More Than Metrics: The Hidden Power of Impact Frameworks
Too often, impact frameworks are treated as compliance tools—boxes to tick for funders, donors, or annual reports. But when done well, they are much more than that. An impact framework, thoughtfully designed and strongly embedded in the human experience of impact, does more than articulate outcomes to stakeholders; it becomes a living process that shapes how teams think, learn, and drive strategy.
By engaging deeply in the development of an impact framework—rather than treating it as an afterthought—organisations can unlock both intended and unintended benefits. It can spark richer conversations with stakeholders, bring greater clarity and alignment within teams, and surface new opportunities or challenges. When we engage with the human element of an impact framework, and are not bound by narrow tools or frameworks, we glean wisdom we may otherwise overlook.
GoodWolf worked with the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital Foundation (RBWHF) on developing an impact framework to not only measure but also help them articulate their role and contribution within a large health network. Below we discuss with them their motivations, the outcomes of the process and their advice for other organisations looking to develop an impact framework.
What were RBWHF's motivations for developing an impact framework?
This year we are celebrating 40 years. We have very skilled staff across fundraising, marketing, media etc so there was a real impetus to develop a systematised approach to tracking outcomes, value, and longer-term impact. We have a large community of generous donors, and it is absolutely our responsibility to understand and honour their generosity and gratitude and ensure we are distributing the funding wisely, robustly and transparently.
We also wanted to articulate our place and value in large Metro North Health ecosystem, while also being able to capture and report genuine outcomes and impact of what we do. We have a complex set of communities, stakeholders, and audiences that we work and interact with – whether it’s our individual donors, corporate donors, hospital staff, hospital executive, and government and health ministers. There’s a lot of audiences who are wanting to hear their ‘version’ of our impact and our value-add, and how they are a part of it.
What were the intended and unintended outcomes?
Of the intended outcomes this Impact Framework – and more importantly being part of the process of developing it - gave us the direction and the space to really identify and prioritise the outcomes that we felt held the most value. Of course there would be an almost endless list of things, outputs, outcomes, longer-term results that we could track, so the Framework has helped provide consistency and consolidated our approach to what we value and want to track, and furthermore offered us clarity as to how we report and articulate our value and our impact.
Certainly one of the biggest unintended outcomes of undertaking this work, was the enhanced and elevated respect we gained, and the strengthened relationships across the hospital and donor community. Involving hospital staff across all levels, from early career grant recipients to RBWH and Metro North executives, to those donors who’s giving is highly connected to a cause (restricted) to donors that trust us implicitly to do the very best with their donations – every relationship had grown from this experience. As they say, your nay-sayers become your greatest advocates, and the Impact Framework and Theory of Change work with GoodWolf has proved that to be true.
What advice do you have for other organisations looking to pursue development and measurement of an impact framework?
Think about how you can embed an impact framework strategically. We have now integrated ours across our strategic pillars. The impact framework has helped us take our strategic pillars out of functional silos. We have used the impact framework to underpin a more integrated and dynamic model across the organisation.
For us working with GoodWolf in such a hands-on and integrated approach to the project certainly made a difference. Within months we operationalised it into our next FY strategic plan. We re-framed our 4 pillars to encompass and incorporate aspects of our Framework across our Foundation activities.
And prepare for deep engagement and buy-in for the project. We did not want to make this a tokenistic piece of work, so we ensured we made the time to invest in it across our leadership team and we are thankful we did.
“The project with RBWHF is an example of a framework that isn’t just waiting to be ‘populated’ but one where the framework itself drives change at all levels of the organisation, its network and the outcomes it seeks to generate.”
Nina Yousefpour, Director GoodWolf Partners
RBWHF’s impact framework has become more than a reporting tool. It is a shared language that strengthens relationships with donors, staff, and partners, while embedding impact into the Foundation’s strategy. Building on these insights, RBWHF is focused on driving deeper collaboration across the health network and community—using the framework not just to measure change, but to help create it.