COMMIT

As the founder of Tot Uw Dienst! (TUD), social entrepreneur Jaap Brouwer connects two target groups in Ede. On the one hand, TUD supports independently living residents on low incomes with household maintenance and repair tasks. On the other hand, these services are carried out by TUD employees who are working towards reintegration into paid employment. Together, TUD and the Fixbrigade contribute to strengthening the social foundation of the municipality of Ede.
In doing so, they remain highly dependent on subsidies from the municipality of Ede. As part of its funding accountability requirements, the municipality asks these organizations to demonstrate how their activities contribute to strengthening the local social foundation. This involves both economic and social impact, which can be combined under the concept of societal earning capacity. However, how can organizations such as TUD determine and demonstrate this impact? This challenge leads to the following research question:
Which methodology enables TUD to measure and value its societal earning capacity in a transparent and reproducible way, so that the impact of TUD can be effectively established?

COMMIT aims to support social entrepreneurs by developing a methodology for measuring and valuing social earning capacity.

With this methodology, enterprises such as TUD are provided with a tool to transparently demonstrate and substantiate the full societal impact of their services. COMMIT seeks to achieve this objective by starting from local practice. For social entrepreneurs, the specific region or context is crucial for creating impact. Making it clear for TUD how societal earning capacity can be measured and valued in a transparent and reproducible way contributes to scaling the societal transition that this value creation aims to achieve.

A practical model for periodic reporting (at least annually) on realized societal earning capacity (SEC). This could, for example, take the form of a dashboard.
A final report, including recommendations for further research.

COMMIT aims to design a methodology for the transparent and reproducible measurement and valuation of societal earning capacity (SEC), using the company Tot Uw Dienst! (TUD) as the research context and Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI) as the research method. Through PNI, stories—and the direct involvement of storytellers in interpreting those stories—are used to reveal the underlying experiences, motivations, and emotions of those involved. These stories, together with their corresponding interpretations, serve as input for the analysis. Using techniques such as coding and text mining, the research seeks to identify patterns and underlying mechanisms. The preliminary findings of this analysis are then presented through a participatory assessment process to the storytellers, an advisory group of social entrepreneurs (see table of project partners), and representatives of the municipality of Ede.

In this way, the research findings are further refined and consolidated into a practical methodology that provides an answer to the COMMIT research question.

The methodology envisioned by COMMIT enables social enterprises, such as Tot Uw Dienst!, to verifiably determine their social impact and align their actions accordingly. This strengthens both the support and commitment of stakeholders. Furthermore, such a methodology increases the likelihood of scaling social earning capacity both within the municipality of Ede and to other municipalities. By measuring and valuing soft benefits, investments in social service providers like Tot Uw Dienst! can be legitimized. This is urgent, as municipalities require proper accountability for social policy. Additionally, while the one-sided nature of current accountability and reporting practices is widely acknowledged, no workable alternative has been available until now.