Social Impact Measurement Framework, IEEE Working Group

Social Impact Measurement Framework Industry Connections Activity Initiation Document (ICAID) Version: 2.3, May 12, 2019 IC19-002-02 Approved by the IEEE-SASB 11 June 2019 Instructions ● Instructions on how to fill out this form are shown in red. It is recommended to leave the instructions in the final document and simply add the requested information where indicated. ● Shaded Text indicates a placeholder that should be replaced with information specific to this ICAID, and the shading removed. ● Completed forms, in Word format, or any questions should be sent to the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Industry Connections Committee (ICCom) Administrator at the following address: industryconnections@ieee.org. ● The version number above, along with the date, may be used by the submitter to distinguish successive updates of this document. A separate, unique Industry Connections (IC) Activity Number will be assigned when the document is submitted to the ICCom Administrator. 1. Contact Provide the name and contact information of the primary contact person for this IC activity. Affiliation is any entity that provides the person financial or other substantive support, for which the person may feel an obligation. If necessary, a second/alternate contact person’s information may also be provided. Name: Mei Lin Fung Employer: MLF Associates Inc. Affiliation: People Centered Internet - http://peoplecentered.net IEEE collects personal data on this form, which is made publicly available, to allow communication by materially interested parties and with Sponsors and Activity officers who are responsible for IEEE work items. 2. Participation and Voting Model Specify whether this activity will be entity-based (participants are entities, which may have multiple representatives, one-entity-one-vote), or individual-based (participants represent themselves, one-person-one-vote). Individual Based 3. Purpose 3.1. Motivation and Goal  Briefly explain the context and motivation for starting this IC activity, and the overall purpose or goal to be accomplished. There were 150 social impact platforms uncovered by the Bertelsmann Foundation 2018 report, each having a different measurement framework. The purpose of this IC activity is to bridge measurement and management across social impact platforms, and to work closely with existing social impact initiatives working on interoperability. A standards- oriented process will bring a technical perspective and contemporary tools to a situation dominated by social impact and financial players who are not technology leaders. From the OECD report on Social Impact Investment January 2019 “Social impact investment is the provision of finance to organizations addressing social needs with the explicit expectation of a measurable social, as well as financial, return.” Social impact investment seeks to leverage innovation and apply measurement rigor to achieve social outcomes. This approach has become increasingly relevant in today’s economic setting as social challenges have mounted while public funds in many countries are under pressure. New approaches are needed for addressing social and economic challenges, including new models of public and private partnership which can fund, deliver and scale innovative solutions from the ground up. Social impact investment has evolved over the past decade as the result of a number of factors, including a growing interest by individual (ICSIM note_ especially millennials) and institutional investors in tackling social issues at the local, national or global level. The recent economic crisis has further highlighted the tremendous social and economic challenges facing countries across the globe. Governments are seeking more effective ways to address these growing challenges and recognizing that private sector models can provide new innovative approaches. Private sector investors, such as foundations, high net worth individuals and institutional investors are increasingly interested in making investments that can have both a social and a financial impact.” Much of this interest is driven by the substantial growth in the sector over the last several decades. According to McKinsey, The World Economic Forum has predicted the impact investment market will grow to $500 billion by 2020 – with other analysts place the figure closer to $1 trillion2. Consequently, “awareness of the potential opportunities of social impact investment has grown considerably across several OECD countries and non-OECD economies including in the G7 and G20. In the context of the United Kingdom’s G8 presidency in 2013, the UK Prime Minister hosted a G8 Social Impact Investment Forum in London in June 2013 and launched the Social Impact Investment Taskforce. As one of the outcomes of the G8 Social Impact Investment Forum, the OECD was asked to produce a report on the social impact investment market. The OECD report seeks to provide a basis for building the evidence base 1 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/how- impact-investing-can-reach-the-mainstream 2 https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T031-C032-S014-the-future-of-impact- investing.html over the last decade impact-investing funds have amassed more than $70 billion in assets and prominent managers including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs have added impact products to their portfolios1.  of the evolving social impact investment field. It follows an overview paper on social impact investment, published by the OECD in July 2015.” Despite the dramatic growth of the impact investing sector, the capital remains siloed in a handful of areas (green bonds, agrotech, health etc) and silos still constrict the flow of capital to base of pyramid and “last mile” environments. This is often due to investor perceptions of risk and a general lack of visibility and experience with these environments. UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved by 2030 without significant efforts to diversify and de-risk these growing investment flows. In order to do this there needs to be coordinated effort to create social and technical mechanisms that are respectful of a diversity of culture and values, and that encourage collaboration and coordination, including teamwork, learning and sharing, intelligence gathering and accelerating knowledge and scientific breakthroughs. In this emerging field of impact investing, the tools available to support the essential act of assessing project viability are far from sufficient. Lack of uniformity makes scoring projects or portfolios problematic because measures can vary widely, the soundness of the underlying data is unclear, and the methodology behind models is undiscoverable or deficient. The absence of fundamental data management capabilities, such as the ability to search across project portfolios to find trends and uncover insights makes it frustrating for investors and doers alike and inhibits the rapid expansion of funding to address SDGs and other important social objectives. Goal: The Social Impact Measurement Framework will help direct investments of all kinds to projects with the highest likelihood of producing social benefit to those being served. The Social Impact Measurement Framework will establish interoperative assessment measures and methodologies to support the evaluation of proposed, in-progress, and completed social impact projects (or portfolio). In addition, it will offer a means to capture, share, transfer, visualize, query, update, and verify critical project (or portfolio) assessment data. The goal is to provide the social impact community the foundational elements of an assessment system that allows for information transparency, visibility, comparability, searchability, and sensitivity, as well as aggregation for the purpose of increasing insights into trends and structural barriers and opportunities. The Framework will create a nomenclature of project attributes to promote evaluation, comparison, and benchmarking. Principles of data use will be researched and published highlighting local cultural sensitivities. The Social Impact Measurement Framework is made up of: 1. A Repository of formulae, logic models, and processes to universally evaluate the social benefit of functioning and proposed projects.  2. A Taxonomy of data types with links to published data sources and well documented data estimates. 3. A Reference Manual guiding the local use of granular data in a culturally appropriate and contextually sensitive way. Enable affordable and safe access for people at the grassroots community level, in schools and colleges, grantors and investors, UN, the World Bank and IMF to cyber secure repositories of: 1. Formulae, logic models and processes for Social Impact calculation and assessment to be gathered in one place for open review, discussion and critique. A namespace for the formulae and processes would be developed so that each may be discovered and uniquely referenced. 2. Data sources within a pointer or link database to be created that enables open review, discussion and critique. A namespace for data sources would be developed so that data sources and useful and relevant forecasts and projections can be discovered, “named”, and referenced uniquely in social impact management and measurements. 3. Usage principles for data and formula which provide for culturally appropriate and contextually sensitive use specified at granular levels including but not limited to race, income, ability/disability, age, religion, language, sexual orientation, tribal affiliation, and geographic application whether national or regional. We are in discussion with research groups on the possibility of local adjudicators along the lines of Cyber version of the concept of Justice of the Peace. 3.2. Related Work Provide a brief comparison of this activity to existing, related efforts or standards of which you are aware (industry associations, consortia, standardization activities, etc.). The OECD report quoted above describes the many competing measurements underway in social impact. The Impact Management Project - (IMP) (from the website) “...is facilitating a global network of standard-setting organisations to coordinate efforts that can accelerate widespread impact measurement and management. The network is an unprecedented collaboration between: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG), Social Value International (SVI), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). This network builds off the prior efforts of the IMP which, since 2016, has collaborated with over 2,000 practitioners to agree on norms for impact measurement and management... Through the Impact Management Project (IMP), more than 2,000 practitioners have come together to build global consensus on how we talk about, measure and manage impact. By  involving the whole value chain — from a policymaker in Argentina to a fund manager in East Africa to an asset owner in the UK — the IMP facilitated consensus about the definition of impact, across different perspectives, terminologies and logics. After hundreds of in-person and virtual conversations, the IMP reached consensus that impact can be deconstructed into five dimensions: What, Who, How Much, Contribution and Risk.” Our focus in ICSIM is intended to work in parallel to the IMP initiative to facilitate protocols and technical tools that can improve measurement and standards. The gaps today in standards and due diligence are referenced in the Financial Times May 6, 2019 by former Impact Investing professional Stephanie Cohn Rudd, highlights by ICSIM authors. “After 20 years as an expert on impact investing, I find it both exciting and frightening to see the recent explosion of interest in the sector. Last year, sustainable investing assets stood at $30.7tn, up 34 per cent in only two years. Everyone is grabbing the mantle of socially and environmentally responsible investment. But I fear the sector is moving off course. The search for scalability and standardisation has widened the distance between impact investing professionals and the disadvantaged people and countries we seek to support. Site visits to beneficiaries have become rare — we meet the managers, but how often do we meet the communities they are meant to be helping? The industry has increasingly focused on meaningless, unaudited environmental, social and governance scores. Investing based on categories linked to the UN sustainable development goals is useless, because they do not show whether the money is doing any good..... If we really believed we were an end in ourselves, equal in rights and obligations, we would approach due diligence differently and have much clearer goals. For example, we would select and invest in opportunity zones in the US based on their economic development potential rather than to maximise tax breaks.” In 2015, Bryan Dufour (referenced below) reviewed the range of approaches to Social Impact Measurement starting with the most simple in Figure 1. Figure 2 expands to consider a broader context for social impact which takes more into account.  A variety of approaches on social impact measurement can be categorized depending on which types of characteristics are prioritized by the project stakeholders.  Finally, the Dufour paper indicates how well 20 methodologies address 6 drivers: a. Relevance b. Economy c. Efficiency d. Cost Effectiveness e. Utility and sustainability f. Effectiveness. Each are rated at 0, 1 or 2 - where 2 means there measurement tools. 0 indicates that the method does not allow to measure the considered performance driver. 1 indicates that the method was not originally designed to measure the kind of data encompassed in the considered dimension, but the logic of its approach allows to do so 2 indicates that the method proposes specific tools to measure the considered dimension. Note: Under half of the efficacy measures are evaluated at less than 2: 29/60 are at 0 or 1 3.3. Previously Published Material Provide a list of any known previously published material intended for inclusion in the proposed deliverables of this activity. Column Financial Times, Stephanie Cohn Rupp, May 6, 2019 The OECD report on Social Impact Investment 2019 (also linked to above) Bertelsmann Foundation Initiative to review the landscape of Impact Platforms 2018. The Future of Financial Inclusion in Africa - International Finance Corp Report, 2018 with the Mastercard Foundation World Bank Development Report 2016 “Digital Dividends” Bryan Dufour. State of the art in social impact measurement: methods for work integration social enterprises measuring their impact in a public context. 5th EMES International Research Conference on Social Enterprise: ”Building a scientific field to foster the social enterprise eco-system”, EMES, Jun 2015, Helsinki, Finland. hal-01458730 3.4. Potential Markets Served Indicate the main beneficiaries of this work, and what the potential impact might be. Private sector investors, such as foundations, high net worth individuals and institutional investors are increasingly interested in making investments that have both a social and a  financial impact - but they lack the grass roots data and quality deal flow necessary to streamline that process. Corporations and Organizations with a social benefit objectives and desire to use recognized credible measurements for whether social impact is achieved. Governments are seeking more effective ways to address these growing challenges and recognizing that private sector models can provide new innovative approaches. Community groups and journalists who will help gather the local insights necessary for de- risking impact capital in exchange for living wages. General populations worldwide will be helped in the areas defined by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 3.5. How will the activity benefit the IEEE? The IEEE would serve as curator and gatekeeper for the repositories of information required to standardize measurement for impact investment and grants, generating licensing, certification, and accreditation fees for granular levels of access, search, and curation, review, entry, authoring and update of information/data. 4. Estimated Timeframe Indicate approximately how long you expect this activity to operate to achieve its proposed results (e.g., time to completion of all deliverables). ● Launch immediately ● Recruit participants and secure commitments for level of contribution ● In person meeting - Summer 2019 ● Finalize Year 1 Roadmap - Fall 2019 ● Working Group Meetings via teleconference - monthly with quarterly progress reviews ● 1 year check point Summer 2020 ● In Person Review and determination of Year 2 Roadmap Fall 2020 Expected Completion Date: June 2021 IC activities are chartered for two years at a time. Activities are eligible for extension upon request and review by ICCom and the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Should an extension be required, please notify the ICCom Administrator prior to the two-year mark. 5. Proposed Deliverables Outline the anticipated deliverables and output from this IC activity, such as documents (e.g., white papers, reports), proposals for standards, conferences and workshops, databases, computer code, etc., and indicate the expected timeframe for each. 1. Repository of Impact Formulae, Logic Models, processes - hosted by IEEE-SA which acts as gatekeeper and curator: -with source citations, authors, and links to original papers - with backup copies of the original papers. - discussion section - option for the original authors to create an FAQ  -option for competing AND complementary formulae to be linked to with "when they are useful" explanations 2. Namespace / Index / Link Database with unique identifiers to source data like geographical income, demographic data and other projections - IEEE SA acts as namespace moderator - with source citations, - checked annually to see if source is still valid to be a live link. - discussion section -option for FAQ by source producers -option for alternative data sources to say where and when they are better suited 3. Community Open Data context specific usage principles for culturally sensitive appropriate and safe use - building on the work of other Industry Connections initiatives like the Open Data IC underway in Cape Town South Africa. We can build on that work and develop it further for international application. The tradition of “Justice of the Peace” in the UK led to a system of community magistrates which can be used to guide community usage principles and determine violations. 6. Funding Requirements Outline any contracted services or other expenses that are currently anticipated, beyond the basic support services provided to all IC activities. Indicate how those fund’s are expected to be obtained (e.g., through participant fees, sponsorships, government or other grants, etc.). Activities needing substantial funding may require additional reviews and approvals beyond ICCom. This Industry Connections Initiative will be kick started by an anticipated $150k contribution from the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee and thereafter self-funded, with IEEE-SA administrative support. It will also seek support by outside contributions from other partners via participants fees and/or contributions, and government/foundation grants, where additional funds may be needed for identified work products. These additional needs to be supported by supplemental funding may include travel/meeting expenses for participant meetings, participant recruitment activities (e.g. public or company specific presentations), engagement with specialist experts, licensing and development fees for demonstration and testing purposes and prototype repositories. Some members of the committee, and many interested parties will be non technical and their expertise in social impact and feedback can be tapped only by demonstrating how these repositories can be used to standardize measurements for projects they might nominate. 7. Management and Procedures 7.1. IEEE Sponsoring Committee Indicate whether an IEEE sponsoring committee of some form (e.g., an IEEE Standards Sponsor) has agreed to oversee this activity and its procedures. Has an IEEE sponsoring committee agreed to oversee this activity?: Yes If yes, indicate the sponsoring committee’s name and its chair’s contact information.  IEEE Global Humanitarian Activities Committee, Chair Kartik Kulkarni - kulkarni@ieee.org IEEE collects personal data on this form, which is made publicly available, to allow communication by materially interested parties and with Sponsors and Activity officers who are responsible for IEEE work items. 7.2. Activity Management If no IEEE sponsoring committee has been identified in 7.1 above, indicate how this activity will manage itself on a day-to-day basis (e.g., executive committee, officers, etc). The Activity will be managed by an Executive Committee as defined in the Activity’s Policies and Procedures. 7.3. Procedures Indicate what documented procedures will be used to guide the operations of this activity; either (a) modified baseline Industry Connections Activity Policies and Procedures, (b) Sponsor policies and procedures accepted by the IEEE-SA Standards Board, or (c) Working Group policies and procedures accepted by the Working Group’s Sponsor. If option (a) is chosen, then ICCom review and approval of the P&P is required. If option (b) or (c) is chosen, then ICCom approval of the use of the P&P is required. This activity will follow a modified Industry Connections Activity Baseline Policies and Procedures 8. Participants 8.1. Stakeholder Communities Indicate the stakeholder communities (the types of companies or other entities, or the different groups of individuals) that are expected to be interested in this IC activity, and will be invited to participate. Technology corporations - SalesForce, Cisco, Google, IBM Successful Social Enterprises – Ashoka Fellow network, Skoll Award recipients Foundations and NGO’s - Asia Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Asia Venture Philanthropy Network, MacArthur Foundation, Calvert Foundation, Bloomberg Foundation International Agencies - ITU-Development Bureau, GSMA, OECD Academic Research and Educational Institutions - Stanford, NUSingapore, Oxford Financial Institutions - BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, UBS, IADB, Experts/specialists – ISC Intelligence, UN SDG.org admins, CommonGood Capital (impact broker dealer network) Technical, Financial, Social, Legal Professional Associations – IFLA, IFAC, Internet Bar Association, Institute of Management Accountants, Global Broadband Commission for achieving the SDGs Recruitment to establish interest level and commitment will commence after launch. 8.2. Expected Number of Participants Indicate the approximate number of entities (if entity-based) or individuals (if individual- based) expected to be actively involved in this activity. Number of individuals: 20-30 8.3. Initial Participants Provide a number of the entities or individuals that will be participating from the outset. It is recommended there be at least three initial participants for an entity-based activity, or five initial participants (each with a different affiliation) for an individual-based activity. Use the following table for an entity-based activity: The following participants are being engaged in discussion towards invitation for participation in this project: Use the following table for an individual-based activity: Individual Name Employer Affiliation Mei Lin Fung Chair MLF Associates Inc. People Centered Internet Cofounder Jim Sterne Secretary Self- DAA Emeritus Director, Founder Digital Analytics Association - DAA - Founding Chairman Karen Robbins Treasurer AmTech USA Washington Progress Group Partner Maria Dayton Executive Committee Member At Large Data Usage Principles General Services Administration Citizen Engagement Lead - USA Transterra Media Co-founder Michael Kleeman Executive Committee Member At Large NameSpace Data Sources Self Senior Fellow, CALIT2 University of California, San Diego Sean Flynn Executive Committee Member At Large Formulae, Logic Model Repository Scripps College; Author: Economics for Dummies Claremont Colleges, CA Karen Wilson Executive Committee Member At Large Self. OECD liaison to The Impact Management Project  Impact Investment Expert Lead author OECD report  Kartik Kulkarni - or designee Executive Committee Member At Large Liaison to IEEE HAC Oracle IEEE Humanitarian Activities Chair  Note: See Section 8.1  which lists the stakeholder communities with whom we are in discussion