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Impact Assessments Support Scheme (IASS)
Impact Assessments Support Scheme (IASS) is a two-year pilot scheme organized by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service Social Enterprise Business Center (SEBC) under Impact Incubator and ACT social awareness in October 2020. The scheme contains 4 cohorts in total and each lasts for 3-6 months.

Programme Background

Objectives

The demand and importance of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) are becoming significant as there is a growing trend for private funders, impact investors, government funds and intermediaries to require funded projects to articulate its impact. However, social innovation start-ups often face the problem of insufficient time and manpower to prepare for the assessment. Meanwhile, outsourcing social impact assessment to third parties is still not sufficiently affordable and feasible for them. The scheme connects academia, university students and NGO sectors, to strike a balance between academic research standards and limited resources in order to assists in social startups’ to prepare social impact assessment and delivers information of it created social value to the public.

Cultivate a pool of researchers who are skilled in social impact assessment and promote a new type of profession.
Assisting in social startups’ data collection from different stakeholders, analyze it created social impact and make them presentable to society.

Characteristics

Bridge the gap of social startup’s insufficient impact data due to limited resources
Promote cross-sector cooperation: 1+1+1 combination (matching with one student from a social science background, one student from a business background, one social startup under the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund)
All-in-one scheme of social impact assessment research, data analytics, circulation, and education

Impact Assessment Assistant

They were recruited from different subject backgrounds, trained to be Impact Assessment Assistants, and matched with social startups. They are responsible for analyzing social impacts and making it presentable to the public. The assistant can master new skills-sets and knowledge in the field of social impact assessment coping with emerging trends in the social enterprises' development.

Training and support for Impact Assessment Assistant cover:

Two-day boot camp
Workshops (including Understanding Impact Assessment: Principles, Methods, and Practice, presentation skills, design thinking, and report writing)
Consultation and coaching

The assistant will help social startups in the following 4 domains:

Assess social and socio-economic impacts of assigned social startup
Plan and conduct field research using quantitative and qualitative methods
Communicate and liaise with stakeholders (such as clients, employees, and vendors) of the assigned social startup
Technical report writing and presentation