Social Impact Assessment: Engaging in Participatory Evaluation - Implications and Practice

This social marketing evaluation project explores how a research and industry partnership can develop an approach to evaluation to understand the social impact of health promotion intervention. This thesis proposes the need for a participatory approach to Social Impact Assessment (SIA). Specifically, this research project sought to understand: first, how social impact is considered and measured with health promotion interventions in four comparable Commonwealth contexts (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom); and second, how an Australian NGO may (or may not be) delivering social impact within health promotion and how an SIA assessment may add insight into social impact measurement within health promotion. This research implemented the SIA methodology of Social Return on Investment (SROI) to evaluate the social impact of an NGO Health Promotion program aiming to help children make safe and healthy life choices (Lane & Devin, 2018; McHugh, Domegan, & Duane, 2018). While a Theory of Change (ToC) or program logic is essential for effective measurement of the outcomes or effects of interventions (Breuer, Lee, De Silva, & Lund, 2016; Hamdani et al., 2021; Meiksin et al., 2021), as a standalone process it is insufficient to understand the intricacies of social change. To understand intervention mechanisms of behaviour change—where and how social change (has or has not occurred)—there is a need to implement a measurement process that captures the broader social and economic determinants of health. These wider determinants extend beyond the current linear outcome focus of ToC, which shows a sequential approach to behaviour change along a social impact chain or program logic (Mayne, 2015; McHugh et al., 2018). This thesis proposes a participatory approach to SIA enabling a reflexive approach to evaluation that allows a deeper understanding of the complexities of how children make healthy life choices. Furthermore, a participatory approach enables program ou
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Dept of Marketing
Griffith Business School
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