Estimating the Return on Ethnographic Investment: Finding More Human(e) Ways to Measure Our Impact

This paper argues that more appropriate measures are needed to illuminate the full value to organizations of investing in ethnography. The author proposes a framework for defining qualitative and quantitative variables for impacts that unfold across both short‐ and long‐term horizons, and through direct and indirect outcomes that are financial, organizational, and strategic. The author also argues that these variables must be defined in ways that are meaningful to both the organizations we work for and the communities they interact with. A case study of a past project demonstrates the multidimensional return on ethnographic investment.