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Guide for impact management of start-up support programs published

Despite the huge amounts of money invested in start-up support programmes, there is a lack of analysis on the long-term impact of these programmes. Little is known about their economic impacts. Whether the supported start-ups also contribute to climate protection or other societal objectives has not yet been the subject of evaluation of start-up support programmes. With regard to the economic, environmental and societal impact, the principle of hope has prevailed so far. Political actors and programme managers lack reliable evidence.

But how can a support programme be designed for impact orientation? Which methods and concepts are suitable for measuring and evaluating the impact – on the supported start-ups as well as on the economy, society and the environment? To this end, the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability developed the IMPACT Guide „Moving from Evaluation to Impact Management of Start-up Support Programmes“.

The IMPACT Guide is a result of the Borderstep project IMPACT of sustainability-oriented start-up support. It was funded and supported by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt). The project developed innovative approaches to analyse and manage the economic, ecological and social impact of start-up support programmes.

The brochure can be downloaded free of charge in English and German.

Background

“What contribution do we want our support programme to make to solving societal challenges?” This question of impact is still asked too little in start-up support. Yet alignment with societal goals offers the opportunity to actively drive sustainable development of business and society. The IMPACT Guide shows how support programmes can develop appropriate impact goals and then monitor their achievement. In this way, the program’s contribution to economic, environmental, and social impact can be understood and maximized.

Impacting society with start-up support

How can the impact that a support programme and its services have on supported start-ups be determined? How can the contribution of a program to positive changes on environment, society and economy be evaluated? And how can the impact be maximized?

These are the questions addressed in the now-published IMPACT Guide, “Moving from Evaluation to Impact Management of Start-up Support Programmes”.

The brochure provides start-up supporters, programme managers and accompanying research with impulses and approaches to assess and manage the impact of start-up support programmes.

The Borderstep Impact Guide can be downloaded free of charge.