What difference are our investments making?
Many organizations track activity: how many applications were received, how many projects were funded. These numbers tell you what an organization did, but not what changed as a result. Our Wellbeing Impact Framework is designed to answer the harder question: what difference are our investments making?
Our Wellbeing Impact Framework, launched in 2024, is that measurement system. It is the first of its kind among regional trusts in British Columbia, and it was built in close collaboration with the Indigenous and business leaders, local government leaders, and provincial appointees who govern the Trust. It gives us, and the communities we serve, a consistent and transparent way to track whether our investments are delivering real, lasting change.
Tiičma Enterprises. Image by Tiičma Enterprises.
A Shared Framework Across All Investments
Rather than measuring each project in isolation, our Wellbeing Impact Framework creates a common language for impact that applies across every investment the Trust makes. Whether we are funding a community-owned business start-up, supporting a new cultural initiative, or investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, we measure outcomes through the same four interconnected pillars: Economic Prosperity, Social Empowerment, Climate Resiliency, and Cultural Vitality.
This shared approach means that over time, we can look across our entire portfolio of project investments and understand, in aggregate, how the Trust is strengthening wellbeing across British Columbia’s coastal economy.
Actively engaged in community economic development work, or entering or transitioning into an economic development role.
Working in or for a rural, First Nations, or remote-located community in the Trust’s service region.
Embedding Measurement From the Start
Meaningful impact measurement does not begin when a project ends. It begins before a project even starts.
We embed data collection into our funding process from the application stage forward. Organizations applying for Trust investment provide baseline information that establishes a starting point. When projects are completed, final reports capture what was achieved across our defined outcomes. All reported data is validated by Trust staff before being compiled into our cumulative impact reporting.
This approach keeps reporting as straightforward as possible for the organizations we invest in, while ensuring the data we collect is accurate, consistent, and comparable across projects and years.
What We Measure and Why
Our Wellbeing Impact Framework is built around three levels of measurement. Together, these three levels allow us to move from the broad question of “are our investments strengthening wellbeing?” to a specific, evidence-based answer.
Impacts
Impacts are the four pillars of wellbeing our investments work toward: Economic Prosperity, Social Empowerment, Climate Resiliency, and Cultural Vitality.
Indicators
Indicators are the specific areas within each pillar where we track progress. Each pillar has four indicators, for sixteen indicators in total.
Outcomes
Outcomes are the measurable results we look for within each indicator. Across the full Framework, there are 80 distinct outcomes, giving us a detailed and nuanced picture of how investment is translating into real-world change.
A Working Example
Impact
Social Empowerment
→
Indicator
Invest to Create Local Jobs
→
Outcome
Created 601 New Jobs
A Leading Model of Impact Investment
Outcomes Are Cumulative
All impact data reported through the Wellbeing Impact Framework is cumulative, capturing the return-on-investment Trust project investments have achieved since launching the Framework in 2024. Prior to 2024, organizations receiving Trust investment reported on project-specific key performance indicators. The Wellbeing Impact Framework provides an inclusive, scalable system that improves meaningful comparison and public accountability.
Honest About What We Capture
We are transparent about the boundaries of what our Framework measures. All reported outcomes are drawn from projects that have received Trust investment. The coastal communities we serve are strengthening wellbeing in many ways that extend well beyond the Trust’s investments, and our reporting reflects only what we can directly attribute to the projects we fund.
This focus on data integrity means our numbers are conservative by design. What we report, we can stand behind.
Grounded in Leading Practice
The Wellbeing Impact Framework was developed between 2022 and 2024 through engagement with the coastal communities and industry sectors we invest in. It was also informed by the leading work of the Conference Board of Canada and DIALOG, whose Community Wellbeing Framework provided an important foundation, as well as broader best practice in impact measurement from the impact investing field.This focus on data integrity means our numbers are conservative by design. What we report, we can stand behind.
See the Full Picture of Our Impact
Explore the projects, partnerships, and results driving a stronger future for B.C.’s coast.