AIM​

 

This tool will help your team plan for the types of impacts that you will measure. Ideally, you will start with a baseline analysis and then measure how much things have changed because of your interventions. This tool fits well with theories of change, or you can use it after you have completed and refined the sustainability radar.

 

 

 

STEPS

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1. Define Your Goals: Start by writing down the main goals of your project. Discuss with your team how you will know if you are making the intended changes. 

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2. Plan for Intended Impacts:

Questions: With your team, discuss the breadth (how wide-ranging your impact will be), depth (how profound the impact will be), and target (how aligned is this indicator the the project’s ultimate objective) of the impact you’d like to have. Start by asking the right questions: What will you want to find out? What questions will need to be answered? For instance, if your project aims to improve local biodiversity, consider how many species you want to impact, the ecosystems involved, and the communities that might benefit.

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Indicators: What indicators will you use to measure success? For example, if your goal is to increase community engagement, you might measure attendance at events or the number of participants in activities. In general, breadth is measured with quantitative indicators (numbers), while depth tends to be more qualitative (but not always). 

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Tools: You will need some tools to measure these impacts, what is a realistic tool that you will be able to use to respond your impact questions? These should be viable economically, so consider resource constraints such as time and funding. These tools may be surveys, an app, interviews, field observations, etc. 

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3. Plan for unintended impacts:

Consider the Systemic Nature of Your Environment by remembering that your project exists within a larger system, and your actions might influence other systems in unexpected ways. 

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Unintended impacts are the effects of your project that you may not have foreseen. It's okay if you don’t know everything about these impacts right now; the key is to acknowledge that they will exist.

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Use the brainstorming template to explore these unintended impacts. Discuss possible unintended impacts with your team, organise them into categories. How will you keep an eye on these impacts? ​

 

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