On December 11, 2013, Surge (formerly the Social Innovation Research Group, SIRG) hosted a social impact metrics roundtable at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei.

Now in its second year, Surge is comprised of Asian Institute graduates Zhiying Zhang, Aaron Wytze Wilson, Melinda Jacobs, and Remi Kanji, who are pioneering social innovation research in Taiwan.  The purpose of their December roundtable, which brought together leaders from the private and non-profit sectors, social enterprise, government, and social catalyst organizations, was to facilitate a discussion on how to measure, benchmark, and report on social impact.

The group invited Asian Institute Director and Roz and Ralph Halbert Professor of Innovation Policy Joseph Wong to give a keynote address at the roundtable, where he discussed the imperative of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in the context of rising inequality and the challenges of traditional modes of social service delivery, as well as the importance of meaningful impact measurement for the long-term sustainability of social innovation and enterprise.

A variety of stakeholders stand to benefit from the development of social impact measurement tools: social entrepreneurs will be able to improve performance, increase productivity, and better meet the needs of beneficiaries; investors will be able to track and evaluate impact investment; governments stand to better understand, assist, and regulate the social sector; and scholars need meaningful common metrics for comparative research.

Based on the roundtable discussion, Surge has published a communiqué with a set of first principles to govern the formation of meaningful, comparative, and locally adjusted social impact metrics for use in Taiwan. The list will serve as a starting point for a task force of industry experts that will be facilitated by Surge.

Surge is a consensus broker and ecosystem player in the field of social innovation, advocating social impact measurement. Founded in 2012, Surge is a research and networking hub that is plugged into this generation’s global outlook on social innovation and entrepreneurship. Surge strives to empower the next generation of responsible global leaders, by helping youth shape their own growth path. Through partnering with academic institutions, they bring cutting edge material to the classroom, and offer high impact internships for students and recent graduates through their network of partners.