We help our clients to achieve targeted social and environmental outcomes, bringing extensive experience from the development, climate change and broader environmental sectors together with capital markets into the evolving impact investment field.
Theory of Change, Impact Measurement Frameworks, impact metrics and SFDR
Screening and Due Diligence, Active Management and incentivising impact
Monitoring, analytics and reporting on impact outcomes
Third party verification of impact reports or disclosures against global standards such as the IFCs Operating Principles and the SFDR
The impact strategy is the foundation of an organisation’s impact path. It presents the impact vision, goals and the strategic approach to achieving these. It is an important communication tool to present an organisation’s intentions to stakeholders.
Innovest supports the design of impact strategies and methodologies that credibly demonstrate to investors, donors and other stakeholders an organisation’s impact goals and results. For our impact fund clients, we ensure fund strategy alignment with regulatory disclosure regimes such as SFDR and their underlying product classification and labelling schemes.
Innovest supports clients in the development of:
Embedding impact criteria into a fund’s commercial screening and due diligence process will ensure that all investments align to the fund’s Theory of Change. Innovest designs funds’ impact screening criteria and processes and supports the design of appropriate survey screening tools such as questionnaires, surveys, checklists and interviews.
We support the development of impact due diligence frameworks. Our impact assessments draw upon the Impact Management Project’s 5 dimensions of impact: What, Who, How Much, Contribution, Risk. In addition, we support the development of the fund’s impact scoring and impact baseline methodologies, and offer guidance and processes on documenting the impact investment decision making in Investment Committee Memos and Board Minutes.
Periodic impact data collection and analysis enables an organisation or fund to actively manage their impact, track performance over time and make any adjustments to improve the performance or maximise impact if needed. Impact Measurement and Management operationalises the Impact Measurement Framework, providing practical tools and processes to collect the data needed to evidence the impact of the organisation or fund.
Innovest develops impact measurement methodologies that work in line with the agreed impact strategy. Methodologies also align to fund managers existing processes, and also against any mandatory or voluntary standards a fund may be aligned to, such as the SFDR and OPIM. We assess what data can reasonably be collected and what claims about impact outcomes can be tested with available evidence. We work to develop impact measurement processes that target simplicity and alignment with existing frameworks, while maintaining rigorous measurement as prioritised by the Impact Management Project.
We support the design and development of:
Adherence to global standards such as the Operating Principles for Impact Management are fast becoming expected of Impact funds. Third party verification of a fund manager’s alignment to such international standards is essential to build credibility of an impact fund and demonstrate intent and transparency.
Innovest offers third party verification of standards such the Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM), the EU’s SFDR and certification for other impact standards. Our verification methodology is more than box ticking – it seeks to add value by obtaining an independent review of a fund’s impact architecture, providing recommendations for enhancements, and understanding the fund’s positioning in the market.
Validation of impact results is a second way that fund managers demonstrate integrity and transparency in impact funds. Innovest offers verification of these results, undertaking a non-financial assurance to provide independent verification of the data collection methodology, analysis and results.
We help our clients develop innovative funding structures and development tools, and leverage our international network to contribute funding, know-how and capabilities to achieve agreed development outcomes in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving deep impact through blending public and private financing is central to the work that we do.
