Currently I think of meaningful impact as:
-The depth of behavioral change you create in an individuals' lifetime
-The breadth and scale of behavioral interactions created eg you use Instagram for 1min/day for a month with 100 friends vs a computer for 12hrs/day for life with millions of people (note: I'm not saying one is more or less meaningful than the other; small/simple interactions can turn into something big)
Secondly, I find it difficult to do something "meaningful" without a clear purpose or intention to create impact...(while admitting that at the early stages, visions are often opaque and intentions change)
How entrepreneurs respond to "how are you creating meaningful impact?" helps me decide which startups to invest in...wish I could write more but need to go back to DOing...
Others say: "Impact is a change in the state of the world brought about by an intervention. It’s the final result of behaviors (outcomes) that are generated by activities (outputs) that are driven by resources (inputs)." -Kevin Starr, Mulago Foundation
Notes: -Know your mission (in 8 words using verb, target, & outcome) ex. save pre-mature babies in poor countries http://embraceglobal.org/
-Measure the right thing (the single best indicator)
-Measure it well (the right baseline & interval + show that it was you eg tight story, matched control, randomized controls)
A little algorithm to think about the impact you're creating: Is it needed? Does it work? Will it get to those who need it? Will they use it right?
Text: http://www.mulagofoundation.org/ideas/r/how-we-think-about-i...
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMEpvxGBkFU<br/>;
Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/aynne/design-for-real-impact-0610
Other points of view: -"A change in purpose changes a system profoundly, even if every element and interconnection remains the same." Donella Meadows http://thinkinginsystems.org/
-"Purpose first, then profit" as part of Umair Haque's New Capitalist Manifesto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz2Zc9UJFUo
-"Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations." http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact/