Systems Mapping
This workstream is intended to provide investors with one possible way to get started with systems mapping. There are very few publicly available case studies for investors on this topic, and we are eager to hear from practitioners about their experiences with systems mapping, and their reactions, feedback, and comments on this emerging thinking.
What additional practices and/or guidance have practitioners come across that can help investors utilize systems mapping techniques to inform decision-making? In which contexts are these kinds of systems mapping techniques more or less useful to investors?
Weigh in below!
The ABC of Impact - Discussion Forum
We invite your thoughts on the following discussion questions, and on any aspect of the discussion document:
- Does your organization use the ABC of impact? If so, how? If not, why not?
- What are your reactions to the proposed changes?
- Do you agree that impact classification and valuation are complementary techniques, with the former best suited to ensuring that a set of companies or investments have the desired impact characteristics, and the latter best suited to making comparisons of magnitudes of impact among various companies or investments?
Share your views below!
Towards Consensus on Elements of Impact Report Verification Questions
We invite you to review the background and then share your views on the questions below.
On the topic of impact performance report verification broadly,
1. What are the key aspects of a report that should be independently reviewed in order to provide a report consumer with confidence that the report is fair, balanced, and accurate?
2. How can we ensure that investor-level verification is interoperable and non-duplicative with company-level impact verification? Should investor-level verification focus only on the investor’s actions and/or areas in which the investor is responsible for data collection and analysis?
3. Does the term ‘verification’ appropriately connote to the market how similar or different verification is to audit and assurance? Should other terms be considered (e.g., assessment)?
4. Should verifiers be expected to validate the data provided in impact performance reports? If so, how might they do so, and who has the willingness and appetite to pay for the additional cost? If not, what is the best way to ensure that verification consumers understand what aspects of impact performance reports are verified, and which are not?
5. Should smaller or emerging managers be held to a different standard for impact performance reporting than large and established managers? Why or why not?
In response to ‘Raising the Bar 2.0: Introducing BlueMark’s Framework for Evaluating Impact Reporting’ :
6. What is your overall feedback on the proposed approach?
7. Specifically with regards to the Ratings Schema on pages 10 - 15, what would you want to add, change, or remove? Do the ratings descriptions and criteria strike the right balance between providing clarity for consistent and comparable application by verifiers, while leaving appropriate flexibility for fund managers?
Lastly, we invite you to sign up for our Quarterly Newsletter as we will be sending out information regarding huddles on this topic in 2023. Sign up here.
“What can impact investors learn from evaluators (and vice versa)?”
Discussion Questions:
- How do you think investors’ impact management practices stand to benefit from evaluation methods such as those described in these videos?
- Evaluation and Impact Investing (video): Veronica Olazabal, Jane Reisman, and John Sherman
- The Mis-measurement of Impact, and What Investors Might Do Instead (video): Ken Scheffler and Laura Castro, Innovations for Poverty Action, Right-Fit Evidence Unit
- What can evaluators learn from the impact management practices developed by investors?
Please see Our Work “What can impact investors learn from evaluators (and vice versa)?” for more details.
Impact Ratings Math
Discussion Questions:
- What formulas are your organizations using in your impact ratings?
- What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches?
- What other approaches have you seen?
- In which contexts is each approach most appropriate?
Please see Our Work Impact Rating Math for more details.
Investor Contribution 2.0 - Discussion Forum
After reviewing the background on the Investor Contribution 2.0 project, we invite you to share your view on the project's consultation materials:
- Proposed Investor Contribution Definitions & Strategies
- Proposed Direct Investment & Engagement Impact Templates
- Proposed Investment Structures & Governance Disclosure Templates for PE, PD, VC
Supporting materials:
- Research & Resources Database_Investment Structures & Governance (Excel)
- Compiled Metrics for Investor Contribution (Excel)
- Video: Introducing the 'Elephant' of Investor Contribution (7 minutes)
- IMP Discussion Document: Emerging Consensus on Investor Contribution in Public and Private Markets
- IMP Discussion Document: Negative Investor Contribution