Event Recap
Panelists
Wren Laing, Investment Director, McConnell Foundation
Robert Sturgeon, Managing Director, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
Lindsay Wallace, Board Chair, CAFIID and Senior Vice President, Strategy and Impact, MEDA
Moderator
Jason Sukhram, Director, Quinn + Partners
Jason led a stimulating panel discussion introducing the discussion by noting the national momentum for measuring impact accelerating as different stakeholders work together to promote impact investment on a wider scale. He led off with a question about the importance of standards and how the right strategies can shape and evolve organizational understanding of impact and help them mobilize capital towards it.
Wren Laing (WL) responded by describing her foundation’s impact investing evolution through focusing on clarifying and measuring impact. She emphasized the need for investors to see and comprehend the impact they are seeking and then identify strategies to measure it. Once investors are able to tangibly quantify impact, the potential to grow impact investing will extend beyond foundations to the wider investment community.
Lindsay Wallace (LW) supported this observation by illustrating how Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) gained wisdom from numerous international programs that employed a variety of the existing impact standards and measures, then was able to use them in its capital investments with entrepreneurial partners. For example, the use of 2X Global criteria by MEDA to improve gender lens investing, leading to these measures becoming key operating to their strategy. This translated to building consensus on how to frame issues, investing accordingly, and then measuring impact on route towards the expectations.
Robert Sturgeon (RS) tackled how one of the world’s largest institutional investors, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), explored impact investing ensuring their approach was authentic and rigorous, through research of measurement strategies. This important development made it a key differentiator from other pension funds. OTPP went through a process of external market observation alongside internal investigation digging into and understanding what impact looked like within their existing portfolio. The measurement standards, as clearly defined, made impact measurement critical to the OTPP’s strategy. It took the fund some time, but now its investment teams are equipped to evaluate whether each investment could be classified as an impact investment.
LW proved that the key motivator for gender impact with MEDA, and other investments, was how it drove improved bottom lines. In fact, following MEDA’s gender framework, the NGO gender impact practices, assessing companies, led to action that produced results. The evaluation exercises proved companies made more sales, became more profitable and paid back loans and exited equity stakes faster. It did so because improving HR policies, engaging and hiring more women, offering better access to finance for women, and making more inclusive business practices translated to more customers, greater revenue and boosted profits.
RS echoed this sentiment. On value creation, OTPP’s impact investment strategies proved the effect on customer perceptions. Evaluating impact performance for existing portfolio companies revealed to OTPP that businesses that cared about social impact gained more loyal customers and that proved the value. This has also shown expanding markets with greater customer bases.
WL noted the ongoing frustration that some investors still lag in comprehending the market building opportunities that come from impact investment. She noted that some haven’t moved on from an outdated perspective that impact detracts from the bottom line, while in fact, impact often creates greater return value. She also referenced how GIIN definitions and specifically the importance of demonstrating intentionality and building the right impact measuring methods in differentiating impact investing from other investment approaches.
LW provided more context. She zeroed in on the need to just begin, learn from doing and to act. Get help and discover what works well.
RS agreed and added that the recent politicization of impact by critics need not stop investors in their tracks. In fact, the antidote could be an effective impact measurement methodology that puts the issue to rest through sound, evidence-based proof. The faster you can draw a straight line from impact to business results, the more easily you will dispense with the clash of perspectives.
Throughout the discussion the panelists continued to reiterate that impact measurement has evolved from a conversation about needing standards to validate the case for impact, to one about how the existing standards and frameworks (e.g. Impact Principles, Impact Management Project, 2X criteria, and IRIS+) are being implemented and applied to meet the needs of the stakeholders in the sector.
The final round of discussion focused on the solutions organizations should adopt. All panellists agreed that motivating investors to think about impact was the priority. Then ensuring professionals develop impact measurement skill sets. And finally, organizations must get moving – start by experimenting, gather wisdom, act and reevaluate to ensure investments are effectively producing their intended impact.
Invitation
Join us for an insightful event hosted by CAFIID's Impact Measurement and Management Community of Practice (IMM CoP) as we delve into the critical topic of scaling impact investing and overcoming barriers in measuring impact.
While CAFIID primarily focuses on emerging markets, this event welcomes players from the impact investing ecosystem both domestically and globally. Our goal is to emphasize the significance of IMM for various stakeholders, including impact investors, advisory firms, and institutional investors, aiming to enhance its adoption in investment decision-making processes.
This event presents an opportunity to explore key trends and solutions in impact measurement and management for both investors actively participating in Canada's impact investing landscape and those looking to engage. We aim to foster a discussion around defining IMM best practices, exploring the Impact Principles, impact measurement tools and standards and building strategies and capacity within organizations and investment teams. We also aim to discuss how investors can participate in building the market by joining CAFIID and contributing to the development of Canada’s National Advisory Board for impact investing.
Drinks and food will be served.
Thank you to Quinn + Partners for hosting this event!
About CAFIID’s Impact Measurement and Management Community of Practice:
The goal of CAFIID’s IMM CoP is to support CAFIID members in deepening their knowledge of and expertise in IMM. CAFIID is a member driven organization aiming to act as a catalyst to mobilize more impact investment capital toward emerging and frontier markets and to provide its members with opportunities to learn, share and collaborate.
The IMM CoP will provide a dedicated forum for sharing tools, approaches, and case studies of IMM in Canada and beyond. The IMM CoP will provide opportunities for CAFIID members to:
exchange knowledge on best practices and trending IMM topics.
share related learnings and resources.
provide peer support and advice on specific IMM cases and questions faced by members.
demonstrate leadership in the impact investment ecosystem by contributing to national and global IMM standardization and practice.
The IMM CoP will be practical, inclusive, and participatory in nature. Activities will take place monthly, alternating between informative sessions and peer support sessions to be confirmed via a survey of CAFIID members. The activities will include:
Informative and knowledge-sharing sessions and the development of a resource repository which will address IMM topics of interest, allowing members to share their IMM approaches, tools and best practices. This will also include webinars with non-members.
Peer support sessions provide a space for members to bring forward case studies or challenges they may be facing for an exchange of practical advice and considerations. The CoP will also be a space to brainstorm ideas about innovative IMM structures and foster new avenues for collaboration between CAFIID members.
This event is presented by CAFIID’s Impact Measurement and Management Community of Practice with financial support from FinDev Canada.
