Impact in Dollars and Beyond: Making Every Action Count in Rural Development
How HRNS Measures What Matters through Social Return on Investment and Meaningful Dialogue
Can Impact Be Counted and Should It Be?
How much change can one dollar create? In a world where funders, practitioners, and communities alike demand transparency and effectiveness, the Social Return on Investment (SROI) offers a compelling way to answer that question. It translates outcomes like higher incomes or improved resilience into numbers that help make impact visible, tangible, and comparable.
However, at Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS), we believe that impact is never just a number. Whether we work with farmer families in Central America or train young entrepreneurs in rural Brazil, the real value lies in the transformation of lives, communities, and opportunities. That’s why our Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) approach combines economic logic with local wisdom, measuring what truly matters, even when it can’t be expressed in dollars.
From ROI to SROI: Measuring the Full Picture
The classic Return on Investment (ROI) focuses on financial profit. But SROI expands the lens to include social, environmental, and often intangible benefits like knowledge, empowerment, and resilience. For instance, if a farmer increases yields through climate-smart practices or earns better prices through collective marketing, those gains can be monetized. Yet other forms of impact, like a young woman starting a business or a cooperative finding its voice, are harder to calculate but no less important.
“SROI is one tool in our broader impact toolbox and it has been assessed by our colleagues for projects in Brazil and countries in the Trifinio region in Central America in the past,” says Dr. Katharina Lima de Miranda, MEL Manager at HRNS. “We don’t use it to impress. We use it to reflect, learn, and improve.”
This nuanced approach was recently shared during a public lecture at the University of Hamburg, where HRNS MEL Managers Kirsten Ehrich and Dr. Lima de Miranda presented theoretical approaches to impact measurement in charitable foundations and its application in HRNS’ daily work.
Case Study: What the Numbers Reveal in Latin America
In the long-term ICP (International Coffee Partners) projects across Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Brazil, we applied SROI to evaluate five years of work. The results were powerful: for every dollar invested, participating farming households in Brazil saw 2.3 dollars and in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador even 3.7 in return - through increased productivity, better produce prices, and cost savings from joint purchasing via strengthened producer organizations.
This wasn’t theoretical. It was backed by real data: farm-level surveys, M&E systems, and farmer field books that tracked progress over time. The outcomes spoke to the value of investing in farmer training, local leadership, and sustainable agriculture. Showing that building capacity yields long-term dividends.
Beyond Metrics: The Stories Behind the Stats
Still, the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.
“Not every success comes with a price tag,” says Kirsten Ehrich. “Some of the most profound changes, like a young farmer’s confidence or a community’s collective voice, can’t be fully captured in dollars.”
That’s why HRNS complements quantitative analysis with qualitative methods. We use focus groups, key informant interviews, and direct observation to uncover the “why” and “how” behind the “what.” For example, in Brazil, a youth participant who launched her own coffee brand after project involvement is now not only generating income, but also inspiring others to follow her path. Try putting that in a spreadsheet.
By integrating both data types, we move from statistics to stories, from metrics to meaning.
Real-World Learning: Practical, Ethical, and Adaptable
At the University of Hamburg, the HRNS experts emphasized another key point: impact measurement must fit the setting. While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are often seen as the “gold standard,” they’re not always feasible or appropriate in complex, rural realities.
Instead, HRNS embraces a “fit-for-purpose” philosophy. We ask: What questions are most important? What’s ethical, affordable, and meaningful? Often, it’s about balancing rigor with reality. In a recently finalized project in Uganda, we didn’t have the financial means for an RCT. Instead, we defined expected outcomes upfront our impact logic and collected data throughout implementation: from participation in training sessions to the adoption of practices and improvements in living conditions.
The results supported our assumptions. The share of farming households adopting climate-smart practices, such as intercropping coffee with banana and avocado trees, increased from 35% to 95%. Food insecurity dropped from 14% to 10%. Focus group discussions with farmers confirmed that planting banana and avocado trees had directly improved food availability.
Even without an RCT, we validated our impact logic by tracking training attendance, behavioral change, and food security. And, most importantly, by engaging farmers through focus group discussions.
In the absence of financial means for an RCT, this rather “lean” approach allowed us to remain accountable, adaptive, and responsive to the communities we serve.
Long-Term Value: Investing in Sustainable Change
Whether in Latin America, East Africa, or Southeast Asia, the message is clear: When done thoughtfully, impact measurement can contribute to improving lives. It helps foundations steer resources more effectively, encourages learning, and strengthens relationships with both funders and communities.
And when we do quantify impact, SROI offers a useful lens. Particularly when paired with caution and context. In fact, some studies show that each dollar invested in resilient infrastructure or education can generate $4–10 in societal benefit. But we must never forget that the deepest impacts, like gender equity or social cohesion, often take years to unfold, and may never fully fit into cost-benefit equations.
“If we reduce impact to only what we can count,” warns Dr. Lima de Miranda, “we risk ignoring the things that matter most.”
Measuring What Moves Us
At HRNS, we don’t just measure outcomes, we learn from them, act on them, and build futures through them. Our MEL approach reflects our values: transparency, humility, and a deep respect for rural communities’ knowledge and agency.
Whether it's calculating economic gains or capturing community transformation, we’re committed to using evaluation as a compass - not a scoreboard. And while SROI can help tell part of the story, it’s the combination of data, dialogue, and dignity that guides our work.
“Impact measurement must be practical, meaningful, and always centered on the people we serve,” concluded Kirsten Ehrich.
Want to learn more about our approach to impact and learning?
Contact us on LinkedIn Dr. Katharina Lima de Miranda and Kirsten Ehrich.
