Stakeholder involvement in impact measurement development: issues and insights from a public initiative to repopulate remote communities

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the involvement of stakeholders contributed to the process of developing impact measures for public initiatives and what (if any) technical criticalities might emerge during such a process. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on action research methodology in which the researchers were involved in the solution of a practical problem represented by the implementation of an impact measurement tool for a public initiative. This initiative’s main objective was the repopulation of a remote Alpine community. The context required the researchers to establish a personal link with the indigenous inhabitants of the remote mountain community to combine theory and practice and to solve a practical problem. Findings This study shows that stakeholders were crucial in determining “what to measure”, “what criteria to use to measure”, “what was the motivation for measurement” and “what data and methods were best to implement”. The specific context of a repopulating initiative for the remote community highlighted that the nuances of the context in which social impact measurement is developed are crucial in shaping both the design and the strategic relevance of the measurement itself. The paper shows that stakeholder involvement was paramount for developing relevant social impact measures, building a common relationship between indigenous and researchers and considering aspects of the initiatives that stakeholders deemed necessary for the community. Practical implications The study provides insights into overcoming critical aspects that can emerge while designing and implementing an impact measurement system for public initiatives. Originality/value Stakeholder involvement has mainly been treated from a theoretical point of view. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents one of the few studies that provides evidence of the importance of stakeholder involvement in identifying viable metrics to measure impacts in a complex context such as public initiatives.