Deciding what success looks like
Hours or headcount? Indigenous overall, or by Nation? Certified suppliers only, or self-declared too? Small definition choices change every number.
For municipalities, funders and public agencies
Design the social impact report your projects should be producing.
You want public projects to create jobs, training and contracts for the people and communities around them. The hard part is deciding what to measure, and then getting every contractor to report it the same way. Pick the outcomes you care about, choose from the data points Nisto already collects, and watch a standardized report build in front of you.
Where most projects get stuck
Collecting it without the burden
Contractors already have payroll and accounting data. Asking them to retype it into spreadsheets is slow, inconsistent and hard to check.
Comparing contractors fairly
When each contractor reports its own way, you can’t roll results up or see who is meeting targets. One standard report fixes that.
How it works
- 1
Choose your outcomes
Start with what you want to change, such as growing Indigenous participation or keeping benefits local. We suggest the measures that show it.
- 2
Pick your data points
Browse the full menu. Each item shows what it measures, where the data comes from and which input fields it needs.
- 3
See the report
A standardized sample report builds as you choose, with roll-ups against targets and a breakout for every participating contractor.
- 4
Send it to our team
Email your selections to Nisto and we’ll set up a call. We build your report as a template on the platform, and your contractors report into it.
Supply chain reporting
Every vendor reports the same way. Nisto links it into one report.
Public projects run through layers of contractors and suppliers. The general contractor and every subcontractor below it upload the same payroll file and the same procurement file, and their workers answer the same People survey. When a vendor connects to its customer on Nisto, its uploads link to theirs, so the platform knows where every business sits in the chain and rolls it all up into the report you design below.
Project owner or funderYouSet the report template and receive one statement for the whole chain.
Same upload at every tier
Payroll fileProcurement filePeople survey (workers, via AMDA)
links the data
- Connects each Vendor line in a customer’s upload to that vendor’s own account.
- Numbers the chain the Pehta way: Tier 0, then 1, 1.1, 1.1.1, Indigenous vendors first.
- Matches survey answers to payroll anonymously through AMDA.
- Rolls up Direct and Indirect results and hides small worker groups.
One report, every tier Example data
| Vendor | Category | Spend |
|---|
The same numbering carries through procurement, employment and contributions. Build yours
Build your report
Everything shown is example data. Nothing you choose is sent anywhere; it stays in this browser tab until you choose to email it to our team.
What outcomes do you want your projects to deliver?
Choose as many as you like. Each one switches on the measures that show it, and you can fine-tune them in the next step.
Pick your data points
Each item lists its data source and the input fields it needs. Existing fields are already collected by Nisto. Proposed fields would be added for your template.
Settings
These definitions are set once per project and apply to every contractor.
Send your selections to our team
We’ll review what you picked and set up a call to walk through your definitions, targets and what your contractors would send. This opens an email in your own mail app; nothing is sent until you press send there.
Preview the email
Where the numbers come from
Nisto is an accounting solution. It computes results from records contractors already keep, so the report reflects what was actually paid and worked.
How identity data is protected
- Voluntary. Workers choose whether to answer the identity survey, and can withdraw at any time.
- Matched, not shared. AMDA links answers to payroll by an anonymous worker code. Employers never see who answered what.
- Totals only. Only group totals leave the system. In worker identity results, groups of workers smaller than the threshold are hidden, along with any cell that would reveal them.
- Protection where it matters. Small-group hiding applies to individual worker identity results only. Contractor, supplier, procurement, contribution and finance figures are reported in full.
- Nobody is guessed. Workers who don’t answer stay in every total and are never assigned an identity, so results are a floor, not an estimate.
- Coverage is always shown. Every identity result comes with the share of workers and hours that responded.
Built from reporting already in use
The menu draws on statements Nisto and Pehta produce today and on the frameworks public owners are adopting:
- Enhanced Inclusion and Development Agreement (EIDA), used on the New Surrey Hospital and BC Cancer Centre: Indigenous and underrepresented employment hours, apprentices and certified tradespeople.
- City of Vancouver Community Benefit Agreement policy: equity-seeking and local hiring by geography, and social, Indigenous and local procurement.
- Federal Community Employment Benefits: hours worked by target groups and contracts to small, medium and social enterprises.
- Pehta Framework: Indigenous procurement, employment and contributions by Nation and supply chain tier.
- Community wealth building pillars: an optional set of measures. Pillar structure credited to Buy Social Canada, Community Wealth Building Toolkit.
Common questions
Do our contractors need new software?
No. They upload the payroll and accounting exports they already produce, or connect their system. Workers who choose to take part answer a short survey on their phone.
Can we use our own definitions and targets?
Yes. Local area, equity-deserving groups, the small-group threshold for worker identity results and every target are project settings. The sample report shows placeholder targets until you set yours.
What is the basis of analysis?
It is how employment results are counted: by headcount (number of workers), by wages paid, or by employment hours. You can choose one, two or all three. Each employment result and target is then shown once for each basis you choose. The choice is at the top of the Employment category and in Settings.
How do subcontractors and suppliers fit in?
Every participating contractor, at any tier, uploads the same payroll and procurement files, and its workers answer the same survey. When a vendor connects to its customer on Nisto, the platform links their data, numbers the chain (1, 1.1, 1.1.1) and rolls it up. Your report can cover the whole project from the general contractor down, and any contractor can produce the same statement for itself and everything below it.
Can we report by individual Nation, not just “Indigenous”?
Yes, for employment, procurement and contributions. Employment by Nation follows the small-group protections for worker identity results; procurement and contributions by Nation are reported in full.
What happens when I send my selections?
Your mail app opens with a summary of your outcomes, measures and settings, addressed to the Nisto team. Nothing is sent until you press send. We reply to set up a call and then build your report as a template on the platform.
Can I see the report with our logo?
Yes. In Settings, choose your logo and, if you like, an accent colour for headings and table headers. Your logo stays in your browser and is never uploaded. Use “Open full screen” to view the whole report.
Can I download or print the sample report?
No. The sample uses example data to show the layout. Send us your selections and we’ll prepare a version for your projects.
Ready to see it with your own projects?
Send us your selections from the builder, or just get in touch. We’ll walk through your definitions and targets and show you what your contractors would need to send.
Send my selections Contact us at nisto.io