When we say we’re changing lives,
we can prove it.
Our core principles
At Grand Challenges Canada, impact measurement isn’t just about tracking figures—it’s about proving real change in real lives. Our Knowledge Management and Translation (KMT) team employs a rigorous, structured approach that goes beyond simple metrics to generate credible evidence that our supported innovations are truly making a difference.
Reaching the underserved
Every funded innovation must demonstrate it reaches communities that have historically lacked access to similar solutions.
Attribution matters
We don’t just measure change—we confirm our innovations are the actual cause. Our KMT team supports innovators to generate high-quality evidence that shows improvements in health, access, or wellbeing can be directly attributed to the innovation itself, not external factors.
Scientific rigour
Whenever possible, we evaluate using:
- Control or comparison groups
- Statistically significant data
- Well-designed, appropriately powered studies
When these methods aren’t practical due to ethical, humanitarian, or logistical constraints, we adapt while maintaining meaningful standards.
Looking to
the future
Impact isn’t just about today—it’s also about tomorrow. While tracking immediate outcomes, we also:
- Develop tailored impact models for later-stage innovations
- Estimate future potential based on conservative, evidence-based assumptions
- Update our models as new data emerges
- Use these insights to inform funding decisions
This approach ensures integrity in our reported results and builds a compelling case for further investment and scale. It’s how we know that our numbers—85.5 million lives reached, 28 million lives improved, more than 120,000 lives saved since 2010—represent genuine, verifiable impact.
