West Midlands Combined Authority. With refreshing candour, he shares how he's leveraging his position to champion a sector that employs over 100,000 people and engages 200,000+ volunteers across the West Midlands.

The conversation reveals how Charles has successfully shifted perceptions of the social economy within regional government, securing £2.5 million in funding and ensuring social enterprises feature prominently in strategic planning. His innovative place-based approach is rebuilding vital infrastructure by supporting nine organisations to become community hubs where relationships, trust, and partnerships can flourish.

We dive deep into the challenges of social value procurement, with Charles articulating a compelling vision for moving beyond tick-box exercises to measuring real impact. His practical strategies - breaking down large contracts into manageable lots, making social value contractual and measurable, recognising intrinsic value alongside additional value - offer a blueprint for procurement that genuinely supports inclusive growth.

Looking ahead, Charles outlines his comprehensive ecosystem approach to growing the social economy, encompassing everything from business support and access to finance to education initiatives modelled on Scotland's successful Social Enterprise Academy. His determination to map and understand the region's 9,314 social economy organisations demonstrates a data-driven approach to strategic investment.

Whether you're a social entrepreneur seeking opportunities, a public sector professional interested in procurement innovation, or simply curious about how regional economies can become more inclusive, this conversation offers valuable insights into transforming systems from within. Visit the West Midlands Combined Authority website and join their Social Economy Forums to learn more and help shape the future of social enterprise in your region.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Gabriela Matouskova from Hope for the Community shares her inspiring journey from the initial challenges of the pandemic to embracing technology for transformative community care. Through innovative partnerships and focus on measurement of impact, Hope for the Community has supported over 30,000 individuals, navigating the delicate balance of emotional and social support alongside practical solutions.

• Gabriela's unexpected journey into social enterprise 
• The role of technology in overcoming pandemic challenges 
• Growth of digital services supporting long-term conditions 
• Importance of collaborative partnerships in community outreach 
• Emphasis on measuring impact and user experience 
• Future plans focused on technology integration and sustainability 
• Call to action for organisations seeking to innovate responsibly

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Can social data revolutionise healthcare? Join us as we uncover the incredible journey of Miranda Mapleton, CEO of White Swan, a charity that's leveraging anonymised social data and AI to transform patient care. Discover how a personal story involving the a friend's sister's rare condition ignited a movement to improve health outcomes through innovative technology. Miranda walks us through her transition from a marketing executive to leading a team of 130 passionate volunteers, all driven by the mission to make healthcare more effective and accessible.

We'll explore the ground-breaking work White Swan is doing in collaboration with universities, charities, and commercial organisations, and how their bespoke projects and reports are making a real impact. Learn about the rapid advancements in AI, specifically Large Language Models, and how they're enhancing data processes to benefit patient care. Miranda also shares White Swan's future ambitions to democratise their data for academic research and expand partnerships, emphasising the critical role of client feedback and returning clients. Tune in to be inspired by how data and technology are paving the way for a healthier future.

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Heidi Fisher is joined by Johnathan Parsons, Managing Director and Consultant Clinical Scientist at Chime Social Enterprise.

Chime is an NHS Audiology Service that utilised the Government Right to Request scheme to spin out as a not-for-profit Social Enterprise, having spun out 12 years ago under the "right to request" legislation.  Owned by its staff, the organisation has a direct contract with the ICB for audiology services in the region.

Heidi and Johnathan discuss the challenges, benefits, and ongoing success of Chime Audiology's transition to a social enterprise within the NHS. 

Their conversation also covers: 

• Recognition of potential efficiencies beyond NHS supply chain protocols.
• The importance of flexibility, adaptation, and embracing change.
• Chime's impact report and its effectiveness in demonstrating the value of their services.

What next?

• Visit Chime's website: www.chimehealth.co.uk
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Heidi Fisher sits down with Rhonda Lovell, founder of Wellington Counselling, to explore Rhonda's journey from her early career in gender studies to becoming a therapist and establishing a community-focused counselling centre.

Highlights from the discussion include:

• Organic growth of Wellington Counselling
• Community support and collaboration
• Pandemic Challenges and the surge in demand for counselling services
• Online platforms for service delivery and adapting to the changing landscape of therapeutic support
• Balancing grant dependency and traded income
• Establishing a High Street Community Well-being Centre
  
  

Tune in to hear Rhonda's powerful message on the enduring challenges of expressing emotions in society, the urgency to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental health and how to embrace genuine self-kindness as an essential practice.

What next?

• Visit The  Wellington Counselling website: www.wellington-counselling.co.uk
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

The Parenting Apart Programme is an early intervention that prevents long-term negative impacts on children’s emotional health and well-being when their parents separate or divorce.

In this episode, Managing Director Claire Field and Parenting Apart Consultant Kam Kaur share their insights into their innovative approach with Heidi. From organisational development to logistics and challenges to positive outcomes, this conversation highlights the importance of bringing parents together to foster respectful post-separation relationships. 

• Dive into the emotional aspects of co-parenting, embracing individuality, and the challenges of collaborating with statutory agencies. 
• Learn about the role of mediation, practitioner training, and the funding challenges faced by this vital service. 
• The Parenting Apart Programme's critical role in prioritising children's well-being and advocating for a collaborative, supportive approach. 

Tune in for a powerful conversation on transforming mindsets and creating and reporting on positive impacts for families.

What next?

• Visit The Parenting Apart Programme website: https://www.parentingapartprogramme.co.uk/ 
• Find Kam and Claire on LinkedIn
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

What's the sign of an organisation that wants to realise the best for patients?

It's something Dr. Linda Harris, a GP and the founding CEO of Spectrum Community Health CIC sees in droves everyday.

And if you want to magnify your impact, whether in health and wellbeing, in working with vulnerable communities or across the gamut of social enterprises' outcomes, this episode is a must-listen.

Linda is candid about her biggest learnings since Spectrum launched over 12 years ago. Why is growth good? How do you balance impact and scaling up? What should a maturing organisation let go of – and what must it embrace?

She tells Heidi about the 'golden threads' Spectrum pulls together to provide quality healthcare for people in vulnerable circumstances and the three areas this CQC-regulated provider focuses on, and why.

There's more. How do you attract and retain high quality team members? Why is communicating impact internally so important? And how is Spectrum addressing health inequalities?

Heidi and Linda also cover the balance between leadership and luck, natural curveballs that lead to a compete paradigm shift, and the role and use of AI in impact and healthcare.

What next?

• Visit the Spectrum Community Health CIC website: https://spectrum-cic.org.uk/
• Find Linda on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-linda-harris-82379938
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Catch22 supports over 160,000 people every year. A social business, it has over 1,700 staff and volunteers and delivers services addressing child exploitation, children's social care, criminal justice, education, employment and training, and health and wellbeing.

Naomi Hulston had worked in the organisation for 21 years before taking on her 15th role as its chief executive.  She describes her passion for levering organisational strategy to achieve and boost outcomes and how 'building resilience' is at the heart of its work.

Being a philosopher at heart and 'quite nosy' is an asset to her work, says Naomi. She also tells Heidi about Catch22's approach to collecting qualitative and quantitative data and managing and measuring its impact.

Plus: the art of storytelling in communicating impact; is criminal justice in need of complete reform?; how the corporate sector can invest more in social and community activity; Naomi's biggest bugbears; and how social mobility is at the heart of Catch22's work.

What next?

• More about Catch22: https://www.catch-22.org.uk/
• Listen to the Catch22 podcast
• Find Naomi on LinkedIn:  https://uk.linkedin.com/in/naomi-hulston-78026b32
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Paul Zelizer is a social entrepreneur coach and the co-host of the Awarepreneurs Podcast.

He spent 15 years working in community mental health and tells Heidi about his journey from "burned-out, broke social worker" through a reinvention 16 years ago. Now he offers consultancy and coaching for impact-focused leaders. In this episode he covers:

• Using large organisations to lever impact.
• Securing work-life balance for a holistic life.
• The four questions every social entrepreneur needs to know.
• Why Paul is "impact agnostic" – and loves social enterprise.
• The power of podcasting to catalyse collaboration and learning.
• How he measures his impact.
• Scaling high-impact teams and organisations.
• Balancing innovation, learning and collaboration.
• And much more.

Heidi reflects on her and Make an Impact's approach to measuring and managing impact, why people might be "surveyed out" and avoiding generic impact measurements.

What next?

• You can get Paul's free guide, 4 QUESTIONS TO GROW YOUR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR BUSINESS,  from his website https://www.paulzelizer.com/
• Find Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzelizer
• Listen to the Awarepreneurs Podcast: https://www.awarepreneurs.com/podcast
• Need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Here's a rollicking, rip-roaring marketing 101 with Ayo Abbas.

Ayo specialises in B2B (business to business) marketing for the built environment.  And she believes marketing shouldn't be a weird, mystical art. We hear:

• why you should always remember you're marketing to people
• the problem with customer avatars – "I hate them" says Ayo, and confusing funnels
• why Ayo finds marketing architecture, engineering and other built environment services so much more interesting (and more of a mental challenge) than consumer marketing
• the biggest barrier to people marketing confidently and what you can do to address it
• how to beat the blank page of no inspiration
• the power of repurposing content
• creating relationships and networks
• trends: AI and Chat GPT and how they will impact on marketing

Heidi and Ayo also discuss diversity in the built environment industry: both progress to date and what's still needed, along with Ayo's career journey up to and including launching Abbas Marketing in 2020, just before the pandemic struck.

Ayo is a board member for Make an Impact CIC, Heidi's social enterprise. "It's such a delight to listen to your wisdom on marketing" says Heidi. 

What next?

• Visit Abbas Marketing, Ayo Abbas' built environment marketing consultancy for architects, engineers and contractors: https://www.abbasmarketing.com
• Find Ayo on LinkedIn where she posts powerful tips: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ayoabbas
• Do you need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Here's a horrifying statistic: 80% of toys are thrown away within two weeks, and they're packed with plastics and chemicals which damage the environment.

Handmade wooden toys, so loved by so many, had been disappearing because of rapid industrialisation and the spread of cheap plastics.

Arshad Khalid is the founder and director of Ethiqana, a social enterprise which works with toy producers – 'artisan heroes' – to create employment in India and around the world.

Ethiqana's mission is to preserve traditional and, often, near-extinct art and craft forms – which are also sustainable and earth-friendly.

Arshad started Ethiqana after 21 years in the IT industry. He explains why – and what it means for Ethiqana to be part of the Ebay for Change programme (it was selected for the first cohort).

We learn more about how this 'accidental social entrepreneur' supports artisans to create sustainable livelihoods, how Ethiqana is bringing art-forms back to life, how it measures its impact and why we must look for products made from natural materials.

What next?

• Visit the Ethiqana website https://ethiqana.com/  and find Ethiqana on Ebay for Change too https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/ethiqana
• Do you need help with your Impact Measurement and Management? More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when a spare bedroom becomes the solution to both loneliness and housing affordability? Lucie Cunningham reveals the life-changing power of intergenerational home sharing in this thought-provoking conversation.

After witnessing elderly clients spending 21 hours alone each day in her home care work, Lucie founded THE HomeShare, a social enterprise that matches older homeowners with younger people seeking affordable accommodation. The concept creates a beautifully balanced relationship where elderly participants offer free housing while receiving companionship and practical support in return. "They become buddies, they become friends," Lucie explains, "and they both appreciate each other because they both need each other."

The impact is extraordinary. Eighty-three percent of elderly participants, whose average age is 87, report a greater sense of purpose. Hospital admissions drop by 42%, and falls decrease by 50%. One 103-year-old participant proclaimed that instead of "sitting in a nursing home waiting to die," she was enabling a young person to attend university. Meanwhile, younger participants gain affordable housing, with half eventually saving enough to purchase their own homes.

Beyond these direct benefits, home sharing creates ripple effects throughout communities. Family members visit "because they want to, not because they have to." Neighbours feel reassured. Healthcare systems experience reduced demand. The arrangement preserves dignity and independence while maximizing underutilized housing stock.

Despite proven success and a potential €1.53 return on investment for every euro spent, home sharing still struggles for governmental recognition. Lucie attributes this to fear of the unfamiliar, though THE HomeShare's robust safeguarding processes have prevented any significant issues across hundreds of matches.

Connect with Lucie via thehomeshare.ie or explore global options through homeshareinternational.org.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Alessandra Alonso is the founder and managing director of Women in Travel CIC, a social enterprise which focuses on the economic empowerment of women through employability and entrepreneurship in travel, tourism and hospitality.

It provides all women, but especially marginalised, vulnerable and under-represented women with visibility, confidence, access to training, mentoring and allyship programmes.

Alessandra covers Women in Travel's history, how it continued to support people through the pandemic, and an exciting partnership with Google.  And she describes how it has secured funding and revenue streams, her ambition to multiply its impact and how she will make this a reality.

Responding to the needs of the market but doing it in a way that is inclusive and enables the industry to embrace a more progressive way of operating is at the heart of Alessandra's work.

What next?

• Visit the Women in Travel CIC website www.womenintravelcic.com and find Alessandra on LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alessandraalonso
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Remi Ray is a neurodivergent high-performance coach and the founder of The Diverse Creative CIC.

She describes how she came to launch her social enterprise, which supports disabled entrepreneurs, and the multi-faceted approach she takes to coaching.

After struggling through education because she had "shied away from discussing" her dyslexia until the age of 28, Remi realised she had not been honest about who she was (she received a diagnosis of dyslexia at the age of 19) – and felt a calling to help others.

That set her on a journey navigating the challenges of funding and funders, heavy and tough work, and what to do if an idea you dreamed of also makes you tired.

Remi tells us about The Diverse Creative's free programmes for disabled entrepreneurs, a forthcoming conference and why society still has much to do in EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) , especially when it comes to disability.

Data and information hasn't always been used effectively. To address the gap, The Diverse Creative conducted  research to examine the extent to which ‘race’ and disability might work together or separately to determine black, neurodivergent individuals' experience of employment. This was published in The Homecoming Project and has had a world-wide impact.

Also in this episode: tips on delegation, Remi's new mastermind community, The Shift, for women who run service-based businesses, and why funders need to be less rigid to cultivate organisations and innovation.

What next?

• More about Remi and The Diverse Creative at https://www.thediversecreative.org
• Remi is on LinkedIn at https://uk.linkedin.com/in/remiray and Instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/iamremiray/
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Doing good in the world? Then it is incumbent on you to build the foundations of a sustainable business, says Yinka Ewuola. Get those right and you can maximise your impact.

This episode is about those foundations: cashflow and mindset. Plus Heidi is honest and open about common pricing mistakes and Yinka has ideas and solutions. And:

• Why "knowing your worth" can be the most damaging advice for an entrepreneur.
• How to maximise individual superpowers and create a "houseful of love."
• Why do we either celebrate  or demonise wealth and the rich?
• A perfect description of legacy.
• Heidi's birthday revelation about learning which has already and aptly made an impact.

Business and social entrepreneurship is a beautiful opportunity to make a difference, says Yinka, and she describes how to lean in to the longevity of the impact you create. It's a must-listen.

What next?

• Yinka is on Linkedin,  Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram. 
• Get in touch at hello@callasuccess.com or connect with Yinka and reach out in direct messages on LI, FB or IG to find out more about her upcoming Cashflow Fundamentals Course, or to join her Accelerator to help create consistent cashflow in your business.
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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"Everyone has had a financial bump in the road at some point in their life, but I don't think they should be punished for that," say Tim Rooney, CEO of "Fintech for Good" Award-winner, Salad Money.

Salad is a social enterprise and community development finance institution (CDFI) which focuses on lending and tailored financial education, support and signposting for NHS and Public Sector workers.

Many people are punished by widespread use of credit scores to make decisions in the consumer credit market.  Tim, formerly of Big Issue Invest, has been with Salad since it launched and describes "empirical evidence that credit scores don't work for people in the sub and near prime sector as defined by the credit scoring industry. "

A much better way of assessing affordability and appropriateness is through Open Banking, he explains. So what is Open Banking? How does it lead to all sorts of positive outcomes for far more applicants than Salad's customers alone? Tim explains.

With at research showing millions of people in the UK “risk being excluded from accessing affordable financial services because of flaws in credit scoring,”  Salad Money is much needed. About 40% of its borrowers have a CCJ, but reliably repay their loans. Nearly half have children in their households. Many would automatically be turned down by lenders which use credit scores, leaving them with limited options when they need credit, which 9 out of 10 in the UK do from time to time. Tim goes through the why, who, how and even what next for Salad Money with Heidi. 

What next?

• Salad Money website: https://www.saladmoney.co.uk
• Salad Money impact report: https://www.saladmoney.co.uk/news/salad-money-2021-2022-impact-report
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

There are six million dads in the UK and when Dan Flanagan's  own father passed away he re-evaluated his own life. "It can be lonely to be a dad but men don't like to talk about that."

The consequences are profound and tragic. Isolation, loneliness, mental ill-health. For some men, suicide – horrifyingly, 96 men under 45 are lost to suicide each week in the UK. And the emotional availability of fathers has both an immediate and long-lasting impact on children.

A few years ago Dan started blogging about fathers and parenting and – to his great surprise – his posts became hugely popular. They resonated with many men who were frustrated they couldn't share their feelings with others, suffering in silence, or struggling with stereotyping.

He launched Dad La Soul, a "revolutionary grassroots movement that uses art, tech, music and play to battle social isolation and loneliness." The more we can do to get dads talking the better, he says.

Dad La Soul is a not-for-profit community interest company. It's now globally recognised, has been mentioned in the UK's parliament and featured in numerous media articles.

Its impact report has unlocked numerous opportunities for the social enterprise, and been recognised as an exemplary piece of storytelling and impact communication.

Dan tells Heidi how he came to launch and develop Dad La Soul and build communities where dads support each other.

He  describes how it has worked with many organisations, from football clubs to social housing providers to local authorities to big brands  – but it's also turned down numerous partnerships if they weren't right.

And he covers how he shook up impact reporting by necessity.

What next?

• Dad La Soul website: www.dadlasoul.com
• Dad La Soul impact report
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Finance and credit play a big part in our lives. Removing or preventing access to them is hugely disruptive, as today's guest explains.

Without fit-for-purpose finance on fair terms, businesses and social enterprises can't grow, create jobs or deliver vital frontline services, and millions of households are prey for loan sharks.

Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) address the damaging lack of appropriate finance faced by many people, businesses and social enterprises. Responsible Finance represents CDFIs, and CEO Theodora Hadjimichael describes the uneven financial landscape in the UK, and:

• how her members work to get the right finance to under-served businesses and financially excluded people
• why Responsible Finance is like a 'coach' for its members
• mapping policy work to direct results, whether that's influencing Government, securing investment, working with partners and changing lives for 70,000 people every year
• how Responsible Finance measures its own and the sector's impact
• her own journey to becoming CEO of the organisation.

What next?

• Responsible Finance's website is www.responsiblefinance.org.uk  
• Its latest impact report is at https://responsiblefinance.org.uk/2022/05/changing-lives  
• Its members are listed in full and with geographical and sector-specific (eg social enterprise, business, personal) filters at www.findingfinance.org.uk
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

We have never faced such scrutiny of our bodies, or been under as much pressure to conform to a narrow definition of 'beauty.'

Ldn Dares Drama Company supports people with low confidence, self-esteem and body image issues through performing arts.

The social enterprise works with commissioners in mental health. It helps people develop and understand their self worth, build confidence and more, and has been nominated for the Innovation in Healthcare Lammy Award.

Founder and CEO Ursula struggled herself for a period with her own mental health and talks us through what its 'dares' involve, how it measures and manages its impact, and how its varied progammes help people grow in confidence and self worth and create community value.

What's an immersive treasure hunt? How do challenges and performance build confidence, self acceptance and behaviour change? How is Ldn Dares led by participants in some of its sessions? What sort of changes does that lead to? And how does it translate its impact in terms in building participants' confidence in its programmes, workshops and sessions into their day-to-day lives? Listen to find out.

Links:

• Ldn Dares – https://www.ldndares.co.uk/ and its Impact report https://www.ldndares.co.uk/impact
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

When serial technology entrepreneur Bashir Khairy had a lightening bolt realisation of the cumulative effects of our shopping habits, he overhauled his lifestyle.

But there was a problem.  Bashir and his family couldn't find enough sustainable products in one place. "There were fundamental questions about how we vote with our money," he says, and directed his focus to creating a marketplace featuring ethical products from conscious merchants.

The Green Wallet app is now in use UK-Europe wide making it easy for social entrepreneurs to access conscious customers. Bashir and his team of tech enthusiasts have also launched a payment processing gateway, and plant a tree every time they process a payment. With 35 billion transactions  processed online in the UK alone last year, that could be a lot of trees.

Bashir, founder and CEO at Green Wallet, is a former officer with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and ran a substantial portfolio at BT Wholesale. Heidi was so impressed with Green Wallet's services (and its forthcoming launch of ethical banking services, something she is asked about frequently) that Make an Impact and Green Wallet launched an exciting partnership this month. In this episode Heidi quizzes Bashir about:

• How Green Wallet came to be
• Bashir has committed to planting a billion trees – that sounds like a lot! How will they get there, and are Bashir and team really planting that many?
• Is planting a tree the only solution, and does it accurately reflect the carbon involved in a transaction?
• The biggest highs and lows in the business so far
• How the team recruited its tech experts
• The new partnership and how Make an Impact podcast listeners can benefit and enable hundreds of trees to be planted every year – what a fantastic way of harnessing technology for good.

What next?

• For more information visit www.greenwallet.com/paymentprocessing Use the code IMPACT to enable 10 trees to be planted on registration and a halved commission fee for the first 6 months if you sell in the Green Wallet marketplace.
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Karis Gill was already a serial entrepreneur when she discovered social enterprise. She figured gifts are a wonderful way to introduce people to what she, like Heidi, believes is the future of business.

Social Stories Club, a social enterprise Karis co-founded, offers gifts (wonderful products which make a difference) accompanied by engaging, powerful stories.

Karis describes how it maps and manages its impacts; how it uses stories; and how she and her team decide what products to include.

The business gives opportunities to people with barriers to employment and is going from strength to strength – but how did it weather the storms of the pandemic, an enormous fall in orders from corporate clients, and a cardboard packaging shortage? Karis explains and tells us the story of Social Stories Club.

Links:

• Social Stories Club.
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Does your work create social change and are you an extraordinary business leader? If so, you could apply for the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize, which offers a £10,000 cash award to up to four winners for their personal and professional development alongside expert mentoring support.

It's an exciting opportunity to accelerate your impact and today's guest Nicole Helwig explains more about the Prize, its purpose and impact, how to apply, and gives a vital piece of advice if you're thinking of applying.

Nicole took up her role as Programme Director, Cambridge Social Ventures in the middle of the pandemic. What was that like, and how does Cambridge Social Ventures measure its impact? What programmes and support does it offer social innovators and impactful business leaders and how have these evolved? How did Nicole and colleagues ensure the "moments when the magic happens" weren't lost?

Nicole also explains how she become involved with social enterprise, why she wanted to lead Cambridge Social Ventures, and reflects on social enterprise ecosystems and innovation with an international perspective (Nicole was brought up in Newfoundland).

From ballet to business for social change, via Canada, South East Asia and Cambridge: Nicole is a fascinating guest for season 5's first episode.

Links:

• Cambridge Social Ventures – https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/social-innovation/cambridge-social-ventures/
• More details about the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize – the application deadline is Friday 8 April 2022  https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/social-innovation/cambridge-social-innovation-prize/
• More about Heidi's work at  https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Are companies genuinely committed to creating social impact, or is it all just elaborate PR? In this thought-provoking conversation with Jimmy Cockerton, CEO of Impact Advantage, we cut through the noise surrounding social value measurement to reveal what's really happening beneath the surface.

While headlines might suggest companies are retreating from ESG commitments, Jimmy observes the opposite trend behind closed doors - more organisations are recognising how delivering impact connects directly to business success. Yet this enthusiasm often fails to translate into meaningful change. We explore what separates authentic impact-led organisations from those merely seeking positive publicity through one-off community initiatives.

The discussion tackles the fundamental flaws in current social value measurement frameworks that encourage box-ticking rather than addressing root causes of social challenges. Through practical examples like employment metrics, we demonstrate how companies can claim substantial "social value" without creating any new impact whatsoever. Of the billions reportedly generated in social value through public procurement, Jimmy provocatively suggests only a tiny fraction represents genuine new value for communities.

We also examine the untapped potential of cross-sector collaboration by leveraging what each does best - businesses excel at making money and innovation, while social enterprises better understand communities and delivering impact. However, political short-termism presents a significant barrier to solving complex social issues that require decades of sustained effort rather than quick fixes aligned to electoral cycles.

The evidence increasingly shows that businesses prioritising social impact alongside financial returns tend to outperform their peers financially - a compelling case for integrating impact into core strategy rather than treating it as a peripheral activity. Whether you're in business, government, or the social sector, this episode offers critical insights for anyone seeking to move beyond performative metrics toward creating genuine, lasting change.

Connect with Jimmy on LinkedIn or visit www.impactadvantage.co.uk to learn more about measuring real social impact that transforms communities and businesses alike.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Tippa Naphtali doesn't only use enterprise for business, but also to address political and social issues and make society better.

He's been a community activist for over four decades, working in Birmingham, London and internationally.  Entrepreneurial since the playground he's supported, developed and led a huge range of community development and social justice projects and organisations.

Tippa is well known for his campaigning work, calling for penal, police and mental health reforms to end deaths and abuse in custody, wrongful convictions and torture.  Tippa's cousin, Mikey Powell, died in police custody having been failed by multiple agencies. Tippa explains how he's worked with some of those agencies to influence and bring about real changes.

One of Heidi's oldest friends in the sector, Tippa gives a riveting interview. This episode includes shocking, distressing content which must never be ignored alongside inspiration, laughter, hope and real impact. Tippa's entrepreneurial activities power and support his work in mental health, with food banks, and in social justice.  Tippa's ability to get things done and influence change continues to inspire Heidi and many people and organisations.

Links to websites and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Naphtali & Associates
• 4WardEverUK
• Catalyst 4 Change CIC
• Find FoodBanks Brum
• First Stop Design
• M.A.S.H. Hub
• The National Memorial Family Fund
• Red Alert HELP!
• United Families & Friends Campaign

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Dave  Linton is the first ever guest to be invited onto the Make an Impact podcast for a follow-up interview. He launched Madlug in 2015 as he was heartbroken to learn that most children in care transport their worldly belongings in bin bags. Madlug’s 'Buy one, give one' approach addresses this.

But what’s happened since Dave was last on the show? Masses, it turns out, and Dave describes Madlug’s resilience in the face of a social media hack, the decisions it made to deal with Covid, the value and importance of a great board,  the importance of trusting your gut and how he and his crew responded to an astonishing phone call from IKEA.

Dave also gives his KEY advice to help social entrepreneurs find your niche and avoid mission drift. It’s a powerful tale of a social enterprise which started with just £480 and is making an astonishing impact.

What next?

• Madlug's website
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

"This is a model that can be taken anywhere in the world." Chris Roberts is the co-founder of North Wales Dragons, a social enterprise and community football team which raises money  for charities all over the UK and beyond. 

The idea was kicked off with a football match with a ten-nil defeat, but lots of money raised – and it snowballed from there, as Chris explains. He also describes:

• how the sponsorship and fundraising model works,
• ensuring the games are inclusive and collaborative,
• the vital importance of collecting data and statistics from day one of running any enterprise or project,
• what North Wales Dragons did during lockdown to support local hospitals, children's charities and foodbanks,
• why he uses the term "Human Social Responsibility."

 This interview also covers how Chris levered the connective power of social media during the lockdown to make connections with other people making an impact, all across the globe – and "spread the name of the Dragons worldwide." 

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

There are three key things ethical businesses must do when it comes to their marketing, according to Jane Shaw. Listen on to find out.

Conscious customers can be incredibly vocal, so if an ethical business can build a community which loves and believes in their product or service it can be a huge asset.

Jane describes the practical steps ethical businesses can take; how she helps entrepreneurs to bottle their "why" and her own routemap to make marketing affordable and effective for small, purpose-led businesses.

A former journalist and PR, Jane also runs The Happy Families Plan , giving families the tools to stop surviving and start thriving.

What next?

• Find free practical guides and Jane's affordable marketing courses at EthicalBusinessMarketing.com
• The Happy Families Plan 
• Jane is on LinkedIn here
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Marianne Moore launched Justice Studio in 2011 after becoming jaded with the values deficit in traditional management consulting. She  wanted to run a business  she'd like to work in: a consultancy where  people's purpose and interests are inflamed rather than dampened down.

Justice Studio has worked on projects addressing social, gender, child, criminal and climate justice, plus safeguarding, homelessness,  racism, domestic violence and  international aid. She  "The broader discriminations that people are facing, they all interlock," she says.

Its purpose as a social enterprise is to "create global social equality by assisting and challenging organisations, governments and ourselves to be the best we can be." Justice Studio's work has led to policy changes in international aid, as Marianne explains in this episode, which also covers the difference between earning income from intervention and prevention, how Justice Studio measures its impact and future plans.

What next?

• Justice Studio website, LinkedIn profile and twitter
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Imagine not having to explain to people your mission to balance impact and profit. It's powerful and energising to work with people who get what you're doing and why .

Sara Osterholzer co-founded the Good Business Club, an alternative business network fostering "collaboration connection and confidence for small, good business owners and freelancers who want to make a difference, as well as a living. " She's on a mission to reach 2021 budding impact entrepreneurs this year so they can start and scale "businesses that the world needs."

In this episode she demystifies what good practice looks like, describes how she measures her impact and reveals her long-term goals. She also covers why she came to launch the Good Business Club and has advice for new entrepreneurs about mindset, purpose and direction.

What next:

• Here's the impact measurement tool Sara mentions in the podcast.
• Visit The Good Business Club online and on Twitter.
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Saif Bhoja is founder of Huriah Hemp CIC, a youth-led organisation selling hemp and organic cotton products to businesses and consumers. It uses the sales to drive its social mission, empowering young people's creativity and self-esteem.

Social action helps young people position themselves in the world  and identify their purpose and the path they want to take, says Saif. When he was younger it was difficult to pursue his interests in creativity, environmental advocacy or any kind of voluntary or community work. So he created opportunities for himself and other young people.

This fascinating interview also covers creative design, the distinction between tangible gains and purpose, how social action helps people understand what's happening in the world, tools to measure impact, lessons learned in social enterprise, and the environmental benefits of using hemp for clothing.

What next

• Visit Huriah Hemp CIC online and on Instagram and Twitter
• Saif also mentioned Social Ark, which helps young people develop businesses
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Marcella Tarable is the co founder of Food for Thought, an initiative which invites people from agencies to donate their skills to help a social enterprise or charity, in exchange for a nice lunch.

Marcella says she wanted to found ways to "redeem her soul" – her background is in advertising – and do something purposeful. But it was hard to find initiatives to support social enterprises which is why she launched Food for Thought.

She describes some of the social enterprises Food for Thought has worked with and just how much can be achieved during their two-hour sprints.

What next?

• Visit Food for Thought here
• Marcella is on Twitter here 
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Video is like a match which starts the fire to cook a meal, says Ravinol Chambers. He's worked with numerous social enterprises, social investors and partners such as TedX London,  making stories which cross boundaries since 2009.

Ravinol's debut documentary Road to Vrindavan is a feature film examining the impact and importance of education for girls in India and what we must all do to make progress in gender equity.

Ravinol tells us more about this ‘heartbreaking yet incredibly hopeful’ film, and the personal journey to make it. This episode also covers his life for seven years as a monk, why he started Be Inspired Films (one of the UK's founding B Corps), and what makes film such a powerful and visceral medium (but what it shouldn't be used for).

What next?

• Pre-register to watch Road to Vrindavan  at its UK Premiere which will screen online between March 31st - April 4th here and learn more about the film or organise your own screening here
• Malala Yousafzai said of the film: “The voices of girls and young women in this movie remind us of the urge and urgency for equality and education right now. It also beautifully highlights working with men and boys as an important step towards change.”
• Visit Be Inspired Films
• Watch video highlights from the 2021 GenderSmart Global Investing Summit
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first
  
  

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Amy Eleftheriades has worked with children, young people and vulnerable adults in social care, health and education for over twenty years.

A qualified teacher, Amy founded and runs Alpha Inclusion and Communication, which works with neurodivergent young people and adults. Amy describes how her business, a social enterprise, develops individuals' essential skills.

Alpha supports professionals and parents; enabling them to improve communication and education for children and young people. It also acts in the workplace, helping people reach their potential by enabling teams,  organisations and businesses to become more accessible for their clients and workforce.

Why and how did Amy get into this field? What made her set up Alpha Inclusion and Communication in 2012? And how can Lego support communication skills and language development?

Amy, author of three books including "Building Blocks for Communication - Activities for Promoting Language and Communication Skills in Children with Special Educational Needs," explains.

What next?

• Alpha Inclusion and Communication 
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Your voice matters. Right now, significant changes to UK social value requirements are under consultation, and the proposals could fundamentally reshape how social value is delivered through public contracts.

The proposed changes create a concerning two-tier system. For contracts over £5 million, social value would become mandatory with a 10% weighting focused primarily on jobs and skills. Meanwhile, smaller contracts would revert to commissioners merely "considering" social value - potentially eliminating requirements entirely for thousands of contracts. This division disadvantages the VCSE sector while benefiting large corporations who can deliver at scale.

Mandatory reporting of social value KPIs sounds promising, but again only applies to high-value contracts. The push toward standardised metrics creates a troubling tick-box approach that narrows the scope of social value primarily to employability outcomes. These standardised numerical values further advantage large businesses who can promise greater volume, regardless of whether those interventions genuinely address community needs.

The location flexibility proposals aim to distribute social value more widely but may simply reshuffle where benefits are concentrated rather than ensuring equitable distribution. One potential bright spot exists in proposed changes to vulnerable citizens classifications, which could allow more quality-focused commissioning for social care services.

The consultation risks further gamifying an already flawed system, where impressive numbers trump meaningful impact. If you care about genuine community benefit and creating a level playing field for smaller organisations, now is the time to speak up. Review the consultation, submit your feedback, and help shape a social value framework that works for everyone - not just those with the deepest pockets.

You can find the consultation here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/public-procurement-growing-british-indus

Welcome to Make an Impact podcast, where we dive deep into the stories, strategies, and solutions that drive real change. I'm Heidi Fisher and I work with organizations on a mission to tackle poverty, reduce health inequalities, and create lasting social impact. In each episode, I bring you inspiring conversations with change makers, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are making a difference, whether you're looking to boost your impact measurement, learn from innovative projects or

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Make an Impact podcast. I hope you found today's conversation as inspiring and thought provoking as I did. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to create positive change. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and learn more about my work at Makeanimpactcic.co.uk.

Until next time, let's keep making an impact in the world.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

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Tiny changes in how you use technology can make a profound impact on your carbon footprint.

By thinking about the entire life cycle of a product, from raw materials to what happens when it really can't serve its original purpose, social and purpose-driven entrepreneurs can re-evaluate what tools they use and when to replace them.

In this episode, Heidi covers proactive and realistic steps you can take right away to ensure you don't just consume and create for the sake of it. 

And she examines issues to consider when it comes to the economic impact of your activities.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Cath Harris runs One World Women, a social enterprise connecting experienced business women with ambitious female entrepreneurs from developing countries.

Cath experienced burnout after growing her first business which she sold in 2016. On a holiday to the Gambia she met Ida Cham, an ' extraordinary woman' who runs her own cooking school and makes micro-loans to help women run their own businesses. That conversation and the gaps in support Ida outlined to Cath, became the spark for One World Women.

Its programmes take place in-country and online, catalysing real impact for all and unlocking entrepreneurship. What changes for participants as a result? Cath explains.

Entrepreneurs have differing resources available to manage their businesses in different places and it's important for mentors to understand this context; Cath gives examples. The programmes have needed to adapt this year and Cath explains how. And she describes who becomes mentors and why.

What Cath originally thought would be a simple idea when she launched One World Women has become much bigger. She covers its ambitious plans to scale for the long-term and how its programmes will create opportunities for women the world over to flourish and help their communities grow.

What next?

• One World Women CIC on LinkedIn. Also here on Twitter and Facebook
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Embedding social impact into your supply chain is much wider than just 'buying from social enterprises.' 

It's possible to unlock enormous and complementary social, environmental and economic impacts  through social procurement and Heidi describes how, with examples, in this episode.

We go into depth about what to think about, how to start, and how to measure supplier-generated impact. There are numerous baby steps you can take, which Heidi describes. And we look at emerging areas of social impact such as the climate impact of technology and cloud-computing.

This practical episode is essential listening for social entrepreneurs wanting to support and encourage suppliers to create social impact.

Also in this episode:

• the implications of social value becoming a 'requirement' rather than a 'consideration' in central government contracts
• how to avoid being 'tender-fodder' and exploited by larger contractors for the impact you can deliver
• why over-prescriptive commissioning can destroy innovation
• a hard-won lesson learned

Heidi's new book explains everything you need to know about impact measurement and management and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Tina Chen is the founder and chief tea officer at HumaniTea which sells ready-to-drink cold tea latte drinks made with natural and ethically-sourced ingredients.

HumaniTea is a social enterprise and commits 5% of profits to support wellbeing and sustainability initiatives. Tina was originally inspired by the Taiwanese bubble tea concept and the British tea drinking culture while studying her MBA at Imperial College London.

She tells Heidi about HumaniTea's journey from idea to brand to a need to rebrand because of trade mark opposition. Then, agains the odds, Tina ran a successful crowdfunding campaign securing over £13,100 from over 100 backers earlier in 2020.

Tina also covers how she's found suppliers and sourced her ingredients,  HumaniTea's wellbeing and sustainability fund and getting her products to market. Support from Cambridge Social Ventures and from Heidi herself has been invaluable too and Tina describes why.

What next?

• HumaniTea
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

We've run through the five stages of the LEAN social impact approach in earlier episodes. Three themes are common to every stage: being impact-led, communication, and embedding impact.

A social enterprise with an impact-led strategy is led by the impact it wants to create. This means being your purpose, rather than having a purpose.

Why bother? Many organisations get bogged down in a cycle of continuing to exist – which means chasing funding and contracts to continue delivering the same services and keeping their employees in jobs.  This approach doesn’t always address whether the real mission is being delivered properly, or at all.

An impact led strategy is not a short-term approach. It flips much traditional business planning on its head, and asks how you can create the most impact for the people you work with (or for the environment). Heidi explains more.

When it comes to communicating impact, there are nine essential questions to address – otherwise you risk miscommunication or excluding people. Heidi has great ideas for communication channels and outputs for different stakeholders.

When impact is truly embedded, everyone in your organisation knows what impact you’re trying to create, why you’re measuring it, and is confident about how they contribute to creating it  Heidi talks through the macro and micro elements of this, from culture to everyday actions.

The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and Learn, and it's important to progress through each stage before moving to the next.

Heidi's new book explains everything you need to know about impact measurement and management and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

There's a lot of anger about asking questions or fear of being 'cancelled' nowadays. Yet how are you going to educate an 11 or 15 year old about their human rights if they can't or don't ask searching questions?

Sandy AbdelRahman is the co-founder of Skaped, a platform which encourages young people to engage with their human rights through the creative arts including drama, writing and more.  An activist since the age of 19, Sandy describes why art is such an effective tool for engagement and why it's vital our young people are taught to question everything.

She also covers the pros and cons of creating its impact as a charity or social enterprise, how talking about lived and personal experiences helps young people to open up,  how Black Lives Matter impacts on Skaped's work, and addressing discrimination and expectations.

Timings:

• 1:00 What is Skaped and how does it run in practice?
• 2:31 Skaped's sessions are fun, creative and don't use impenetrable legal language
• 3:00 Sandy's background and how it gave her the idea for Skaped
• 4:35 Why art is so effective
• 5:09 Skaped is registering as a charity and Sandy describes this process
• 7:15 Its programmes include gender equality and cancelling culture, delivered online and available globally
• 10:00 Young people do care
• 12:45 Will Skaped extend the age-range of people it works with?
• 13:55 How Black Lives Matter impacts on the work Skaped does
• 15:50 Activism and campaigning: priorities and dealing with loneliness
• 18:15 What's been the hardest part of Sandy's journey?
• 20:50 Finding out more about Skaped's work

What next?

• Skaped
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Stage five of the LEAN social impact approach is LEARN. Heidi explains how this is when your organisation makes improvements, based on data, to maximise your impact.

Heidi uses another real-life example, this time a community hub. Segmenting and being more specific about their "wellbeing" outcomes improved their impact and gave them more detailed evidence, more precise data and a more powerful story.

This episode also covers SROI – social return on investment. People either love or hate SROI and Heidi runs through the pros and cons of assigning financial values to your impact and  specific circumstances in which it is particularly worthwhile.

The "LEARN" stage is typically done annually or perhaps every six months. If you take an impact-led approach to running your organisation then looking at your impact is a fundamental part of your business planning approach.

The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and Learn, and it's important to progress through each stage before moving to the next.

Heidi's new book explains everything you need to know about impact measurement and management and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Genia Mineeva is a former journalist who moved from covering politics and international affairs to communicating impact and campaigning.

She went on to launch BEEN London after getting angry about waste which doesn’t get recycled.

In this episode Genia talks about creating fantastic and high quality handbags entirely from waste; the circular economy; her biggest challenges and achievements to date and some exciting future developments for BEEN London.

When Genia was told "we would recycle more if someone was buying the materials" the gauntlet was thrown. She researched, studied sustainability, tested and wouldn't give up (even when it was hard as a startup to get potential partners to reply to her emails).

Her products look the same (or much nicer!) than ordinary products; perform just as well – and have a real, measurable impact on the fashion industry by proving that waste can become beautiful, inside and out.

Listen to learn more about the fascinating processes turning tannery (leather) waste,  recycled plastic bottles and cotton into material for bags. BEEN London also uses a vegan leather made from apple peels and one made from pineapple leaves.

Genia isn't shy to express her opinion on carbon offsetting, the idea that 'growth is good', the conflict between making products and sustainability, and effective impact measurement.

Collaboration and thoughtfulness about every aspect of the carbon footprint is central to BEEN London, as Genia describes, showing how waste can become beautiful bags, laptop cases and accessories which look amazing and solve a problem.

What next?

• BEEN London
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

The fourth stage of the LEAN social impact approach is 'Analyse.' Heidi explains how effective analysis enabled a housing association with range of projects to capture better data, understand more about what worked best, and make changes to improve their impacts.

The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and Learn, and it's important to progress through each stage before moving to the next. If you do, the Analyse stage provides immediate and valuable feedback which can reshape your planning and measurement too.

Heidi explains how the housing association tweaked questions used in data capture and ultimately shifted priorities for its project budget thanks to the 'Analyse' stage. This boosted its impact.

She explores the difference between the Analyse and the Learn stages, describes what can go wrong when it comes to impact analysis and how to avoid this, and has an update about progress with her new book – and a health update too.

Heidi's new book explains everything you need to know about impact measurement and management and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Abbie Morris is co-founder and CEO of Compare Ethics, a platform which connects conscious shoppers with brands which are ethical and sustainable, rather than brands pretending to be.

She launched Compare Ethics because of her own lack of trust at many brands' claims and her frustration about greenwashing and purpose-washing.

Compare Ethics measures claims about sustainability, environmental impact and other frequently-championed areas of responsible business.

It assesses each claim against 10 categories including products' supply chains, resource-use, workers' rights and even the circular economy, and calls out false claims.

In this episode Abbie explains how Compare Ethics' assessment and verification process works; its approach to data; how it measures its own impact and its campaigning plans and ambitions.

Timings:

• 0 - 1:00 Introduction
• 1:00 What is Compare Ethics and why Abbie launched it
• 3:01 How does its verification product work and some of the categories it maps
• 4:00 How the categories are weighted and what it means if a brand scores well
• 6:52 Are consumers influencing brands to make these changes? What about the 'David Attenborough effect'?
• 8:01 Sometimes Abbie is shocked when data or evidence isn't available – but this can become an opportunity to improve and build value
• 10:05 One of Abbie’s biggest highs (so far) in Compare Ethics' journey was being selected for Google's female founders programme
• 11:16 How Compare Ethics measures its own impact
• 12:17 A question Heidi always asks when helping to develop a Theory of Change
• 13:28 How Compare Ethics assesses brands’ supply chains and approach to modern-day slavery
• 15:34 Campaigning work and plans
• 18:30 Abbie's key advice for consumers

What next?

• Compare Ethics
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Emma Smith, founder of Nia Avanna consultancy, reveals why community engagement is the crucial missing link in creating genuine social value. Drawing from her experience working with police forces and later in the private sector, Emma shares practical insights that challenge businesses to move beyond fear and embrace meaningful dialogue with their communities.

The conversation dives into why many organisations struggle with engagement – often viewing it as opening a Pandora's box of complaints rather than an opportunity to strengthen relationships and improve operations. Emma dispels these fears with straightforward wisdom: "The issue is still there whether you've engaged or not. If you can be proactive about it, it can make such a difference."

What makes this discussion particularly valuable is Emma's practical approach to a subject often wrapped in jargon and complexity. She explains that effective community engagement doesn't require massive investment or specialist skills – it simply demands willingness to listen and respond. This refreshing perspective transforms social value from a corporate obligation into an opportunity for meaningful connection.

The episode tackles the disconnect between social value requirements in tenders and the reality of implementation. Emma highlights the challenge of promising specific initiatives years in advance without knowing what communities will actually need. Her solution? Start with your "why," build relationships before problems arise, and focus on creating lasting positive change rather than quick wins.

Whether you're a business leader seeking to improve your community relationships, a public sector professional working on social value initiatives, or anyone interested in creating sustainable impact, this conversation offers valuable insights into making engagement work. By following Emma's guidance to "don't decide what's best for communities – go and ask them," we can all contribute to more meaningful social value creation.

Ready to transform your approach to community engagement? Connect with Emma through Nia Avanna on social media or visit niaavanna.com to learn more about putting these principles into practice.

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Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

When are your prime opportunities to capture data? In part three of The Impact Diaries, Heidi Fisher describes her approach to measuring your impact – the central stage of the LEAN social impact approach.

If you've planned effectively then measuring your impact is easy, she says – but if you haven't this is where everything goes wrong.

Heidi describes how a client sought to measure six key outcomes – having both defined and planned well. This organisation provides multiple services for adults with physical or learning difficulties.

She explains how her 'brick wall' philosophy means impact measurement is embedded into everything an organisation does – and what that looks like in reality for this organisation.

She covers how using the 'Impact Pitch' makes you focus on the crucial questions to ask to capture your impact.

And she describes three common ways in which measuring and capturing your impact can go wrong and how to avoid them.

• 1:00 Quick recap: why you must complete stages one and two before you start measuring
• 1:40 Heidi worked with a client running adult day care centres and home help for adults with physical or learning difficulties and providing a range of diverse services
• 2:15 What was the biggest issue for this client in terms of measurement? How did the organisation address this?
• 3:00 This client's stakeholders and key outcomes
• 5:04 Heidi's approach to physical measurement
• 5:50 The Brick Wall Philosophy, how it applies to this specific organisation, and enables staff members to measure the right things
• 8:00 What is the Impact Pitch?
• 9:57 Aside from skipping the planning stage, what are the most common mistakes made in the 'Measure' stage? Heidi explains how to avoid these pitfalls
• 12:04 How this process helped this particular organisation and its stakeholders
• 13:50 The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and Learn

Heidi's new book, out in Autumn 2020, shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

It's disappointing if an important cause is let down by a poor product. Bryn Frere-Smith's coffee contributes to addressing terrible issues – but he’s emphatic it must taste amazing too.

Bryn is founder of Blue Bear Coffee which uses its profits and profile to support organisations fighting human trafficking and caring for survivors.

After leaving the Metropolitan Police he worked in 'close protection' for some of the richest people in the world. But he needed to find his purpose. This took him to 12 challenging months with the International Justice Mission, an organisation fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

We can't all be charity workers supporting survivors of horrific exploitation. But we can contribute through every day purchases, and Bryn's experience led ultimately to launching Blue Bear, the trading name of The Justice Business Community Interest Company.

Why coffee? It's a product notorious for poor treatment of its supply chain. Blue Bear also works to support growers and farmers. Bryn explains how.

Also in this interview: what's the worst thing anyone could say to Heidi?

ADVISORY: This interview includes content about working with survivors of exploitation and abuse which some listeners may find distressing.

Timings:

• 0 - 1:00 Introduction
• 1:00 Bryn’s background and why he left the Metropolitan Police Service
• 2:15 Running Norfolk’s least successful security company then becoming a bodyguard 'for the 0.1%'
• 3:15 Feeling lost and looking for a purpose
• 3:45 What is the International Justice Mission?
• 4:22 Off to the Dominican Republic for a particularly difficult project investigating the sexual exploitation of children
• 6:00 A six-year old girl's horrifying experiences and her teddy-bear tale led Bryn to start a teddy-bear fund
• 10:00 Keeping the momentum and launching Blue Bear, now two years old in September 2020
• 12:00 Why coffee? Bryn wanted to demonstrate it was possible to run a coffee business which doesn't exploit people
• 15:07 How Blue Bear is sold
• 16:30 Breaking the disparity between good cause and pants product
• 17:45 A confession and the worst thing Blake could ever say to Heidi…
• 18:41 Heidi finds a solution
• 19:34 Why and how Bryn plans to scale-up Blue Bear
• 21:00 Other organisations addressing human slavery and trafficking
• 22:11 How to buy Blue Bear coffee

What next?

• The International Justice Mission
• Blue Bear Coffee
• Bryn’s own Justice and Coffee podcast
• Heidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Stage two of the LEAN social impact approach is planning. If you miss this stage you risk measuring the wrong things in the wrong way, a mistake many social enterprises make.

Heidi explains how an organisation which works with young people with Special Educational Needs planned what to measure – and how to do so effectively.

Many organisations fall back on the easy option of questionnaires to capture data, instead of adopting a flexible approach. Surveys and questionnaires aren't always fit for purpose and would not have worked in this case. 

Heidi describes several flexible and interactive ways to capture data. These powerful and effective ideas could work for your social enterprise too.

She explains what this client planned to measure and how they did it – plus why it is vital to focus on measuring a small number of key outcomes.

In The Impact Diaries Heidi gives real-life examples of the five stage LEAN social impact approach in action.

"Once you've defined your ultimate goal it's crucial NOT to jump straight to stage three, when you start measuring." Find out how to plan most effectively in this episode.

Timings:

• 0 - 1:15 Introduction
• 1:15 The organisation featured in this episode works with young people with special educational needs to provide them with employability skills and work experience
• 1:55 Why surveys would not be appropriate or effective in this situation
• 2:30 Heidi explains several ways to capture data at workshops and events (physical and virtual)
• 9:11 Are people ever self-conscious about participating in these activities?
• 11:40 Planning helps to capture evidence – what happened next with Heidi's client working with young people?
• 15:45 Heidi explains how planning is fundamental to effective impact measurement and is distinct from the measurement stage
• 17:20 Other crucial elements of the planning stage of the LEAN social impact approach and why it's important to focus tightly

The five stages of Heidi's LEAN social impact approach are Define, Plan, Measure, Analyse and Learn. Heidi's new book, out in Autumn 2020, shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation.

Get your copy first! Pre-order one of the limited number of hardback versions of
Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-first

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.

Send us Fan Mail

Denise Brown launched 4YoungMinds in October 2018. Over several years as a youth worker for The Prince's Trust she had witnessed just how much young people struggle with mental health and well-being, no matter what their background.

How does social media influence young people's mental health and what are its pros and cons? What positives have come out of Black Lives Matter? And how does her own experience of anxiety help Denise relate to people she now supports?

In this episode, Denise covers why she launched 4YoungMinds, its multiple and varied streams of activities and how it works with young people.

She addresses the distinction between the increase in awareness that people experience issues affecting their mental health and well-being, and the availability of programmes to address mental ill-health and support wellbeing. Early intervention is key, she explains, and 4 Young Minds doesn't only support young people – it offers support and programmes for teachers, parents, carers and educators too.

And Denise is frank about her own experiences "struggling with anxiety since the age of 14 and learning tools and techniques to manage it." 

The episode also covers self-awareness, "retraining the brain", the pros and cons of social media, anti-racist education and Denise's plans for 4YoungMinds for the future.

Support the show

Hi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have.

 I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  

I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives.

 You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.