Introduction to the Common Impact Data Standard

The Common Impact Data Standard (CIDS) represents a standardized approach for social purpose organizations to document their impact models and measure their effects on people and the planet. It provides a shared data model with which to capture, export, and import data about impact measurement.

By providing detailed specifications for structuring impact data, the standard enables software interoperability — allowing data to move seamlessly between aligned applications without additional mapping. Organizations can describe their work using the language and models they use to describe themselves.

The standard uses JSON-LD formatting and recommends specific URI formats for developers who implement it.

In this section

• What is the Common Impact Data Standard? — the purpose and scope of the standard.
• Benefits — the advantages the standard offers organizations, funders, and networks.
• What is “impact”? — how the standard defines and models impact across six dimensions.
• How to read this documentation — guidance for different audiences.

Source

This introductory content is adapted from the Common Impact Data Standard ontology documentation.