Reporting Entrepreneurship Impact for LSE Generate
How LSE Generate Built Their First Impact Report and Visualised Global Networks
Client
LSE Generate
Date
2024 - 2025
Location
London
Overview
LSE Generate is a powerhouse for nurturing entrepreneurial talent at the London School of Economics (LSE). Since 2018 they’ve been supporting students and alumni to develop entrepreneurial skills and build businesses in the UK and around the world. But measuring and articulating their impact in a comprehensive way has previously been a challenge.
The Challenge
The Generate team delivers a comprehensive programme of skills, training and support, and brokers vital connections between promising start-ups and socially-conscious investors. They know they make a difference, but capturing the full picture of their impact and communicating it to both internal and external stakeholders proved difficult. Generate had never before compiled a comprehensive annual impact report, instead focusing on reporting on specific projects. This made it tough to showcase the overall value of their activity
Akou's Impact
Akou partnered with Generate to help them tell their impact story, providing expertise to organise data, draw together impact evidence and compile their first comprehensive annual report. Working directly with the team, we co-designed an impact framework – built upon their core priorities and existing Theory of Change.
Generate’s strength lies in its vibrant network of global partners, a key driver of their entrepreneurs’ success. To truly capture this, we undertook a series of network mapping activities, to visualise Generate’s ecosystem and better articulate how they build social capital and valuable connections. We also conducted new qualitative research, including case study interviews with entrepreneurs, to gather compelling stories and evidence of Generate’s impact.
Key Outcomes
A co-designed impact framework aligning strategic ambitions with a clear direction for communicating realised impact
First comprehensive report compiled for the 2023-2024 academic year, providing a powerful tool to communicate value to investors, partners and the university
Generate’s ecosystem and network reach visualised by Akou showcasing the power of their connections and social capital
Stories of success highlighting the journeys and achievements of five entrepreneurs supported by Generate
End Result
Generate now has their first comprehensive annual impact report and a robust framework to guide their impact measurement going forward.
They can now confidently demonstrate the incredible value they create, from fostering entrepreneurial skills to building the vital networks that fuel success.