UN SDG Innovative Finance (UNSIF)

Introduction to UNSIF-RC The UNSIF Research Council (RC) is a collaboration between UNDP SDG Impact Finance (UNSIF) and leading global universities or academic research institutions recognized for their research in advanced financial and economic models. The RC is committed to sharing information and ideas to collaborate on a long-term research agenda in the area of new quantitative frameworks for impact investment finance and their intended effect on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objective is to undertake academically rigorous peer-reviewed research to improve the analytical frameworks, evidence, and policy environment that will incentivize and guide commercial capital to flow intentionally in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. UNSIF-RC Members Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, UCT Graduate School of Business Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship is the first academic centre in Africa dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship. It was established as a specialised centre at the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) in late 2011, in partnership with the Bertha Foundation, a family foundation that works with inspiring leaders who are catalysts for social and economic change, and human rights. The Centre is now a leading academic centre in Africa. Its mission is to pursue social impact towards social justice in Africa, through teaching, knowledge-building, convening and catalytic projects with a systems lens on social innovation. Collaborating with the GSB, the Centre has established a wide community of practitioners and awarded over R6-million in scholarships to students from across Africa. The Centre continues to work to mainstream impact investing in South Africa and more broadly on the continent. It offers an Impact Investing in Africa Executive Education course, which has 12 unique African case studies taught on it; the Centre also teaches on several other GSB academic programmes; it has published the African Investing for Impact Barometer since 2013 and will this year launch an innovative finance MOOC. Carleton University The Sprott School of Business is a faculty of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. It was named in 2001 for Eric Sprott, a well-known philanthropist, alumnus of the school, and base-metals investor. The school is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS). Business studies have a long history at Carleton with the first commerce degrees awarded in 1949. Today, the Sprott School of Business offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programmes. The school is also highly research-oriented. Among its accolades, Sprott has won the Overall Institution Performance Award for research contribution at the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) conference in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012, the most such honours among all Canadian business schools. China Europe International Business School China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), a joint-venture for management education, was co-founded by the Chinese government and European Union (EU) in 1994, with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the EFMD serving as its executive partners. CEIBS is committed to educating responsible leaders versed in “China Depth, Global Breadth” in line with its motto of “Conscientiousness, Innovation and Excellence”. The school offers MBA, EMBA, Global EMBA, Finance MBA and Executive Education programmes. Renowned for its academic rigour, CEIBS is the first business school on the Chinese mainland to have been accredited by both EQUIS and AACSB and the only business school in Asia to have simultaneously made it to the Financial Times’ top 30 list of MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programmes. Maastricht University Maastricht University (UM) is the most international university in the Netherlands and, with more than 16,000 students and 4,000 employees, still growing. The university stands out for its innovative education model, international character and multidisciplinary approach to research and education. Thanks to its high-quality research and study programmes as well as a strong focus on social engagement, UM has quickly built up a solid reputation. Today it is considered one of the best young universities in the world. In addition, UM has been awarded two prestigious quality marks from the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO): the Institutional Quality Assurance Assessment and the Distinctive Quality Feature for Internationalisation. National University of Singapore Business School NUS Business School is the business administration faculty of the National University of Singapore, established in 2002. With 149 full-time faculty members and with a student population of over 3,000, both undergraduate and post-graduates, the school continues its tradition of attracting a diversity of smart and talented students to its broad portfolio of academic programmes, including BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, MSc and PhD programmes. The School is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System), endorsements that the School has met the highest standards for business education. The School is also a member of the GMAC Council, Executive MBA Council, Partnership in Management (PIM) and CEMS (Community of European Management Schools). Oxford University Saïd Business School Saïd Business School is the University of Oxford’s centre of research and teaching in business, management and finance. The school was founded in 1996, and since then has become one of the highest ranking business schools in the world, with a reputation for entrepreneurship and innovative business education. Along with a thriving student community (with over 500 graduate students admitted each year, it has the largest intake of all graduate business schools in the UK), Oxford Saïd has a vibrant and diverse research community. The academic community produces high-quality, impactful scholarly research that is both rigorous and relevant, addressing business-related issues of global importance. The school uses its unique position within the University of Oxford to draw in colleagues from different academic disciplines to not only understand the world of business, finance and management in a rapidly changing world, but to explore new ways of approaching these subjects. Of particular interest to the school’s academic community is the social impact of business. For example, current research explores business with purpose and the economics of social innovation. Oxford Saïd is also home to the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, a hub for entrepreneurs, students and academics to engage in enterprise with a social goal. University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 96,000 graduates. Tsinghua University For over twenty years Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management has been growing fast along with the reform, opening-up and development of the Chinese economy, striving for building a world-class school of economics and management. The School is committed to the excellence of both research and teaching for the purpose of advancing knowledge and educating leaders. The mission of the school is to combine China’s roots with global reach, and work to contribute to the development of China’s economy and society as well as to make an impact in the world. Few examples of international collaborations to be mentioned are the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, Association of Asia-Pacific Business Schools (AAPBS) initiation, Community of European Management Schools (CEMS) and Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) membership. University of Zurich With its 26,000 enrolled students, the University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland’s largest university. Founded in the year 1833, UZH was Europe’s first university to be established by a democratic political system; today, UZH is one of the foremost universities in the German-speaking world. Made up of seven faculties covering some 100 different subject areas, the University offers a wide variety of Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs. In addition, UZH’s continuing education programs offer excellent learning opportunities. As a member of the “League of European Research Universities” (LERU), the University of Zurich belongs to Europe’s most prestigious research institutions. Numerous distinctions highlight the University’s international renown in the fields of medicine, immunology, genetics, neuroscience and structural biology as well as in economics. To date, the Nobel Prize has been conferred on twelve UZH scholars.