Communicate your organization’s impact and highlight specific metrics that demonstrate what you’ve achieved with objectives and key impact indicators (KIIs).
How to use objectives
Once you’ve started a new impact framework template with dimensions of impact, objectives and KIIs become the heart of your framework. Objectives can group key impact indicators (KIIs) to make it easier for stakeholders to understand the impact of your work. KIIs organize the data you’ll want to collect and analyze to best communicate your organizational strategy and the impact you’re creating.
Think of an objective as the goal you want to achieve in alignment with the overarching dimension it falls under. For example, if a youth sports organization were to build out this dashboard, they may put the objective, “Service youth within the local community,” under the Who dimension of impact, or who they aim to serve.
Writing a strong objective
A well-written objective has a number of critical benefits! To those on the outside of your organization, objectives can make it easy for people to learn about your work and impact. To those inside your organization, objectives clarify your definition of impact to help you operationalize your vision and mission.
Guiding questions for writing a strong objective
- Can it connect to an objective under another dimension of impact?
- For example: An objective under the Who dimension of impact about who you serve may connect to an objective under the Better Off dimension of impact, which measures the impact of your service on your audience.
- Is it written in plain language that most people can understand?
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Does it use language related to your mission statement?
Step-by-step guidance on how to use objectives
- To add an objective, select the Add objectives button underneath a related dimension of impact.
- Then, name the objective and save your progress.
- To edit the objective, select the kebab menu at the upper right-hand corner and select Edit objective.
- If you need help thinking of an objective, you can view examples of objectives after selecting Edit objective.
- Then, name your objective or make a change and save your progress.
- To delete an objective, select the kebab menu at the upper right-hand corner of the objective.
- Confirm your decision to permanently delete.
When you delete an objective, you also delete any KIIs saved under that objective.
- Add another objective to a dimension of impact by selecting the + Objective text underneath a saved objective. Then, name your new objective and save your progress.
You may add up to 20 objectives per dimension of impact. We recommend adding 1 to 3 objectives per dimension of impact.
Use these steps across each dimension of impact to include objectives in your impact framework. Then, add key impact indicators, or KIIs, to add more specific data points to your impact framework.
How to use key impact indicators (KIIs)
KIIs are the metrics you can gather and analyze to communicate your organization’s impact. UpMetrics groups KIIs under objectives to help you organize and showcase how the work you do measures up to the objectives and, ultimately, the mission your organization aims to achieve.
In this example, a KII may be the “# of youth participants.” Here, the Who dimension of impact, which notes the people you serve, includes youth in the community. The objective, to serve youth within the local community, is then measured by how many youth participants are joining their events, or “# of youth participants.”
Writing a strong key impact indicator (KII)
A well written KII helps you capture essential data points, operationalize your organization’s strategy, and makes it easy for people to learn about your organization’s impact.
Guiding questions for refining a KII:
- Is the KII specific enough to capture a data point?
- Is the KII numerical information?
- Is the KII written in plain language that most people can understand?
Step by step guidance on how to use key impact indicators (KIIs)
1. To add a key impact indicator, or KII, select + KII at the upper right hand corner of the objective.
You may add up to 10 KIIs per objective.
2. Name your KII and save your progress.
3. To edit a KII, select the kebab menu to the right of the KII.
4. Make a change and save your KII to add it under an objective.
5. You can also view examples of KIIs from here.
6. To delete a KII, select the kebab menu to the right of the KII and then select Delete KII.
7. Confirm your selection to permanently delete.
🎉 Nice work! Now you can add the objectives and key impact indicators (KIIs) you need to complete your impact framework.