What is Impact Data?

New Story’s mission is simple: to pioneer solutions to end global homelessness.

In 2016, when Hurricane Matthew, a category 5 storm, tore through Haiti – 211 homes built by New Story withstood 145 mile per hour winds. Over 1,000 Haitians lives were safe. We’re honored to have played a part in their story.

But we didn’t stop there. Since then, we have been pursuing long-term solutions to end homelessness. That’s why we’ve invested in impact data evaluation to profoundly understand where we’ve succeeded and failed and pursue the highest standards of resilience for vulnerable populations.

Our main goals with impact data are simple: first, learn from our beneficiaries about the long-term impact of a home and second, iterate and improve our model.

For New Story, impact data is both quantitative, such as changes over time in school attendance or household income, and qualitative, such as “Does having a home help you accomplish your goals?” Impact data is unique to every organization based on what your intended impact outcomes are. Using the Impact Survey App we created, we collect data on families in a short 30-minute survey before and after they’ve moved into a New Story home.

Impact data is simply going beyond the number of homes we’ve built – although still important – and learning how a home influences the overall livelihood of families living in extreme poverty. We believe you don’t need a PhD or an expensive, multi-year scientific evaluation in order to understand your value proposition and learn from beneficiaries. At New Story, impact data is comprised of metrics such as education performance and attendance, illness and household income.

In order to understand our impact, we believe in asking consistent, high-quality questions to learn about the experience of each family. As impact designers, we know that we do not have all the answers and the best way to explore the power of design is putting the power in the hands of local residents. We spend extensive time with local partners localizing surveys to resonate with vulnerable populations in New Story communities.

We use impact data collection in all New Story communities in Haiti and El Salvador this year. For now, we’re razor focused on deeply understanding our who our beneficiaries are and their priorities so we can best design and build communities for generational impact.

Want to learn more about our impact? See the communities we’ve built and the lives impacted as a result of your donations! Interested in supporting our innovation and research for long term solutions like this?