Helping South Yorkshire’s social enterprises tell their impact story

We’re proud to be supporting the Sheffield Social Enterprise Network (SSEN) in a new project designed to help social enterprises across South Yorkshire strengthen how they measure and communicate their impact.

The 12-month project, funded through the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP) and Communities Innovating Yorkshire (CIY) — brings together SSEN, the University of Sheffield, Data for Action, and Impact Reporting. Together, we’re working with at least 50 social enterprises to build confidence, consistency, and shared capacity around impact measurement.

Impact Reporting’s role: consultancy and technology that make measurement work

At Impact, our role combines hands-on consultancy with impact reporting software that will make impact measurement more practical and meaningful.

We’ll be:

• Working directly with SSEN and participating social enterprises to shape what good measurement looks like in their context.
• Using the Impact Reporting software to capture, analyse, and share impact data in a way that’s easy to manage and act on.
• Embedding the MeasureUp framework throughout, so that every data point is locally relevant and nationally credible.

How Impact Reporting’s software will work for the network

Impact Reporting’s software will act as a shared foundation for how impact data is captured and reported across the SSEN network.

Each participating organisation will have access to its own project workspace and dashboard. These dashboards will bring together both qualitative and quantitative data, showing progress against targets and reporting on monetised social value.

At the network level, these discrete projects can be amalgamated into a single, regional view, providing SSEN with a rich, joined-up picture of the collective impact created by South Yorkshire’s social enterprises.

The initial setup of the platform will be run as a collaborative process, ensuring the configuration meets SSEN’s needs and reflects how members actually work. Administrators will also have the ability to group dashboards for macro-level insight across the network, helping funders, policymakers, and partners see the full story at a glance.

Validating and building new metrics together

Alongside the platform rollout, SSEN is work closely with our Practice and Consultancy team (led by Catherine Manning) to embed the MeasureUp methodology into their measurement and reporting processes.

Where bespoke valuation metrics are needed, we’ll draw on our in-house economist Kubra Hoke to review or develop them, using primary or secondary research to ensure every new metric aligns with MeasureUp’s evidence base and valuation principles.

This collaborative validation process helps keep the data both credible and comparable, giving social enterprises confidence that their reported outcomes hold up to scrutiny while staying true to their purpose.

Why this matters

Across South Yorkshire, social enterprises are delivering powerful local impact, but their contribution is often under-recognised because the systems to capture it haven’t kept pace with the work itself.

As Terry Murphy, CEO of SSEN, put it:

“For too long, the incredible value [social enterprises] create … has been under-recognised because we haven’t had the infrastructure to capture and evidence it consistently.”

This project starts to change that. With the right mix of tools, shared language, and capacity-building, South Yorkshire’s social enterprises will have the means to evidence and amplify the difference they make — both individually and together.

Ben White, Impact Reporting’s Managing Director adds:

“We’re proud to support South Yorkshire’s social enterprises in building a stronger, shared approach to impact measurement. Too often, organisations doing vital work for communities don’t have the tools or recognition they deserve. By bringing together the Impact Reporting platform and the open-source MeasureUp framework, we can give local enterprises the confidence to evidence their value in a way that is both credible nationally and rooted in the region’s priorities. Well done to the teams in ensuring social value is seen and celebrated where it matters most.”

What’s next

Over the coming months, SSEN members will begin configuring their platforms, taking part in training, and working alongside our consultancy team to shape how their data is collected and shared.

It’s a practical step forward — building the skills, confidence, and infrastructure needed for long-term impact.

We’re excited to see what this collaboration delivers for the network, for the region, and for the wider social enterprise community.

🔗 Read more on SSEN’s website → Sheffield Social Enterprise Network leads new project to strengthen social impact measurement

Curious to learn how we can help your organisation? Get in touch!