Applying the Failure on Purpose principles to Impact Reporting.

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An impact report should not answer

“Did we succeed?”

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It should answer the harder, more honest question:

“What did reality teach us, and how did we respond?”

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What is impact reporting?

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Impact reports are for accountability to learning, not performance.

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If a report exists to:

• impress donors

• justify funding

• protect reputation

…it will distort reality.

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If it exists to:

• document learning

• guide better decisions

• prevent harm from scaling

…it will strengthen impact.

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An impact report passes if:

• it would still be written if no donor ever read it

• it makes future decisions better

• it exposes at least one uncomfortable truth

• it changes behaviour, not just perception

 

1. Context & Intent

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Why we acted — without claiming outcomes

Include:

• the human or systemic tension you responded to

• why this mattered then

• what you hoped to understand, not guarantee

 

Avoid:

• grand mission statements

• future certainty

• inflated moral language

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2. What We Believed at the Start

 

Your starting assumptions — made explicit

Include:

• key beliefs about cause and effect

• constraints you underestimated

• risks you knowingly accepted

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This is where credibility begins.

If readers can’t see what you believed,
they can’t evaluate what you learned.

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3. What We Actually Did

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Actions, not abstractions

Include:

• what was tested or tried

• scale, duration, and limits

• what you deliberately did not attempt

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Avoid:

• vague language (“empowered”, “strengthened”, “supported”)

• activity inflation

Be specific enough that someone else could repeat it.

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4. What Failed or Fell Short

 

This section is non-negotiable

Include:

• what didn’t work

• where uptake was low

• where assumptions broke

• where harm or risk appeared

 

Name:

• why it failed

• what surprised you

If nothing failed, the work was either too safe — or the report is lying.

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5. What We Learned (the core value)

 

Learning is the impact multiplier

Separate clearly:

• what you now believe less strongly

• what you now believe more strongly

• what remains unclear

 

Learning should:

• change future decisions

• weaken false confidence

• sharpen judgment

 

This is the most valuable section for donors, boards, and future beneficiaries.

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6. What Changed Because of This

 

Behavioural and directional shifts

Impact is not just outcomes.
It includes changes in:

• organisational behaviour

• decision rules

• resource allocation

• partnerships

• what you stopped doing

 

These are early impact signals, often more honest than metrics.

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7. Signals We Are Watching (not targets)

 

Direction > precision

Include:

• indicators that suggest movement

• qualitative signals

• leading indicators

 

Avoid:

• false precision

• guaranteed targets in complex systems

 

Say explicitly:

“These are signs we are paying attention to — not proof of success.”

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8. What We Will Do Differently Next

 

Impact lives in iteration

Include:

• concrete changes

• experiments planned

• risks you are now more willing (or unwilling) to take

This proves the report is not archival — it is operational.

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