Common Approach is a set of four impact measurement standards that are created for—and governed by—social purpose organizations. This is an inclusive approach to building standards.
Standards are communities, not documents.
We believe that a standard is a community more than a document. To create a standard, a community must create documents. But it is the community, not the documents, that will sustain over time. A standard becomes strong and effective by focusing on building community, not by focusing on building documents.
The decisions and actions of Common Approach are led by our guiding principles. Community is a key element of these guiding principles and includes the user community of our standards as well as the broader social purpose organization community. Our aim is to create a community that has a shared vision and purpose of the best impact and impact measurement for everyone.
To create this community, we are committed to creating multi-stakeholder participation that is inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible.