The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) has just published a new report on impact investing. The report summarises the main elements to be taken into account to measure and manage impact throughout the investment strategy and the investment process.

Investors for impact continuously work to capitalise on the resources available for leveraging and changing systems. Understanding performance gaps, impact needs, and the additionality of the impact created is essential to improving the effectiveness of the capital deployed. Thus, investors for impact and social purpose organisations (SPOs) need to collect meaningful data and feedback that enable them to enhance such effectiveness. Consequently, the publication focuses on two levels: how to measure and manage the impact of specific investments (level of the SPOs) and how the investor for impact itself contributes to that impact (level of investor).

Back in 2013, EVPA launched a five-step process for measuring and managing impact. The report summarises the main elements to be taken into account to measure and manage impact throughout the investment strategy and the investment process, linking each phase to the relevant steps of the EVPA framework. The five-step process consists of:

1. Setting objectives
2. Analysing stakeholders
3. Measuring and monitoring results
4. Verifying and valuing impact
5. Reporting

To clarify how the EVPA five-step process and other IMM initiatives are linked and complement each other, this publication also refers to different principles or standards throughout the investment journey, such as the Dimensions of impact of the Impact Management Project, the Operating Principles of Impact Management, the Principles of Social Value and the SDG Impact Standards.

Find the full report here.

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• Impact Investing
• Publication