Developing an Impact-Oriented Measurement System

The document provides a framework for FSD programmes to set up an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It details a two-step process for 'Stage 1: Clarity of Purpose', which involves ensuring the programme's Theory of Change (ToC) is evaluable and developing specific impact measurement questions. The guide emphasizes the importance of 'nesting' project-level results chains within thematic and overall programme ToCs to capture systemic change and avoid overstating causal contributions. It also introduces 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to measuring impact, ranging from high-level economic growth to direct intervention effects.

• For a Theory of Change (ToC) to be considered evaluable, it must meet six specific criteria: it must be clear, relevant, plausible, testable, contextualised, and account for complexity.
• FSDs are encouraged to use a 'nesting' approach to manage complexity, where individual project results chains are nested within thematic ToCs, which are in turn nested within an overall programme ToC.
• Systemic change in the financial sector can be promoted through three primary pathways: direct effects on a partner's immediate sphere of influence, partner-led expansion and replication within the wider market, and changes to the structures of the system that alter incentives for actors.
• Impact measurement should employ both 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' approaches to create a comprehensive narrative; bottom-up focuses on the contribution of interventions to market changes, while top-down examines broader changes in financial outcomes and their causes.
• The document distinguishes between a logframe, which serves primarily as an accountability tool for funders, and a ToC, which articulates the causal logic, assumptions, and risks behind how results are expected to occur.
• Additionality is a critical component of the contribution story, defined as whether changes would not have occurred, or would not have occurred as quickly, without the FSD intervention.

APA

FSD Africa (2016). Developing an Impact-Oriented Measurement System. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11655-Impact-Oriented-Sys_Chp4_Sngl_LR.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Developing an Impact-Oriented Measurement System. 2016. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11655-Impact-Oriented-Sys_Chp4_Sngl_LR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Developing an Impact-Oriented Measurement System |date=January 2016 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11655-Impact-Oriented-Sys_Chp4_Sngl_LR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2016developing, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Developing an Impact-Oriented Measurement System}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2016}, month = jan, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11655-Impact-Oriented-Sys_Chp4_Sngl_LR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }