Our clients do amazing work in the world to improve lives, ecosystems and more; we bring insights, innovations and actionable learning to support their outcomes and impacts.
ORS Impact works with those seeking social impact to strengthen their work with data, evaluation and useful frameworks. “Impact” is not just part of our name: it is a core value for why we do this work. Implicit in this value is the belief that the world can be more equitable, that accelerating social progress will lead to better lives for everyone.
These statements, however, do not explicitly address the systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally, particularly based on race, but also based on age, sexual orientation, gender, immigration status, or disability. These systems underlie the issues our clients seek to address and can be perpetuated and strengthened even as well-intentioned people seek to make positive social change.
These days, an implicit focus on how we stand as a company against racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and other forms of oppression feels insufficient. Not working to more proactively confront and tackle inequities makes us complicit in perpetuating systems that oppress.
We believe that diversity makes us stronger. We believe that all people are equal and that holding some groups of people down holds all of us down. We believe that these issues are complex and that we will stumble in our efforts. However, the goal of a more just, fair, and inclusive society requires changing how we work together, how we work with clients, and proactively finding ways for our organization to make a difference in the fight for a more equitable world.
We know the footprint of our efforts in the broader face of systemic oppression may be small, but doing nothing is not an option.
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Read more about our related projects
Feature project
Spearheaded by the Million Voters Project (MVP), this report assesses the state of narrative infrastructure within California’s power building ecosystem and identifies key priorities for growing narrative power from the ground up to advance racial justice and social change. Through research engaging power builders and other experts, the report contains ideas and recommendations for strengthening narrative infrastructure and building transformative power for progressive change.
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FEATURE PROJECT
From 2019–2022, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities carried out a Safety Net Initiative (SNI). SNI supported state advocates and their partners to pursue two broad aims: (1) to protect and strengthen economic security policies, and (2) to strengthen short- and longer-term capacity around equitable advocacy practices and narrative change efforts. ORS Impact worked with advocates in Washington State—to write a case study that tells the story of their efforts to advance equitable advocacy capacity and an equitable tax code.