Do you want to scale your impact in a targeted manner? Then you need the right strategy, a robust infrastructure for impact measurement and external validation. These factors are essential for making data-based decisions, continuously improving your impact and creating transparency for investors and partners. Systematic impact management helps you to deploy resources in a targeted manner and maximize your impact in the long term. Without this focus, you risk inefficient processes, missed opportunities and loss of trust.
You’ve come to the right place if …
- your operational model is mature and proven.
- you have proven that your approach works.
- you have sufficient financial and human resources at your disposal.
- your organization is ready for change and growth.
- the scaling is in line with your mission and your desired systemic change.
Not quite ready yet?
Then select the appropriate chapter here
This chapter helps to …
- choose a suitable scaling strategy.
- establish an impact-oriented Advisory Board.
- train your team in the area of impact and find a common language.
- external validation and scaling of your impact.
Building your scaling strategy
There are various levers and strategies to sustainably multiply the impact of your solution:
Capacity expansion: Intensify your activities in the current region and focus on expanding existing structures and processes. The aim is to reach more people in the current impact region.
Strategic expansion: Open up new markets or introduce new products or services. Expand your startup into new geographical areas or address additional target groups. Developing new offerings for existing target groups is also an option.
Contractual partnerships: Establish new locations with fixed contractual partners. Use franchising, licensing or other partnership models — this allows you to spread faster with shared risk and resources.
Knowledge diffusion: Spread your idea without letting the organization grow with it. The focus here is on passing on knowledge, methods and concepts, e.g. through open source concepts or patent release. The aim is to enable others to implement the same or similar solutions.
Scaling social impact
In 2015, the Bertelsmann Stiftung conducted a European study that examined the national and transnational scaling strategies listed above and their success factors. Click here for the publication.
Once you have decided on a strategy, the next step is to identify relevant success factors. You should consider aspects such as replicability, resource mobilization and management expertise. Also important: the environment may change in a new market or with a new target group. This not only affects direct players, but also the framework conditions and interactions within the system. Just because there are similar problems does not mean that the problem has the same causes. To check this, it is best to carry out a new root cause analysis (chapter “Problem, target group and stakeholder analysis: the first step towards an impact startup”).
Define clear goals and milestones for your scaling, plan the necessary resources and adjustments to your business model and establish processes to continuously review your scaling progress. You should constantly incorporate feedback from target groups and stakeholders and, if necessary, adjust your strategy.
Scaling vs. linear growth
Linear growth means that sales increase in proportion to the use of resources. With this type of growth, the scaling factor remains constant. This means that for every additional unit of resources (e.g. employees, machines), there is a constant increase in output or turnover.
True scaling, on the other hand, aims to increase sales and impact disproportionately without increasing costs and resources to the same extent. This enables more efficient and profitable growth.
Establish infrastructure and expertise for systematic impact measurement and management
In addition to a clear strategy, you need the right knowledge and the right structures for sustainable scaling. An advisory board, an impact handbook and targeted training will help you to manage impact strategically and anchor it as an integral part of your corporate culture.
1. establishes an advisory board
A well-assembled advisory board can significantly enrich the strategy, growth and decision-making of your startup in the scaling phase and give you a decisive competitive advantage. The involvement of impact experts, data scientists and academics in your advisory board is particularly beneficial:
- Strategy development: They can help you to develop and implement data-driven strategies, which is crucial for competitiveness.
- Network: Impact experts contribute their experience to your impact management and support you in building a larger impact network.
- Specialist knowledge: Scientists contribute in-depth specialist knowledge and the latest research findings, which are valuable for innovative solutions.
- Data analysis: Data scientists can support you in using advanced analytics to gain valuable insights from your data and make predictions.
In order to build an effective advisory board with impact experts, data scientists and researchers, …
- defines clear objectives and expectations for the Board,
- look for experts with a relevant background and experience in your field,
- ensures that the members contribute diverse perspectives and expertise,
- establishes regular meetings and clear communication channels and
- uses the Board for key activities and strategic decisions.
2. train your employees on impact topics
By creating an impact handbook and continuously training your employees, you can ensure that your impact strategy is lived and implemented in all areas of the company. The advantages at a glance:
- Common understanding: An impact handbook creates a common understanding of your mission and impact goals throughout the company.
- Increased impact: Sensitized employees can pay more attention to positive effects in their daily decisions and actions.
- Employee motivation: Communicating your impact vision can increase employee motivation and commitment.
- Consistent communication: A guideline helps all employees to communicate your impact strategy uniformly to the outside world.
- Competitive advantage: Well-trained employees can better represent your impact approach to customers and investors.
To create an impact handbook and train your employees, you can proceed as follows:
- Define your impact goals and metrics clearly and comprehensibly. You can find instructions on exactly how to do this and sample indicators in the chapter “Growth with responsibility: impact management for impact start-ups”.
- Use collaboration tools or project management tools to create the handbook together and make it accessible to everyone.
- Structures the handbook into easy-to-understand sections, e.g. corporate mission, impact strategy, measurement methods and best practices.
- Integrates concrete examples and case studies to illustrate practical application.
- Develops interactive training formats such as workshops or e‑learning modules to convey the content.
Training on the topic of impact
The SKala-CAMPUS offers individual learning journeys on the topic of impact — in the form of guidelines, exercises, video tutorials and further training. Integrates targeted impact training into the onboarding of new employees. The SKala-CAMPUS is aimed particularly at NPOs in the social sector. However, many of the methods and tips can also be applied to impact start-ups.
- Implements regular impact meetings to keep the topic present and communicate updates. Encourages employees to contribute and implement their own impact ideas and links impact goals to performance reviews and incentive systems where appropriate to emphasize the importance.
- Include your Impact Handbook in your Code of Conduct.
Note
If your strategy is based on knowledge sharing or partnerships, make sure that your solution also has the desired impact in other hands. To do this, share your Impact Handbook and Code of Conduct and stay in regular contact with partners and users.
Next step: Measure KPIs
You have started to prepare for the scaling phase of your startup, developed a solid scaling strategy, appointed an experienced advisory board and thought about external validation of your impact.
In order to make data-based business decisions in your scaling phase, you should now measure your KPIs. We’ll do that in the next step.