Leading With Purpose | Hautū Whai Take

Measuring Our Impact:
Outward Bound’s Global Value

For every $1 invested, Outward Bound generates a return of $9, or 9x, worth of positive impact.

Outward Bound is all about creating better people, better communities, and a better world, and now we have proof that the work we do truly makes a difference.

This year, Outward Bound International, in partnership with Accenture Development Partnerships, conducted a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis. The research shows that for every $1 invested by funders, there is a return of at least $9 in economic, social, and environmental benefits.

The study highlights how our programmes help people develop lifelong skills like confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving, while also fostering leadership and care for the environment. The study also found that Outward Bound is making a significant global impact, tackling issues such as mental health and loneliness, and encouraging environmental stewardship.

This is a strong SROI value:
A $9 return is significantly higher than SROIs for similar organisations, which often publish $4 - $6 returns.

This number is globally representative:
The eight schools analysed (including New Zealand) account for 90,000, or 60%, of Outward Bound’s global annual participants.

This SROI is currency-agnostic as a ratio:
This ratio lets us compare impact across countries and currencies without converting values.

Donate Today: Every $1 you give creates $9 worth of impact.

NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters in response to “How likely are you to recommend Outward Bound to friends or family?”

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 63 reflects the strong positive impact our courses have on personal growth and leadership development.

Measuring success

At the end of their course, all students complete a survey where they assess themselves in areas like self-confidence, understanding their values, and helping others. They rate themselves on a scale from 1 ('not like me') to 8 ('very much like me') both before and after the course. This data helps us measure how much they’ve changed during the course, or in other words, how much of an effect the course has had on them. A score above 0 indicates improvement and a score above 0.4 shows significant improvement, underscoring the impact of our programmes.

"Outward Bound is the best thing I have ever done! Amazing reset in life to realign myself with nature, find my values and motivation and question what I can do to improve my community and help others." - Recent alum

Our vision of "Better People. Better Communities. Better World." is evident in the outcomes of our courses. After completing their course, 92% of students believe they are leaving as better people, with 77% feeling motivated to give back to their community. This demonstrates that our courses not only help students grow but also inspire them to make a positive impact in the world.

Professional development courses

Each year, we run leadership courses, focused on professional development for current and aspiring leaders. Developed and delivered by expert instructors and facilitators, we deliver real changes in real-time for application to real business challenges.

We're proud of the strong student outcomes from these courses, helping to forge a new generation of leaders with resilience, adaptability, confidence and self-awareness that the business world now needs.

Results from students attending Professional Courses between July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, total # = 160

At the end of each Outward Bound course, we ask students to rate themselves in key areas of personal development like resilience, self-confidence, adaptability, and self-awareness. The chart compares their self-assessments before and after the course.

This data shows the significant changes our students experience, resulting in better leaders equipped with the critical skills they need to excel.

“The Professional Leadership course has challenged the way I think about leadership and provided moments of self reflection. After finishing up in a challenging role and about to start a new role, the timing couldn't have been more perfect - I wanted and needed a physical and mental challenge that would recharge my wairua, and put my hauora at the center by connecting to Te Taiao.” - Recent professional alum