Glossary

52 words

Accountability · AccountDutch: Verantwoording · Verantwoord

Show where figures and statements come from and what they do and don’t prove.

Not: other translations

See also: perspective

activismDutch: activisme

Taking public action for change, such as a demonstration or a campaign. It puts pressure from the outside.

Example: A petition and a rally on the square in front of the town hall.

Not to be confused with

• lobbying. Activism puts pressure from the outside, in public. Lobbying works from the inside, in conversation with decision-makers, and mostly out of sight.
• advocacy. Advocacy speaks for a group without a voice of its own, often through policy and research. Activism chooses public action and sometimes seeks confrontation on purpose.

Not: rioting

advocacyDutch: belangenbehartiging

Speaking up for a group with little voice of its own, such as children or future generations. Your right to speak comes from the cause, not from a membership.

Example: Writing a report with residents about their housing and handing it to the council.

Not to be confused with

• lobbying. In lobbying you speak for your own members or organisation. In advocacy you speak for a group with little voice of its own. Your right to speak then comes from the cause.
• activism. Advocacy speaks for a group without a voice of its own, often through policy and research. Activism chooses public action and sometimes seeks confrontation on purpose.

Not: lobbying, when it is about people without a voice of their own

See also: rights-holders, stakeholders

baselineDutch: nulmeting

The first measurement, before your work starts. Without this starting point you cannot show a change later.

Not to be confused with

• measurement. The baseline is the first measurement, before your work starts. You compare every later measurement with it.

Not: zero measurement

See also: indicator

book a callDutch: plan een gesprek

How we invite you to get in touch. It is a conversation about your question and not a sales pitch.

Not: request a demo

See also: together with you

broad wellbeingDutch: brede welvaart

Everything that makes life worth living, not only income. Think of health, housing, nature and safety, for now, for later and for elsewhere.

Example: A municipality that follows loneliness and green space in the neighbourhood, next to jobs.

Not to be confused with

• GDP. GDP measures what a country produces. Broad wellbeing also looks at health, nature, social ties and what we pass on to later generations and to other places.
• doughnut economics. The doughnut sets limits: what people need at least and what the planet can take at most. Broad wellbeing measures how our wellbeing is doing, here and now, later and elsewhere.

Not: prosperity, when you only mean money

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Monitor of Well-being

See also: social and solidarity economy

commonsDutch: commons

Something a community manages and shares together, with its own agreements on how it is used. Think of a community garden, an energy grid or open knowledge.

Example: A neighbourhood vegetable garden where residents decide together who harvests when.

Not to be confused with

• public good. A public good is managed by the government for all residents. A commons is managed by a community itself, with its own rules on who may use it and how.
• cooperative. A cooperative is an enterprise with members. A commons is a shared resource, such as land, water or knowledge, with agreements on its use. A cooperative can manage a commons, but it is not one.

Not: free for all

Source: Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2009

See also: social and solidarity economy

consentDutch: toestemming

The agreement with the teller: where the story may appear, with or without a name, and for how long. The teller can always withdraw it.

Example: Yes in the report to the funder, not on the website, and without a name.

Not to be confused with

• privacy notice. A privacy notice explains what you do with data. Consent is the choice of one teller for one story, per channel, and it can change.

Not: sign-off, tick box

See also: story, quote, rights-holders

contributionDutch: bijdrage

The part of a change you make plausible, next to what others did. That way you do not claim all of it.

Not to be confused with

• impact. Impact is the change itself. Contribution is the part of it you can plausibly credit to your own work.
• attribution. Attribution claims that a change is down to you and needs evidence that rules out other causes. Contribution says your work played a plausible part, next to what others did.

Not: attribution, when you cannot prove it

cooperativeDutch: coöperatie

An enterprise owned by its members. The members decide together, and what it earns serves what they need.

Example: Neighbours who put solar panels on a school together and share the power.

Not to be confused with

• social entrepreneurship. A cooperative belongs to its members, who decide together. A social enterprise has a social purpose, but it can simply have one owner.
• commons. A cooperative is an enterprise with members. A commons is a shared resource, such as land, water or knowledge, with agreements on its use. A cooperative can manage a commons, but it is not one.

Not: company with shareholders

Source: International Cooperative Alliance, the cooperative identity

See also: social and solidarity economy

Discovery · DiscoverDutch: Verkenning · Verken

Find connections, patterns and perspectives that raise new questions.

Not: other translations

See also: perspective

doughnut economicsDutch: donuteconomie

A model by Kate Raworth: a ring between a social foundation and an ecological ceiling. Between them, people can live well within what the planet can take.

Example: Amsterdam has used the doughnut since 2020 to test its policies.

Not to be confused with

• broad wellbeing. The doughnut sets limits: what people need at least and what the planet can take at most. Broad wellbeing measures how our wellbeing is doing, here and now, later and elsewhere.

Not: growth model

Source: Doughnut Economics Action Lab

See also: regenerative economy

duty-bearersDutch: plichtdragers

Whoever has the duty to respect, protect or fulfil rights. The state holds that duty, a business the responsibility.

Not to be confused with

• stakeholders. A stakeholder has an interest in your work. A duty-bearer has a duty towards rights-holders, even without an interest in it.

Not: responsible parties, plichtdragers

Source: UN, UNGPs (2011)

See also: rights-holders

Engagement · EngageDutch: Betrekken

Say clearly what you do, what you learn and what you don’t know yet.

Not: other translations

See also: perspective

estimateDutch: schatting

A number you reason out and do not measure. Say what it rests on and how sure it is.

Not to be confused with

• measurement. A measurement rests on observation, an estimate on reasoning. With every number, say which of the two it is.

Not: fact, when it is an estimate

See also: range

evaluationDutch: evaluatie

Placing a measurement in its context and weighing it against a yardstick, stated or not. You can look back (what worked, for whom and why?) or ahead (what can we expect?).

Not to be confused with

• monitoring. Monitoring follows what happens, as it happens. An evaluation places measurements in their context at a chosen moment and weighs them against a yardstick.
• measurement. A measurement establishes where something stands. An evaluation uses measurements and other sources to understand what worked, for whom and why.
• sense-making. An evaluation always weighs a measurement against a yardstick, even when nobody states it. Sense-making is the wider process of giving meaning, and it can also happen without a yardstick.

Not: audit, when you want to learn

See also: contribution

fundersDutch: financiers

Whoever puts money into your work: foundations, governments, investors, banks and companies. Funding is a role: a funder is a stakeholder, or a duty-bearer such as the state.

Not to be confused with

• foundations. Foundations are a small group of funders, mostly charities with money of their own. Only say foundations when you mean that group.

Not: foundations, when you mean every funder

See also: stakeholders

impactDutch: effect

The lasting change in the longer term that your work contributes to. It is bigger than an outcome.

Example: A few years on, long-term unemployment in the neighbourhood has fallen, partly thanks to the workshops.

Not to be confused with

• outcome. An outcome is the change for the people you worked with, in the short or medium term. Impact is the lasting change after that, often wider than your own group, to which your work contributes.
• contribution. Impact is the change itself. Contribution is the part of it you can plausibly credit to your own work.

Not: impact for every outcome

impact frameworkDutch: impactraamwerk

Your own map of what you want to achieve and how you follow it. With your goals, your theory of change and your indicators.

Not to be confused with

• theory of change. The theory of change is the reasoning: what leads to what. The impact framework is your working map: goals, theory of change and indicators together, so you can follow how it goes.

Not: impact model without explaining it

See also: indicator

impact managementDutch: impactmanagement

Working on purpose on the effect your work has on people and their surroundings. You measure it, steer by it and tell about it.

Not: Impact Management

See also: impact, theory of change, perspective

Improvement · ImproveDutch: Verbetering · Verbeter

Understand what works, what doesn’t and why, and adjust your approach together.

Not: other translations

See also: perspective

indicatorDutch: indicator

A sign that shows whether a change is happening. For example the number of people who find a job.

Not to be confused with

• measure. An indicator says what shows you a change. A measure says how you express it: a count, a percentage or a score on a scale.
• objective. An indicator says what you follow. An objective says which value you want to reach on it, and by when.

Not: KPI, a word we don't use

See also: measurement, outcome

Leadership · LeadDutch: Sturing · Stuur

Choose targeted interventions and follow what effect they have in practice.

Not: other translations

See also: perspective

lobbyingDutch: lobby

Talking directly with decision-makers, such as politicians or civil servants, to influence a decision.

Example: You meet a council member about the rules for social procurement.

Not to be confused with

• advocacy. In lobbying you speak for your own members or organisation. In advocacy you speak for a group with little voice of its own. Your right to speak then comes from the cause.
• activism. Activism puts pressure from the outside, in public. Lobbying works from the inside, in conversation with decision-makers, and mostly out of sight.

Not: backroom dealing, when it happens openly

Source: OECD, Recommendation on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying (2010)

measurementDutch: meting

A finding with a method, a moment and a source. That way someone else can repeat it.

Not to be confused with

• evaluation. A measurement establishes where something stands. An evaluation uses measurements and other sources to understand what worked, for whom and why.
• estimate. A measurement rests on observation, an estimate on reasoning. With every number, say which of the two it is.
• baseline. The baseline is the first measurement, before your work starts. You compare every later measurement with it.
• monitoring. A measurement establishes once where something stands. Monitoring is measuring at a steady rhythm, so you see how something develops and can adjust in time.

Not: monitoring, when you measure once

See also: range

monitoringDutch: monitoring

Measuring at a steady rhythm, such as every quarter, with the same indicators. That way you see how it goes while your work runs.

Example: Every quarter you count how many participants apply and how many find work.

Not to be confused with

• measurement. A measurement establishes once where something stands. Monitoring is measuring at a steady rhythm, so you see how something develops and can adjust in time.
• evaluation. Monitoring follows what happens, as it happens. An evaluation places measurements in their context at a chosen moment and weighs them against a yardstick.

Not: monitor, in a text for participants: say follow

See also: indicator

narrativeDutch: narratief

The system of meaning that stories fit into. It is the patterns and assumptions that shape which stories we tell and how we read them.

Example: The idea that finding work starts with confidence colours how you read each participant's story.

Not to be confused with

• story. A narrative is a system: it runs through many stories at once and shapes how we read them. A story is one instance. It depends on the path it took: who tells it, when and what came before.

Not: story, when you mean the system

objectiveDutch: doelstelling

A concrete point you want to reach, with a value and a date. That way you know later whether you reached it.

Example: By the end of next year, half of the participants have work.

Not to be confused with

• goal. A goal gives the direction: why you do this. An objective makes a step on that path measurable, with a value and a deadline.
• indicator. An indicator says what you follow. An objective says which value you want to reach on it, and by when.

Not: goal, when you mean something measurable

See also: impact framework

open dataDutch: open data

Data you may use, change and share, for any purpose. It comes with an open licence and in a form a computer can read.

Not to be confused with

• public data. Open data you may reuse for any purpose. Public data you may only look at, unless a licence allows more.

Not: public, free to download

outcomeDutch: uitkomst

What changes for people because of your work, such as more confidence or a job. Not what you did, but what it brought.

Example: Six months later, participants apply more often, and some of them have work.

Not to be confused with

• outtake. An outtake sits in people’s heads: knowing, thinking, wanting. An outcome shows in their behaviour or situation: they apply, or they have work.
• output. Output is what you did. An outcome is what changed for people because of it. A lot of output says nothing yet about the outcome.
• impact. An outcome is the change for the people you worked with, in the short or medium term. Impact is the lasting change after that, often wider than your own group, to which your work contributes.

Not: result, when you mean an outcome

See also: theory of change

outputDutch: output

What you make or deliver, such as training sessions, meetings or a report. You can count it, but it does not yet say what it means for people.

Example: You run twelve job-application workshops in the neighbourhood.

Not to be confused with

• outtake. Output is what you deliver. An outtake is what people take from it: what they notice, understand, remember or intend to do.
• outcome. Output is what you did. An outcome is what changed for people because of it. A lot of output says nothing yet about the outcome.

Not: impact, when you only count what you did

See also: impact, theory of change

outtakeDutch: outtake

What people take from your output: what they notice, understand, remember or intend to do. The step comes from measuring communication and is often skipped.

Example: After the workshop, participants know how to write a strong letter, and they want to apply.

Not to be confused with

• output. Output is what you deliver. An outtake is what people take from it: what they notice, understand, remember or intend to do.
• outcome. An outtake sits in people’s heads: knowing, thinking, wanting. An outcome shows in their behaviour or situation: they apply, or they have work.

Not: reach, when you mean what people take away

Source: AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework

See also: impact

participantsDutch: deelnemers

The people who take part in your programme or project. They take part and do not only receive.

Not to be confused with

• rights-holders. Participants take part in your programme. Rights-holders are a wider group: anyone who is affected without taking part belongs to it too.

Not: clients, beneficiaries

perspectiveDutch: perspectief

One of the five reasons to work with impact: discover, lead, improve, engage and account. Each perspective has its own colour.

Not: pillar, pijler

See also: Discovery, Leadership, Improvement, Engagement, Accountability

plain language (B1)Dutch: taalniveau B1

A level of language for everyday readers, without expert knowledge. Short sentences, everyday words and one message per sentence.

Not: dumbed down

See also: story

public dataDutch: publieke data

Data you are allowed to see, often from or about government. That does not yet mean you may copy, change or share it.

Not to be confused with

• open data. Public data you may look at. Open data you may also use, change and share, because it comes with an open licence.

Not: open data, when you may not reuse it

quoteDutch: citaat

What someone said or wrote, word for word, with the source and the place where it is. That way someone else can find it again.

Not to be confused with

• story. A quote is a word-for-word passage from a source, with the place where it is. A story tells a whole change and can contain quotes.
• testimonial. A testimonial is chosen to persuade. A quote shows what someone said, even when it is inconvenient.

Not: testimonial

See also: voice, consent, transparency

rangeDutch: bandbreedte

The lowest and the highest value a number probably lies between. You name both.

Not to be confused with

• margin of error. A margin of error is a statistical measure around a sample. A range names the lowest and the highest value, also when the number does not come from a sample.

Not: margin of error without a number

See also: estimate

rapid responseDutch: Spoed

Our service for when it cannot wait, for every group. You have a result within a week. Short address: /urgent.

Not: urgent help, crisis support

regenerative economyDutch: regeneratieve economie

An economy that restores what it uses. Nature, communities and relationships come out stronger than they went in.

Example: A farmer who works so that the soil gets healthier every year while the harvest holds.

Not to be confused with

• circular economy. A circular economy closes the loops of materials and reduces waste. A regenerative economy goes further: it restores nature and community, instead of only doing less harm.

Not: sustainable, when you mean restoring

Source: Capital Institute, eight principles of a regenerative economy

See also: doughnut economics, broad wellbeing

rights-holdersDutch: rechthebbenden

The people it is about. Your work touches their rights and their lives, so they have a right to their own voice.

Not to be confused with

• stakeholders. Rights-holders are the people it is about: their rights and their lives are at stake. Stakeholders have an interest or influence, like a funder. They are two separate kinds: you do not shrink someone with a right into someone with an interest.
• participants. Participants take part in your programme. Rights-holders are a wider group: anyone who is affected without taking part belongs to it too.

Not: target group, doelgroep

sense-makingDutch: duiden

The process of giving meaning to figures and stories, with or without a yardstick. You do it together with rights holders and stakeholders, and it helps you choose what to do next.

Not to be confused with

• evaluation. An evaluation always weighs a measurement against a yardstick, even when nobody states it. Sense-making is the wider process of giving meaning, and it can also happen without a yardstick.

Not: evaluating, when you make meaning together

See also: rights-holders, stakeholders

social and solidarity economyDutch: sociale en solidaire economie

Organisations that do economic work for people and planet, not for profit for shareholders. They cooperate, govern democratically and put profit back into their purpose.

Example: An energy cooperative, a care cooperative run by neighbours and a second-hand shop that offers people work.

Not to be confused with

• social entrepreneurship. A social enterprise is one form within the social and solidarity economy. That economy is wider: cooperatives, associations and foundations belong to it too, and it asks for democratic governance.

Not: third sector, without explaining it

Source: ILO resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy (2022), also adopted by the UN in 2023

See also: cooperative, commons, broad wellbeing

social entrepreneurshipDutch: sociaal ondernemerschap

Running a business with a social purpose at its heart. Profit is a means to reach that purpose, not an end in itself.

Example: A coffee bar that trains people who are far from work and uses its turnover to do so.

Not to be confused with

• social and solidarity economy. A social enterprise is one form within the social and solidarity economy. That economy is wider: cooperatives, associations and foundations belong to it too, and it asks for democratic governance.
• corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is about how an ordinary company does its work decently. In social entrepreneurship, the social purpose is the reason the company exists.
• cooperative. A cooperative belongs to its members, who decide together. A social enterprise has a social purpose, but it can simply have one owner.

Not: charity, when it is a business

Source: Social Enterprise NL

stakeholdersDutch: belanghebbenden

Anyone with a stake in your work or influence on it. Think of funders, partners, governments and your own team.

Not to be confused with

• rights-holders. Rights-holders are the people it is about: their rights and their lives are at stake. Stakeholders have an interest or influence, like a funder. They are two separate kinds: you do not shrink someone with a right into someone with an interest.
• duty-bearers. A stakeholder has an interest in your work. A duty-bearer has a duty towards rights-holders, even without an interest in it.

Not: stakeholders (in a Dutch text)

See also: funders

storyDutch: verhaal

One instance of what happened, told by or with the people it is about. With a beginning, a change and a source. How it unfolds depends on what came before.

Not to be confused with

• narrative. A narrative is a system: it runs through many stories at once and shapes how we read them. A story is one instance. It depends on the path it took: who tells it, when and what came before.
• quote. A quote is a word-for-word passage from a source, with the place where it is. A story tells a whole change and can contain quotes.

Not: content

See also: rights-holders, voice, consent

teams and workflowsDutch: Teams en werkwijzen

Our service to build an impact team. We agree who does what, in what rhythm, how work is handed over and with which tools.

Not: team and player workflow development, process design

See also: impact management

theory of actionDutch: actietheorie

What you and your team do to set the change in motion. The theory of change says what changes. The theory of action says what you do for it.

Not to be confused with

• theory of change. The theory of change says what changes and why. The theory of action says what you do to make it happen.

Not: work plan, when you mean the approach

theory of changeDutch: verandertheorie

How your work leads to change, step by step. From what you do to what it brings, and for whom.

Not to be confused with

• theory of action. The theory of change says what changes and why. The theory of action says what you do to make it happen.
• impact framework. The theory of change is the reasoning: what leads to what. The impact framework is your working map: goals, theory of change and indicators together, so you can follow how it goes.

Not: ToC without explaining it

See also: outcome, impact

together with youDutch: samen met je

How Narrate works: with you and not for you. You stay in charge and Narrate brings the craft.

Not: done for you, ontzorgen

See also: book a call

transparencyDutch: transparantie

Showing how you arrive at a claim: which source, which method and how sure you are. That way someone else can check it.

Example: Next to the figure are the source, the calculation and the range.

Not to be confused with

• public. Public means anyone can read it. Transparent means you can check how it came about. A report can be public without being transparent, and the other way round.

Not: openness, when you only publish

See also: measurement, range, Accountability

voiceDutch: stem

Who speaks in a story, and how it was told: by the person, together, or by someone else. It is about someone's role, not their name.

Example: A participant, told together, with a pseudonym.

Not to be confused with

• opinion. An opinion is what someone thinks. The voice says who is speaking and from which role, even when the story holds no opinion.

Not: the client says, the target group thinks

See also: story, quote, rights-holders