Doing Well And Doing Good: Measuring The Results Of Impact Investing | Blog | Social Finance

Categories: Impact MetricsResponsible InvestmentInternational

In my last post “Measuring The Impact of Social Investing”, I talked a lot about the history of PULSE, the software designed to help track the impact of social investments. Since Acumen Fund first introduced it in 2006, we have seen a constant and increasing need for support, services and even entire organizations to help the impact investing community operate more efficiently and achieve greater success.

Thanks to organizations like the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), we now have a taxonomy and structure in place to help improve the transparency and reporting of social investing returns. The implementation of the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) has arguably done more to increase the credibility of the social benefits of impact investing than anything the industry has seen to date. 

On April 12, the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS) released its first-ever impact investing analytics report [PDF], which provides comprehensive and verified data on the social and environmental impact of a broad range of investments on a global scale. The release of this report – which the organization now plans to release quarterly – further demonstrates the increasing attention being paid to measuring the impact of social investments.

Increased adoption of PULSE software is yet another indication of the growing importance of metrics among impact investors. With the formation of organizations like GIIN and the adoption of processes like IRIS and GIIRS, we’ve seen a continually increasing demand for software that is compatible with the new taxonomy and impact investing ratings system. In fact, PULSE has been adopted by organizations representing the six major continents, which we attribute largely to the overall increased awareness of measuring the impact of social investments and a universally standard taxonomy.

For example:

• The Opportunity for the Majority (OMJ) window within the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has implemented PULSE and the IRIS taxonomy to track metrics around individual investments across its entire portfolio. OMJ supports efforts to reduce poverty and inequality specifically focusing on the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The IDB team is using its up-to-date information about investment performance as well as performance across sectors and regions to be more selective about the investments they choose. The automated system for gathering and analyzing data also means employees who were previously tasked with data entry can now focus more of their efforts on what they’re good at – finding deals and serving clients. Beyond increasing proficiency, the OMJ team was able to collaborate and meet every deadline. They achieved this level of performance by establishing milestones and tasks which lead to weekly meetings. These activities lead to higher results, better communication, and strong management support. To find more details about OMJ’s use of PULSE, download the full case study from our website.
• Inveneo, a non-profit social enterprise based in San Francisco, California, works to provide technology such as computers, telephone and Internet access to rural communities in underdeveloped parts of the world. In 2011 alone, the organization reached 126 communities and served approximately 250,000 end users, the impact of which is all tracked, recorded and analyzed using PULSE software.
• MicroVest Capital Management has implemented PULSE software to help track and benchmark financial, operational, environmental and social data to better demonstrate the impact of its microfinance funds. By replacing its spreadsheet-driven data analytics processes with an automated reporting system that works with Salesforce.com, the fund manager is digging deeper into its numbers and more easily comparing them to external benchmarks. Like IDB, MicroVest employees are able to use time they previously spent validating and crosschecking data on deal structuring and analysis.

We fully expect to see the gap between philanthropy and capitalism continue to shrink over the coming months and years, as both corporations face pressure to provide social benefit and social organizations are encouraged to demonstrate measurable results. Together with organizations like GIIN and tools like IRIS and GIIRS, we’re optimistic that our PULSE software puts us all one step closer to solving the world’s problems.

Charlie Kuhn is responsible for PULSE business development at Application Experts (www.app-x.com). He can be reached at 720-240-9168 or charlie@app-x.com.

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