Market Building

We are building up the social finance market in two key ways:

  • Technical Assistance
  • Impact Measurement and Management Programming

 

Technical Assistance

Through intentional outreach, we are providing select assistance at both pre-investment and post-investment stages to new and emerging social finance intermediaries (SFIs) for whom we conclude our limited resources would be most catalytic and systemically impactful. We are aiming to uncover opportunities with, in and for traditionally underserved communities where there would be market-wide benefit. In our first year we supported three organizations (see our public announcement for more details).

Impact Measurement and Management Programming 

We offer several services to help SFIs with impact measurement and management (IMM). We offer these programs to all SFIs that have received SFF funding, from any of the three fund-of-funds managers, whether us, Boann Social Impact or Fonds de Finance Sociale – Cap Finance. Participation in this programming is limited to post-investment SFIs.

Whether you’re an SFI that is new to IMM and need help getting started, wish to tweak your IMM or hope to evolve it in line with global leading practice, we can help through:

  • Cohort programming with embedded peer-to-peer learning. Led by our partner Impact Frontiers
  • Workshops on advanced IMM topics. Led by our partner Impact Frontiers
  • Personalized one-on-one coaching to apply tools, resources and frameworks shared in the cohort program. Led by our team of IMM coaches
  • Common Impact Data Standard Support. Led by our partner Common Approach to Impact Measurement

About our Partners

Impact Frontiers is an internationally recognized leader in spearheading the creation of practices and tools in impact methodology that have been adopted as global standards and best practices. It has run IMM cohort programs around the world, including in Canada, that enable investors to incorporate impact into investment decision-making.

Common Approach to Impact Measurement grew out of government consultations and task forces to support social enterprise. Today, Common Approach is a community-driven initiative and independent nonprofit. Its theory of change is rooted in the belief that impact measurement can be improved by becoming  more relevant to SPOs. It is working towards flexible, shareable impact measurement centred on the needs of SPOs. By creating standards for flexible, shareable measurement, investors and funders get the impact data they need without imposing additional burdens on the organizations they fund or invest in.

Cohort Programming and Peer-to-Peer Learning: IMM for the Social Finance Fund

IMM for the Social Finance Fund is an online, instructor-led practical course specifically developed for SFF participants. It is being led by Impact Frontiers in partnership with us. The program aims to enhance SFIs’ ability to incorporate impact decisions into financial decision-making, measure impact and manage portfolios for greatest impact. The program will run over four months, twice a year. The first cohort started in September 2024, with the following SFIs:

  • Amplify Capital
  • BKR Capital
  • InvestEco Capital
  • Jubilee Fund
  • Maple Bridge Ventures
  • PaceZero Capital Partners
  • Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
  • Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation
  • Regenerative Capital Group
  • Relentless Pursuit Management

Through this course, cohort members will:

  • Learn the foundations of good impact measurement
  • Explore how a flexible framework for collecting outcomes data can support SFIs to manage impact
  • Incorporate impact considerations into financial decision making
  • Benefit from peer-peer engagement opportunities and one-to-one coaching to activate learning at their organization

 

Workshops

Workshops on a variety of topics related to IMM will be hosted by Impact Frontiers and other IMM experts throughout the year.

Possible topics for workshops include:

  • System mapping
  • Enterprise contribution and counterfactuals
  • Investor contribution

Workshops will launch in winter 2024.

Personalized One-On-One Coaching

The team will support SFIs to apply learnings from the cohort program and workshops led by Impact Frontiers through personalized one-on-one coaching. Dive deeper into the concepts and apply tools, resources and frameworks to the specific context of your work. This offering will be available to participants of the cohort program, ‘IMM for the Social Finance Fund.’

Common Impact Data Standard Support

In collaboration with all managers and through a partnership with Common Approach to Impact Measurement, we’re helping SFIs to implement the Common Impact Data Standard so it is easier for them to measure and share the impact of their work.

SFIs that receive investment through the SFF are required to collect data about the social purpose organizations (SPOs) they invest in. This will need to be reported alongside data about the SFI itself. The required data includes information about the organization, the investments and the intended impacts of the SPO, collected and shared using the Common Impact Data Standard.

The data standard was developed to complement SFIs’ existing impact measurement practices in ways that their investee SPOs will appreciate. The data standard is a standardized way to represent a SPO’s impact model (that is, their theory of change, logic model or outcome chain). It enables the exchange of impact information without requiring standard indicators. The data standard helps to make impact data flexible and shareable between SPOs, SFIs and wholesalers.

The Common Impact Data Standard makes it easier to share impact measurement and improve reporting.

  • The Common Impact Data Standard will provide investors with a clear understanding of the outcomes and impact achieved by investments
  • A flexible, shareable approach to collecting critical data will ensure we all better understand the distribution of capital to equity-deserving communities
  • Education and capacity building will facilitate adoption by the broader impact investing sector 

“Impact measurement is a key component of market building. Impact data is foundational to a strong social finance ecosystem. Data that is trustworthy, reliable and relevant to decision-makers will build investor confidence in the sector, ensuring it can thrive. When data flows from the bottom up, rather than being imposed from the top down, it becomes more trustworthy and reliable. The measurement approach must work for the world views of all Canadians, including Anglo-western outcomes-focused measures, Indigenous methodologies, and Social and Solidarity economy approaches.”

– Read more

While we’re currently focused on offering direct support for SFIs, to support the social finance market as a whole we will be offering resources to SFIs to support their investee SPOs to effectively measure impact.

Stay in touch on LinkedIn to learn more about these market-building activities, our investment strategies and the wider impact Realize Fund I is having.