Social Impact Investing

SOCIAL IMPACT INVESTMENT: BUILDING THE EVIDENCE BASE
Depending on the type of actions taken, they might be implemented at the international, national or
local level. However, actions initiated in one country or region may not be appropriate for another – policy
objectives, experience and local context must be taken into account. In particular, differences in the context
of developed and developing countries should be considered when applying social impact investment
models. SII can also catalyse additional capital flows into developing economies, critical to the current
high-level dialogue on Financing for Development and the development of the new Sustainable
Development Goals.
When or if policies with the objective of supporting SII, such as tax incentives, are put in place, it is
important that the policy interventions are well targeted, transparent and well-coordinated with existing
policies as well as with the market. Policies should also be consistent so that market players both
understand the implications of the policies and have some visibility in terms of how long the policies might
be in place. Evaluation of the policies is also important to make sure that they are having the intended
results. Chapter 7 highlights some of the social impact investment policies currently in place in the G7
countries and Australia and discusses broader policy implications in building the market.
Social impact investment can potentially provide new ways to more efficiently and effectively
allocate public and private capital to address social and economic challenges at the global, national and
local levels. While these innovative new approaches will not replace the core role of the public sector or
the need for philanthropy, they can provide models for leveraging existing capital using market-based
approaches with potential to have greater impact. However, given that social impact investment is a
nascent field, concrete evidence is needed in terms of its impact to date. In particular, further work is
needed to demonstrate the gains from the social impact investment approach compared to existing social
service delivery models.
This report provides a framework for assessing the social impact investment market and focuses on
the need to build the evidence base. The report highlights the importance of further international
collaborations in developing global standards on definitions, data collection, impact measurement and
evaluation of policies as well as experience sharing between players in the market. International
organisations, such as the OECD can play an important role in facilitating these collaborations as well as
conducting further analysis and data collection.
12 © OECD 2015