The Global Impact Index as a Tool for Assessing Inclusion and Social Effectiveness: Arcobaleno Social Cooperative’s case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13135/2704-9906/11712Keywords:
Social Impact Assessment, Social Cooperatives, Global Impact Index, Sustainability, Inclusion, Social impactAbstract
The assessment of social impact has become a strategic priority for social cooperatives, in response to growing need for transparency and accountability. However, traditional evaluation models, often developed for for-profit companies, fail to capture complexity and specificity of organizations that integrate social, economic, and environmental missions. This study presents Global Impact Index (GII Italian version IGI), an evaluation model designed to meet needs of type B social cooperatives, with a particular focus on reality of Arcobaleno Social Cooperative.
GII is structured around three fundamental dimensions: environmental, managerial, and social. Environmental dimension uses innovative tools such as Integrated Well-being Performance (IWP Italian version PIB) and Integrated Environmental Variation (IEV – Italian version VAI) to analyze cooperative's activities' contribution to urban well-being and long-term sustainability. Managerial dimension examines operational sustainability, the relationship between productivity and social inclusion, and workforce dynamics, highlighting how cooperative's social mission affects economic efficiency. Finally, social dimension explores well-being and satisfaction of worker-members, emphasizing cooperative's impact on quality of life and social integration.
This study's results demonstrate that GII is an effective tool for measuring, monitoring, and improving performance of social cooperatives. Integrating three dimensions provides a holistic view of impact produced, offering a basis for targeted strategic decisions and stakeholder engagement. Although model has some limitations, such as need for further testing in different contexts, it represents a replicable and scalable approach for third sector. The GII makes a significant contribution to literature on impact assessment and opens new perspectives for sustainability and social inclusion.
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