Abstract
In discussing how to measure the impact of the independent, not-for-profit sector on society, researchers invoke notions of data systems and “social indicators” for impact measurement. Such discussions are also often couched in terms of the impacts of the independent sector on “quality of life.” My objective in this chapter is to give specific meanings to these terms. I will review results of research that clarify the behavior of social indicators and cite some commonly used indicators and their limitations and potential as adequate measures. Finally, I will describe the data systems necessary to develop social indicators for measuring nonprofit sector performance.
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Land, K.C. (2002). Social Indicators for Assessing the Impact of the Independent, Not-for-Profit Sector of Society. In: Flynn, P., Hodgkinson, V.A. (eds) Measuring the Impact of the Nonprofit Sector. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0533-4_4
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