What are the Essential Components of the CSR Impact Assessment under CSR Compliance?

Social and environment sectors CSR projects’ execution differs from project to project to cater to localised needs and level of stakeholder engagement. While there are multiple frameworks of CSR impact assessment, the basics and essentials remain the same for each of the CSR impact assessment designs. Here are a few of the essentials that CSRBOX delivers under its CSR impact assessment framework:

• Impact assessment using five pillar framework of IRECS: Inclusiveness, Relevance, Expectation, Convergence, Service Delivery
• Robust sampling design along with pre-post evaluation
• Inclusion of COVID19 impacts on project deliverable by sensitivity analysis and scenario-mapping
• Stakeholder-wise impact analysis
• Critical analysis of the project in terms of need, approach, deliverables etc.
• Recommendations to improvise the program in future
• Benchmarking of the program with similar program in other areas
• Social Return on Investment (SROI)-mapping
• Executive summary deck for the Board-level presentation

Application of the IRECS framework

1. Inclusiveness: The extent to which communities equitably access the benefits of assets created and services delivered. How has been the focus on diversity, disability, gender etc.

2. Relevance: The extent to which project is geared to respond to the ‘felt’ needs of the communities, key project beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

3. Expectations: The extent of intended and unintended positive (benefits), socio-economic, and cultural changes have accrued for the beneficiaries and how has the project fared in terms of expectations of each of the stakeholder

4. Convergence: Judging the degree of convergence with government/other partners; the degree of stakeholder buy-in achieved. Many times a project depends on convergence with existing schemes and that has to be mapped.

5. Service Delivery: The extent to which cost-efficient and time-efficient methods and processes were used to achieve results/outcome and impacts. This also takes into cognizance the delivery of outcome in line with project objectives and approach adopted to deliver the impacts.

Along with the IRECS framework, it is advised to apply the Quality of Life (QoL) framework for projects related to empowerment, livelihoods, skills development and agriculture.

What is CSR Benchmarking and how does it help?

CSR benchmarking is a comparative matrix of outcome and impacts of projects and programs of similar nature and dealing at similar scale of intervention. The benchmarking allows you to understand where does your project stand when compared to other projects for outcome and impacts. This helps in understanding scope of improvement in CSR program design and future realignment of the project. A program performing higher than existing benchmarks can be pushed for greater resources allocation for scaling up in future.

Benchmarking of CSR projects helps CSR decision-makers (like CSR Committee and Board members) to decide the future intervention approach and effectiveness of the CSR programs.

To understand more about the CSR impact assessment framework, SROI and CSR Benchmarking, please get in touch with Team CSRBOX or write us at nishita@csrbox.org