Open Impact combines consultancy and research with the ambition to accelerate the transition from a profit-oriented to an impact-oriented mindset. We believe that this cultural and operational shift is a crucial factor for creating societies that are not only more innovative and competitive, but also more sustainable and equitable. Our mission is to help organisations overcome both cultural and technical barriers to measuring impact. In doing so, we aim to promote a vision of development that recognises and rewards social and environmental value, alongside economic and financial performance.
The SETS project represents a significant opportunity to strengthen the role of Social Economy Organisations (SEOs) across Europe. The growing interest in the concept of impact, and the increasing adoption of methodologies such as Theory of Change, KPIs, or SROI analysis, are promising signs. Yet, two challenges remain critical:
- Many SEOs still lack essential entrepreneurial and digital skills, which limits their ability to expand, innovate, and scale the value generated.
- Despite their key contribution to local communities and to the European Union as a whole, SEOs still suffer from limited recognition and knowledge about their role and potential.
Through SETS, Open Impact is working to address these challenges by designing and implementing a robust impact framework, which provides both a structure for analysis and a guiding tool for strategic decision-making.
This framework is organised around four main outcome areas:
- Education and Training, improving the digital and transversal skills of SEO managers, employees, and job seekers. The goal is to strengthen professional profiles and equip people with advanced competencies that are essential in today’s labour market.
- Economic and Organisational Development, fostering sustainability, efficiency, intellectual capital, and economic resilience. This area aims to improve organisational models and strengthen access to decent work opportunities.
- Technological Development, supporting SEOs in achieving digital autonomy, while also encouraging the creation of new digital products and services that can enhance their role in the green and digital transitions.
- Research, Innovation, and Scale-up, advancing knowledge on the social economy, promoting impactful research, and testing the replicability of SETS training programmes across different sectors and countries.
Beyond these pillars, the SETS project adopts a comprehensive and forward-looking approach to capacity building in the social economy. By aligning with global benchmarks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and by using advanced tools like KPIs, SROI analysis, and an interactive impact dashboard, the project does not only measure short-term results but also builds a strong foundation for long-term sustainability and scalability.
This impact framework acts as the project’s “impact compass”: it supports partners in navigating complexity, making strategic decisions, and ensuring cohesive implementation across the consortium. It also ensures that the work of SETS goes beyond immediate outputs, contributing to systemic change at local, national, and European level.
