An international, methodologically grounded framework for measuring, verifying and registering actual and verifiable social outcomes.
The Quality Social Credit Standard™ – Framework is an international, methodologically grounded framework for consistently identifying, measuring, verifying and registering actual and verifiable outcomes of social projects. The system does not derive social value from inputs, the number of activities or simply the size of a project, but from demonstrable changes in the state of affected people, communities, institutions and other relevant social units.
A Quality Social Credit™ must be based on a measurable and demonstrable social outcome resulting from a defined baseline state.
Funding, the number of participants, activities performed or services delivered are not, by themselves, sufficient to create a credit.
Social outcomes must be interpreted in their economic, institutional, cultural, community and environmental context.
A Quality Social Credit™ is a registered unit representing a social outcome created by a defined social project, quantified according to a methodology, supported by appropriate evidence and independently verified.
The outcome is linked to identifiable persons, households, communities, institutions or other relevant social units.
The project must create a demonstrable change from the baseline state, based on predefined indicators and measurement rules.
Attribution, uncertainty, leakage and potential negative effects are also part of the integrity assessment.
A credit may only be issued after appropriate verification and a successful Registry-Level Assessment.
1 Quality Social Credit™ = 100 standardized and verified Social Outcome Units. This is not a monetary value, a measure of human worth or a monetary equivalent.
Every credit must have a unique identifier and a documented registry history, including its outcome, verification, transfer and retirement status.
Its value does not derive from how much a project spent or how many people it reached. The value of the Credit comes from a documented social baseline, measurable change, demonstrable project contribution, additionality, integrity adjustments, independent verification and a traceable registry unit. The Credit therefore represents an accounting unit for a proven social outcome linked to a specific project and defined outcome period.
The Framework is not designed for a single social issue. Its common integrity principles enable the assessment of outcomes from different projects and programmes.
Measurable changes in livelihoods, economic security and social vulnerability.
Social outcomes related to health status, access, wellbeing and quality of life.
Demonstrable changes in knowledge, skills, access to education and learning outcomes.
Changes in employment status, access to work and working conditions.
Changes in social equality, access and the situation of vulnerable or marginalised groups.
Outcomes related to access to adequate housing and basic services.
Measurable changes in trust, cooperation, participation, mutual aid and collective action.
The ability of social systems to withstand shocks, adapt, maintain functioning and recover.
Changes in social participation, institutional access and opportunities to participate in decision-making.
Social consequences of environmental risks – only where a social state change is demonstrated.
A Quality Social Credit™ is the result of a verifiable causal and integrity process. The project, social change, verification and credit issuance are treated as distinct steps.
Defining the social baseline, affected stakeholders and relevant social system.
Defining the intervention, theory of change and project contribution.
Documenting and quantifying the measurable change in the state of affected stakeholders.
Normalising social change and assessing additionality and integrity factors.
Independent verification of eligibility, baseline, additionality, data, calculations, safeguards and double counting.
OurOffset compares the documented project and verification results against the Framework's system-integrity requirements.
Where the requirements are fulfilled, a registered credit with a unique identifier may be issued.
The central QSCS principle is that the quantity of credit must not exceed the social outcome reasonably supported by the available evidence and the methodology applied.
The indicator, data source, sampling, measurement frequency, calculation, normalisation, uncertainty and validation must be predefined.
Relevant dimensions of financial, operational, finance-path, regulatory, sectoral, business, social and systemic additionality may be assessed.
The treatment of vulnerable and marginalised groups, stakeholder engagement, data protection, DNSH and significant negative social effects is a fundamental integrity requirement.
Project contribution and material displacement effects outside the project boundary must be assessed according to the methodology.
The same social outcome must not be counted twice, whether across multiple systems, overlapping indicators or projects.
Claims must be proportionate to the proven outcome. The Credit is not an automatic ESG rating and does not replace an organisation's responsibility to address its own negative social effects.
2026 revised and expanded edition · International scope · OurOffset Nonprofit LLC
The 2026 edition provides more detailed treatment of the social baseline, international reference systems, the role of the SDGs, project-specific outcome measurement, normalised social change, the Social Outcome Unit, the Quality Social Credit™ accounting unit, integrity adjustments, assessment of the need for paradigm shift, safeguards and governance requirements, and change tracking.
Request access to the full Framework documentation, or submit the basic information of your social project for a preliminary assessment.
Request information about access to the full documentation, professional use, project application or cooperation.
Submit the basic information of your social project or programme for a preliminary assessment under the Quality Social Credit Standard™.