Impact Management Project and Lean Data ▶ Sara Olsen

Free Social Impact Academy: https://www.sopact.com/en/sopact-academy

Impact Management * Impact Management Project * Lean Data * Social Value * GIIN IRIS

We are at the beginning of an impact revolution. While the impact revolution may not be as big as the tech revolution, it has the potential to drive a significant shift from corporate boardrooms to nonprofits around the globe. The rise of new frontiers of social impact has given birth to so many unique models that were previously limited to the charitable model only. Socially responsible investing, ESG, Impact Investing, Social Impact Bonds, Venture Philanthropy and traditional philanthropy, and more. Just impact investing is growing 100% year after year. As we all are familiar with data from the GIIN, impact investing continues to double every year in the last few years and is expected to reach $1 Trillion in assets under management by next year! While this growth is unique, the overall allocated capital is still tiny compared to total AUM in the world.

We also see more significant trends in the $36 Trillion ESG sector. While ESG is gaining pace, there are still major impediments for impact accounting. We are witnessing a rapid interest in those who are following ESG reporting to start to look at impact accounting and reporting as a way to communicate their impact. In some cases, there is a remarkable growth in building the ESG framework that aligns reporting around SDG, and other impact management principles.

To sustain growth, these sectors need to grow beyond impact washing or SDG washing, since investors need high-quality deal flow with proper impact evidence before they invest in the enterprises.

Today in the webinar, we are blessed to have someone who has seen this trend for the last 24 years.

We’re very excited about today’s guest, Sara Oleson. Captivated by the idea that investors should not only report their financial performance but also their social ROI, Sara Olsen founded SVT Group, an impact management firm, in 2001. SVT Group is a “best for the world” certified B corporation and impact management firm that designs and implements systems to measure, manage, and communicate social and ecological impact. The firm has developed and assessed the social and environmental impact of over $9B in assets. SVT’s diverse and inspiring clients include Yo-Yo Ma, Beneficial State Bank, and CalPERS’ Environmental Investment Advisor. Sara is a co-founder and board member of Social Value US, the United States affiliate of Social Value International.

Sara’s other exciting contribution is toward field building in the impact management space. I was very impressed and inspired to be part of a group of forty or so global leaders from around the world who convened last May at the Haas School of Business in Berkeley. Sara led this collaborative effort to drive toward consensus among impact management practitioners about essential practices. Everyone believed that Impact Management Project is critical in impact evidence and impact reporting. Second, most felt that stakeholder voice engagement is vital to gathering impact evidence.

Sara, Welcome

I met Sara three years ago when SoPact started to work with SROI certification with Social Value International. Incidentally, Sara has taught many of SoPact’s team members as an adjunct faculty member of the Hult International Business School. Through SVT and other various training roles, Sara has trained over 6000 practitioners in person in impact management practices. Our relationship and respect for each other have grown as we both work to advance the impact management field, respectively.

And just as a reminder, we have a few webinars lined up in the upcoming weeks. Next webinar “Impact Measurement and Management of Community Development Investments.”
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9...
will focus on demonstrating how investors can leverage impact management project based five dimensions of impact for due diligence as part of the deal selection. We will also talk about practical and hands-on use of the Impact Management Project, and about the Opportunity Zone Report or commonly known as OZ Framework.

With that, I will give the floor to Sara to introduce herself and her work in the Impact Management and Lean Data Acumen approach and GIIN IRIS+ and IRIS metrics. Let me remind you to write your questions for Sara in a Q/A or Chat. We will be sure to cover most of the questions at the end of the session.