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Catherine Manning, Head of Impact Practise

Catherine Manning is Head of Impact Practice at Impact Reporting and the Programme Director and driving force behind the game-changing social valuation tool, MeasureUp. Her passion is improving social value processes. She has over a decade of deep expertise and has worked tirelessly to understand how current practices are failing communities. She joined Impact Reporting from leading industry body, The Institute of Social Value (formerly Social Value UK), where she remains a trustee. She holds an International Development master’s degree and a Level 1 Social Value Associate Practitioner certification and is a member of the ICRS. Recognised as a finalist for the WISE100 Changemaker Award and The Better Business Network Pioneer of the Year Award in 2025 and a WISE100 Star of the Future finalist in 2022, Catherine is dedicated to raising the voices and values of underrepresented populations. At Impact Reporting, she supports clients through consultancy in impact management, procurement, project management and valuation research.

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“We are all connected; our stories intertwine and create a tapestry of life.”

– Lemn Sissay

View Catherine's latest blog posts

  • What inspired you to enter this field?

    I have always had a strong sense of fairness and empathy, as well as a desire to ‘do something good’ with my time in the world. 

    What drew me to the world of social value is that at its heart, it is about raising the voices, experiences, and values of those in the majority of our national and world population who are not heard and not included in decision-making that impacts their own lives.

    If we want a more just and equal world, listening to people, believing them, and taking the risk of including their value in how we understand our own is fundamental.

  • What are you responsible for at Impact Reporting?

    Currently, I lead our impact practice consultancy support for clients, working with them to move from impact strategy into the weeds of impact measurement and management, defining outcomes, metrics, and valuation approaches.

    I also lead our MeasureUp project with our partners PRD and State of Life, developing a new, innovative, and transparent measurement and valuation approach.

    It feels like a true career highlight, as throwing ourselves into developing better, more transparent, well-being-focused valuation practices feels brave, exciting, and serious all at once.

  • How has your time with Social Value UK and Social Value International shaped you?

    From my experience as the technical and engagement lead at SVUK and lead of the Reporting and Assurance Technical Committee at SVI, I have a strong commitment to the importance of third-party assurance in leading to better standards of practice, more confidence in data, and ultimately, more and better impact-driven decisions taking place.

    I am still strongly dedicated to a Social Value Principles-based approach and maintain my work in this area as a board member of SVI and an accredited Social Value Associate.

  • My favourite city in the world to visit would be...

    Not a city, but I would love to go back to Nkhata Bay, watch the people fish in Lake Malawi, see the sun rise and set over the water, hear the birds, insects, and water lapping at my feet.

  • Outside of work you can find me...

    Trying to keep plants alive, trying to keep on moving with yoga, pilates, walking our dog in the hills, or doing jigsaws, drinking red wine, watching (the worse the better) crime thriller series, and eating cheese.

  • Top 3 loves?

    Jigsaws, unicorns and assurance.

  • What gets you up in the morning?

    Coffee! And the occasional new impact, social value, or assurance standard…