Conversations about measurement and evaluation in impact investing

This article documents issues emerging during discussions of impact investing and social impact measurement amongst participants of the Innovations in Evaluation strand at the 8^th African Evaluation Association Conference.

This resource and the following information was contributed by Kaye Stevens.

Authors and their affiliation

 Amreen Choda Genesis Analytics, Evaluation for Development Practice, Nairobi, Kenya

Mishkah Teladia Genesis Analytics, Evaluation for Development Practice, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Key features

This article discusses the rise of impact investing globally and within Africa and the importance and of strong, credible social performance measurement alongside financial indicators.

The following emerging themes from the Innovations in Evaluation strand of the 2017 AfREA conference are discussed:

• The what, why and how of social impact measurement,
• Social impact measurement and the distribution of capital,
• How impact measurement can catalyse capital,
• The value proposition of social impact measurement for small and growing businesses,
• The movement towards lean data,
• The importance of client-centricity, and
• Closing the gap on social impact measurement.

The article draws on case studies to illustrate how evaluators can improve social impact measurement and build evidence bases to inform impact investing.

The case is made for greater engagement, dialogue and collaboration between investors and evaluators including clear definitions of impact, a deep understanding of the interests of different stakeholders, preparedness to innovate and customise existing evaluation approaches and methods.

How have you used or intend on using this resource?

 Useful as a teaching resource and for evaluators working with impact investors.

Why would you recommend it to other people?

Drawing on the experiences of evaluating impact investments in Africa the article discusses themes that are important to the development of social impact measurement methods and approaches.