Saudi Arabia Pushes for Greater Impact Through Smarter CSR Strategies
Saudi Arabia is pushing for a stronger focus on measurable results from corporate social responsibility programmes, with experts and specialists at the Global CSR Forum 2026 urging organisations to focus more on the results of their social responsibility programmes and less on how much they spend or how many people they reach.
The two-day forum, held in Riyadh under the theme “From Commitment to Impact,” brought together more than 3,000 participants and over 100 speakers from government, business, nonprofit organizations, academia and other sectors. The event was organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development under the patronage of King Salman.
CSR Focus Shifts From Spending To Impact
According to Experts at the forum the traditional measures including amount of mone spent or the number of people reached do not provide a complete picture of whether a social responsibility initiative has been successful. Instead, they emphasized on the need to measure the concrete and long-lasting changes that such programs produce.
Meshari Al-Mermis, general director of social development centers at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, said “Greater focus on community investment and impact measurement can improve the allocation of resources and partnerships while supporting more sustainable interventions that begin with real needs and end with measurable results,
Growing Use Of Technology In Impact Measurement
The forum also highlighted the growing role of technology in evaluating social programmes.
Faisal Alshammari, head of partnerships and volunteering at Alborhan Association, said “this has helped reduce costs for nonprofits and improve the accuracy of results, making impact measurement a stronger basis for directing funding toward high-impact programs and ensuring resources translate into tangible, verifiable outcomes.”
“This improves funding efficiency and ensures that every riyal is directed toward measurable impact rather than spending without clear indicators,” Alshammari added.
“Digital transformation is a key pillar of the association’s work, directly supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 by improving operational efficiency and expanding the reach of services.”
Abdullah Alkhamais, founder of Nmo Academy, identified the lack of systematic performance measurement as a key challenge. He said “Social impact measurement in development projects is largely achievable when targets are defined from the outset, data is collected before and after implementation, and results are assessed over the medium and long term. The next phase should shift the focus from measuring spending to measuring the impact generated by that spending.”
Stronger Public-private Partnerships
The forum also placed emphasis on cooperation between the government, private sector and nonprofit organizations. Speakers said stronger partnerships could help organizations identify community needs, direct funding more effectively and expand the reach of social programmes.
Saadoun Alenazi, administrative affairs manager at Al Jazeera Medical Complex, said healthcare organizations should first identify actual community health needs before selecting initiatives.
The forum concluded in Riyadh on Oct. 6, with Saudi officials calling for continued cooperation and efforts to maximize the long-term impact of social responsibility initiatives.
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