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Three Key Factors for M&E of Social Ventures

Three Key Factors for M&E of Social Ventures
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why do we need m&e monitoring and evaluation? first of all to better allocate limited resources we need to generate relevant information on the performance of any types of programs/projects. social venture is not an exception. second such information will also help social entrepreneurs improve their current social business models. in sum, m&e is necessary for us to make bigger impacts while making profits for sustainable operation.
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To perform m&e we need some criteria. when it comes to social ventures 3 key factors should be emphasized. these include financial feasibility sustainability and scalability. first financial feasibility means that the value obtained by consuming a product v should be bigger than the price to buy the product p. in other words, v should be bigger than p. note that the price customers pay per product to the company is equivalent to the revenue per unit generated from selling the product. and the revenue per product p should be bigger than the unit cost c so that profit can be obtained from selling the product in other word p should be bigger than c.
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therefore V should be bigger than P and P should be bigger than C and this relation should be held to make the business financially feasible. financial feasibility. second sustainability means that the business has core competencies to survive from the competition. core competence will also provide the company with a barrier to entry of future competitors. moreover, core competency allows you to attract partners to work together which is very important for social ventures which want to solve social problems through collaboration with diverse players making collective impact. for social ventures however, this is not enough to achieve sustainability. they should pay attention to other potential factors which may lead to negative externality due to their business for example environmental concerns and so on.
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therefore sustainability should be examined in terms of stakeholder management principles. third scalability means that the social business models can be used to solve similar social problems in other geographical regions and /or in other areas. for example, the idea of microfinance has been copied and pasted in many different countries.
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in this case however different cultural contexts should be fully considered to avoid unexpected negative impacts. through scalability, we can solve social problems on a bigger scale helping more people in need. therefore these three key factors – financial feasibility, sustainability, and scalability – should be taken into consideration when we perform m&e to generate relevant information for social ventures and other stakeholders in impact ecosystem.

Why do we need M&E (monitoring and evaluation)?

Because M&E is necessary for us to make bigger impacts, while making profits for sustainable operation.

To perform M&E, we need some criteria. When it comes to social ventures, 3 key factors should be emphasized. These include financial feasibility, sustainability, and scalability.

First, financial feasibility means that the value obtained by consuming a product (V) should be bigger than the price to buy the product (P). Second, sustainability means that the business has core competences to survive from the competition. Third, scalability means that the social business models can be used to solve similar social problems in other geographical regions, and/or in other areas.

In other words, these three key factors should be taken into consideration when we perform M&E to generate relevant information for social ventures (and other stakeholders in impact ecosystem).

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Social Innovation in South Korea

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