By Yu-Shan Chiu, Past Director of Practice and Innovation, TSIC
After six and a half years at TSIC, I am preparing to embark on my next adventure. I joined TSIC right as the pandemic overturned our society and forced us to confront hard questions about who was left behind. As I get ready for my new chapter now, our field stands at another threshold, facing aid cuts, heightened societal divides, humanitarian crisis, and uncertainty for humanity’s future in light of advancing generative AI development.
Milestones have a way of slowing us down. For the first time in years, I have space to park by the side, look back at the trail behind me, and make sense of what we lived through. Over these years, I have watched the impact sector thrive with hope, stumble into doubt, and gradually learn what it means to look after the things that matter.
How the impact sector has evolved
When I started at TSIC in 2020, Covid-19 pushed social challenges to the front of everyone’s mind. Issues that used to sit at the edge of mainstream conversations – health inequality, care economy, digital divide, mental health, insecure employment, in-work poverty, domestic abuse, and so on – could no longer be ignored. On the other hand, Black Lives Matter movement put a spotlight on racial injustice and systemic inequity.
What followed was vibrancy in the impact sector. Funders, charities, and social enterprises poured their hearts and resources into social change. Across industries, a spring of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives emerged. Looking back, 2020–2024 felt like an ‘impact boom’, a season of sudden energy, experimentation, bold initiatives and shared purpose. It felt like what used to be at the periphery was finding their way to the centre.
By 2025, the air changed. We entered a season of ‘impact scepticism’. Sweeping freezes and aid cuts came first with USAID, then echoed across other major donor nations. Coupled with the rise of far-right movements globally, societal divides have deepened. Meanwhile, ongoing wars and conflicts in the world are challenging our collective resolve. It has been easy to feel discouraged, or even hopeless. Many are searching for light in the dark, while others have redoubled their determination to illuminate their light. In fact, we all have a choice to be the light.
Now, I think we are moving into an era of ‘impact stewardship’.
The dark season has stripped away illusions. It has revealed who stands against impact, who was jumping on a bandwagon and now retreating, and who stays dedicated to a genuine mission. The threats do not deter true impact stewards; even with funding cuts, they can create infinity with finite resources.
It’s heartbreaking to see many organisations that I admire have to close down. However, impact stewardship doesn’t need to be tied to a particular organisation, title, role or position. Many have chosen to focus their energy on what truly matters. They still dare to dream, and they are building their imagination into reality.
Even as generative artificial intelligence reorders how we work, impact stewards approach it thoughtfully. Putting tools in service of good, without turning a blind eye to the harm they can cause. The landscape is demanding, yet impact stewards show up, day in and day out.
How to steward impact
I often use the following 10 social impact roles[1] to contextualise different types of energies in a system, recognising that lasting change relies on a whole community of different gifts. Whether you are an experimenter, a frontline responder, a healer, or a scaler, every role matters. Understanding where your energy belongs helps your contribution shine brighter.
Stewardship also asks for governance that outlives our own tenure. I see this taking root in models like steward ownership, Perpetual Purpose Trusts, worker co-operatives, impact-aligned incentives and many other mechanisms designed to keep purpose safe from short-term temptation. Eric Ries’s latest book Incorruptible exemplifies structural safeguards to maximise human flourishing.
Partnering to steward impact: reflections from my time at TSIC
Looking back at our work at TSIC, we have moved among many of these roles. Depending on the day, we can be visionaries, convenors, evaluators, knowledge builders or simply a cheerleader for others’ great work. Moving between these spaces kept us curious, allowing us to be fluid and cross-pollinate. I feel like a ‘professional polyamorist’, sharing my love and attention with diverse passionate organisations wanting to make the world a better place.
Living at the intersections is what gives an intermediary its perspective. By sitting across sectors, disciplines, stakeholders, cultures, and borders, we notice threads others might miss. That, to me, is the gift of an intermediary: uplifting, inspiring and weaving different parts of a system – or even systems – so individual ripples may one day swell into a tsunami of change.
I look back with gratitude to have led and participated in many pioneering sector-wide initiatives aiming to advance systemic equity. Partnering with the Equality Impact Investing Project to build its digital knowledge toolkits; walking alongside the Pathway Fund as their inaugural learning partner; and co-founding and helping guide the Equitable Evaluation Collective through its first four years. Some of my happiest days were spent helping organisations shape their strategies so they can solidify a stronger position to create greater impact. With my enjoyment in scaling impact, working on a wide range of evaluations has also enabled me to support purposeful people to learn and make the case for change.
When I arrived, TSIC was a small team of three. Helping build the organisation from that into what it is today has been one of the great privileges of my career. One key learning that I will carry forward is that scale in impact doesn’t require scale in organisation; it just needs the right leverage. Having partnered with organisations large and small to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, TSIC has evolved into a global knowledge infrastructure.
We remain nimble, ensuring we can work internationally in a progressive way. The years at TSIC have engaged me in work spanning 18 countries across Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa, while TSIC has reached communities in 50+ countries with our global partners. Our clients show real commitment to social change, and we champion an equitable approach to change. Creating, practising and innovating methodologies that aim to shift power is where I find a constant source of inspiration. From the DEI maturity model Cube to OCEAN racial justice evaluation principles, to innovative finance shifting how capital flows and Impact in Practice reimagining reporting guidance (as a follow-on of our equitable evaluation methodology USERS), we work hard to prioritise communities experiencing systemic inequalities, bringing the margins to the mainstream.
None of this was solitary work. What brings me joy is often other stewards who shared the road with me. To my TSIC teammates, past and present, thank you for bringing so much intellect, warmth, and support to our shared memories. To the clients and partners who opened your doors and trusted us to learn with you; and to the mentors and allies who kept me grounded – thank you for dreaming and building alongside me.
Moving on from the day-to-day brings a mix of feelings, but this is far from a goodbye. I am delighted to stay close to TSIC on its advisory board, cheering the team on and staying connected to this home that has shaped many parts of my identity.
As I look ahead to what comes next, I carry these friendships and lessons with me. I believe impact stewardship is a way of carrying oneself and caring for each being. I’m excited to continue stewarding impact through social impact roles that can stretch me further. While the time feels dark, my hope is that we continue finding each other across differences, protect what is genuine, carry on with bold imaginations, and keep holding up our light together.
[1] I synthesised these 10 roles through inspirations from System Innovation Initiative (2020) and Social Change Ecosystem Map (2022). It is also referenced in TSIC’s Reimagining Social Impact Consulting (2025).