Viva con Agua is an inspiring non-profit organization with an entrepreneurial spirit based in Hamburg. The organization is all about water!
With so-called WASH projects around the globe, it provides people access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (that is what the abbreeviation WASH is about). Being a central concern of the global community, it is also anchored in the so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6: “Clean Water and Sanitation”).
Viva con Agua’s approach is special because it gets people excited about water activism, especially younger people. How? By winning over ambassadors from the music, sport and art world that inspire innovative campaigning ideas to be replicated by everybody.
In 2019, Viva con Agua supported us with talks for our colleagues within a big firmwide CSR Campaign, #10DaysOfCaring.
That is how I, again, got in touch with the organization. Before I started my position with BearingPoint, I was myself working in the German non-profit sector, and occasionally, I crossed paths with Viva con Agua staff and volunteers.
When the above-mentioned CSR campaign was over, we not only started catering bottled water of Viva con Agua in some of our offices, but also agreed that we are always open to support them where we can.
That is what happened a couple of weeks later, when I had a call with someone from the Viva con Agua Foundation. By the way: I am Wiebke. I have been with BearingPoint for more than two years now, being in charge of our firm's sustainability actions benefitting people, planet and society. In my previous professional life, I worked in the German non-profit sector and had a thing for social impact orientation. Back then, my paths crossed with Viva con Agua from time to time. So, I was totally excited when they reached out, asking, if we may jointly proof-check their current programs and set-ups as regards a focus on impact orientation.
The organization, with its innovative, entrepreneurial spirit, is in constant change. So, during the past years, they explored different ways to support their #WaterForAll-mission, and the portfolio of programs and formats grew. They found it was about time to step back for a moment and reflect. Beyond consequent impact orientation, they especially aimed at improving impact measurement and reporting where possible.
I took their request as a sign of high professionalism. Impact orientation is meant to be a continuous path of reflection and improvement, especially in organizations that “flow.”
We agreed to have a joint workshop in Berlin. Three colleagues from Viva con Agua came to our office to challenge how they understand, assess and communicate impact. First of all, we agreed to apply the IOOI Framework, a standard approach to structure your thinking when reflecting on impact. IOOI is short for Input-Output-Outcome-Impact. The scheme helps to distinguish input and output from actual ouctome or even impact.
As a warm-up, we did a joint reflection on the value of impact orientation. The idea was to understand the potential behind consistent impact orientation (for example, impact orientation is helping to structure and prioritize work due to clear goals) - and instill motivation with everybody. Then, we started filling the whiteboard. We challenged the existing impact logic and collected indicators that serve as proof points. Also, we developed a roadmap to follow-up on the ideas we derived.
With this one-day workshop, we really covered lot of content. Yet, we thought that this would just be the starting point. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 happening, we needed to pause the conversation for a moment. However, our doors remain open.