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Impact on Society
How else we affect society
Tough questions

As an employer, a consumer, a resident, a partner or competitor, what we do  affects other people and organisations around us. In this strand we look beyond the immediate provision of our own services and activities to the more general impact we have on society. This is important for a number of reasons:

We ought to be good citizens - if we want  society to survive and thrive, we should play a part in contributing positively in whatever way we can. 

Because we care - the values that  underpin our purpose or reason for existence usually mean that we want to have a positive impact on society. For example, our focus may be services for young people. However our values are that all people should be respected and given support when they need it. This means for example, that we don't want to upset elderly people in our neighbourhood.

Because our supporters and potential supporters care - others are more likely to support our cause if they believe that we are good neighbours and behave in an acceptable way. This can help us to keep and attract the support of local people, funders and people or organisations with influence. The impact we have can be intentional or unintentional. Either way we  should be taking steps to monitor this impact and to decide how we can reduce negative impact and promote positive impact.
Areas to consider are:

● making staff and volunteers
    aware of the 'bigger picture'
    and how their work
    contributes to the aimsof the
   organisation

● impact on the  environment

● impact on the local economy

● impact on local community
   capacity to deal with issues

● impact on our neighbours

● impact on public policy
   issues such as employment,
   local service provision etc

Specific areas might be:

● health and safety

● waste reduction and disposal

● how we travel

● who we employ locally

● development of local people

● physical,information
   and people resources we
   make available to others

● what we buy and who  from

● supporting campaigns other
   thanour own

 ●

 How do you ensure minimum negative impact on the environment?   
 ● What impact do you have on the local economy?  
 ●  In what ways are your staff and your organisation involved in the local community?  
 ●  What do your neighbours think about you?   
 ● How do you support other organisations or  campaigns that benefit the community?  
 ● How do you ensure that you behave responsibly?  
     
     
     
 
 
How are you doing?
Score the Strand
Please tick, give mark out of 6
1 = disaster  
2 = not good  
3 = ok  
4 = good  
5 = very good  
6 = excellent  
 
 
 
 

 

 


 

 

Practical ideas for quality improvement  
  ●

Undertake an environmental impact assessment. Identify areas where you could reduce consumption of fuel, paper and other consumables. Identify if another person or organisation could use the goods you no longer want. 

 ● Speak to your neighbours and find out what they think about you. Make a conscious effort to speak to those people who share your immediate environment.  
● Be public about your support of organisations that espouse your values and principles.    
  ●

Look at where your employees live and where you spend money as an organisation. How much of this  goes to your local area. If you are working in a poor area, think about encouraging more local people to apply for vacancies and/or try to support local businesses more.

 ● Develop a purchasing policy that identifies the criteria and procedure for purchasing goods and services. This might include identifying approved suppliers who meet your criteria. For example fair trade companies, or those with a good environmental record.  
  ●

Find out what is happening in your area. Identify simple ways in which you can help others, for example by providing meeting rooms or use of other facilities, sharing your experience and skills, offering written or verbal support.

 ● Think about how a responsible citizen behaves. Reflect on how far your organisation behaves in this way.  
  ●

Encourage staff to volunteer for other projects (eg allow time to read papers, leave early etc).

 ●  See the Help Boxes on www.thebigpic.org.uk for more information and ideas.  
       

 

Moving back to The Big Picture
   

Remember, when you make changes in one part of your organisation, this will have an effect on other parts.

For example, changes brought about by improving your impact on society can affect the support that the local community will give you. This may bring in more funding or more support from volunteers.

Think about the changes you have made or intend to make. How will these affect other areas?
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