Measuring the Impact of Civil Society Strengthening

Measuring the impact of civil society programming can pose challenges to program staff. Because of this, Mercy Corps places great importance on taking the time to establish a clear baseline to compare program outcomes to.

To do this, staff conduct surveys, interviews with target populations, hold an organizational capacity assessment or regularly collect government statistics.

A big part of determining success of programs lies in the act of defining what it is that the program is meant to change. Thus, defining words like empowerment or revitalization in the context of each specific program allows staff members to visualize what the program goals are and whether or not it is realistic.