The Department of Strategic Communication recently hosted a thought-provoking public lecture featuring Professor Ana Adi of Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Convened by Professor Rene Benecke, the session took place on 28 May 2026 at the Nadia Gordimer Auditorium, APK Library, and brought together academic staff and students for a critical exploration of how organisations define, measure and interpret social value, social impact and societal value.
Drawing on her research in social impact and evaluation frameworks, Professor Adi challenged conventional approaches to measuring success, arguing that many organisations—including universities—tend to prioritise outputs over meaningful outcomes. She emphasised that what is often presented as “impact” is shaped by underlying assumptions about what is being measured, how it is measured, and whose perspectives are included in the process.
Using artificial intelligence in education as a case study, Professor Adi demonstrated how different measurement frameworks can produce vastly different interpretations of the same phenomenon. She further encouraged participants to interrogate who defines value, who has authority in determining what counts as evidence, and how these choices influence institutional and societal decision-making.
“The lecture made me think differently about how society, organisations, and universities define and measure value,” said UJ Honours student, Siphokazi Ndokweni. “The discussion about AI and different measurement frameworks showed that what we consider valuable often depends on perspective and priorities rather than objective truth.”
UJ Honours student, Rianette Leibowitz, reflected on the relevance of the discussion for professional practice in communication: “Hearing Prof Ana’s broad perspective and new approaches to measuring our impact as communicators and PR practitioners stimulates new thinking and challenges us to upgrade our level of strategic advisory service, especially for the NGO sector.”
In her lecture, Professor Adi further interrogated traditional stakeholder mapping approaches in strategic communication, noting that organisations often prioritise stakeholders aligned with institutional interests while marginalising dissenting perspectives. She argued that meaningful learning and growth emerge through constructive friction rather than consensus alone.
“Growth, in education in particular, comes from friction,” she said. “Learning comes from disagreement, not from agreement. When we look at social value, we must ask: who calls the judgment? Who decides what counts as value?”
The lecture also sparked reflection on the challenges of institutional measurement and strategic planning in complex organisations such as universities.
Prof Denise Webbstock, Senior Director for Institutional Planning, Evaluation and Monitoring at UJ, noted that while measurement is necessary for decision-making, it is inherently a proxy for reality.
“When you try to organise reality too neatly, you are always going to leave something out,” she said. “In a complex institution like a university, different stakeholders bring different perspectives and interests. The challenge is that we often start conflating measurement with reality. We must always step back and ask what it is that we are actually looking at, and what our measures truly represent.”
The lecture highlighted the importance of critically engaging with how value is constructed in higher education and beyond. Participants were encouraged to reflect on the limitations of measurement frameworks and the need for inclusive, context-sensitive approaches to evaluating social and institutional impact.
Through its engagement with these themes, the session reinforced the Department of Strategic Communication’s commitment to fostering critical dialogue on the evolving role of communication, measurement and meaning-making in contemporary society.
