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Impact Officers Handbook Last updated: June 2023

Welcome to the Impact Officers Handbook, designed to accompany Impact Officers through your role and build your skills on all things impact, be it collaboration, project management, impact measurement or storytelling. For more information on the mission and mandate, eligibility criteria , roles and responsibilities of the Impact Officer, you can refer to our Impact Officers Policy Overview.

To help members master their role, this handbook provides a 12-months self-paced curriculum. The curriculum features eight modules covering everything from how to get started in your role to how to guide your hub to develop impactful projects and report your hub's impact. Resources and recordings are available for each module.

Contents

Module 1 - Getting to know your role

The role of Impact Officers is to support hub members tp design, execute, and showcase high impact projects. To do so, you will need to familiarize yourself with key resources and tools:

  • Impact Officers should fully master the Hub Projects Guide, including project principles, criteria and information on cross-hub collaborations.
  • To work with project teams in your hub, you will need complete understanding of the Project Planning and Tracker Template, a tool that will help guide conversations on each project’s plan around target audience, goals and impact measurement.
  • You should also know in detail the Upload Projects to TopLink guide so that you can work with project leads for top-notch project submissions.

Module 2 – Strategizing for the year

Now that you have a good understanding of the different criteria and guidelines for hub projects and impact, it’s time to plan for the year:

  • Become a team with your Curatorship. The Curatorship has been elected to lead the hub for the year. As such, your impact strategy must be aligned with their overall vision for the hub. Your role is to challenge your hub to work on high impact projects, and this can only be achieved as a team.
  • Plan the roadmap for your hub’s impact journey. Work with the Curatorship, project leads and all Shapers to define impact goals for the year, setting realistic priorities. Build a monthly plan of impact related activities, including project planning sessions, project mid-term and final reviews and TopLink project submissions and revisions. This roadmap will evolve throughout the year, but it is important to build a first iteration.

Module 3 – Developing impactful projects

You’ve developed an impact roadmap for the year with your hub. Let’s dive in and focus on projects and impact:

  • What is an impactful project and why is it important? From what you’ve seen in the Hub Projects guide, you know what the community's project criteria are. You now need to apply your knowledge to fit your local context.
  • What is the project’s impact vision? For every project, preliminary research and planning needs to happen to ensure that the right beneficiaries have been identified and consulted, and that the project has a clear set of goals and objectives. Refer to the Project Planning and Tracker Template to help map out each hub project.

Module 4 – Measuring impact

Defining how your project will measure its success through impact measures should be a priority for every project plan. Your project doesn't end after you've finished your donation drive, skills training courses or any other project activities you've been working on; measuring what you've accomplished is an integral part of your project.

  • Where to start when thinking about impact measurement? From the beginning! What you want to measure for your project will depend on the outputs and outcomes you're looking to achieve through your project. Performance measures and indicators will help you determine if you are making the progress you set out to achieve.
  • What key elements should you keep in mind for your measurement plan? Think about what types of indicators would best fit your project and what data collection methods would be most appropriate, keeping in mind the time and resources at your disposal.

Module 5 – Project management

Hub projects are going strong, but it can be hard to keep track of everything. Let’s look at some key project management skills and tools that will help you and your hub’s project leads get to the results you set out to achieve with your projects.

What are key elements to keep in mind when thinking about project management?

  • Have a strong project plan
  • Agree on collaboration ground rules
  • Establish and maintain clear communication channels
  • Be prepared to manage the unexpected and to adapt when needed
  • Keep your project scope and goals clear
  • Ensure transparency through communication and documentation

Module 6 – Impact storytelling

Your project has reached an outstanding milestone or has just finished, but your job isn’t done. You now need to collaborate with project leads to share your hub’s achievements with the world, making sure to follow the key principles of impact reporting: clarity, accessibility, transparency, accountability, verifiability and proportionality.

What are some key tips to think about when planning your impact reporting?

  • Set clear communication goals
  • Understand your audience
  • Choose your reporting style to fit your audience
  • Connection emotionally and communicate visually

Module 7 – Cross-hub initiatives

Your hub is doing great local projects and you and other hub members have been eager to increase your reach. Cross-hub initiatives are a great way to work on a national, regional or global problem while keeping a focus on improving your local community. Several options are open to you, from replicating an already stellar project to leading the efforts of multiple hubs for a cohesive strategy for large-scale impact.

Learn more in our Cross-hub initiatives guide.

Module 8 – Fundraising and partnerships

More often than not, a hub project will require some type of partnership or funding to kickstart or to scale. Learning how to find the right partner and how to effectively fundraise can greatly benefit any hub project.

Refer to the Partnerships guide to learn more about how to reach out to potential partners for in-kind or financial support.

Module 9 – Securing a strong impact legacy

The year is almost up. It is your responsibility to ensure that you leave a strong impact legacy for your hub, which includes onboarding the hub's incoming Impact Officer and making sure that they have everything they need to succeed. You will also want to share what you have learned with fellow hub members to build your hub’s general impact knowledge.

Impact Curriculum virtual sessions 2022-2023

Impact Curriculum virtual sessions 2021-2022

Contact us

All questions can be shared with your Community Champion or your Community Manager.

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