Social Impact Investing

SOCIAL IMPACT INVESTMENT: BUILDING THE EVIDENCE BASE
6.23 Some data sources provide information on social impact investors and, more broadly,
organisations providing finance to social ventures. As discussed earlier, the supply of SII can include a
wide variety of players from foundations and venture philanthropy funds to institutional investors and high
net worth individuals (HNWI). Governments also play an important role. Traditionally, they have been the
largest providers of funding to address social issues, either through cash transfers or direct provision of
social goods or services (see Chapter 5).
6.24 Table 6.2 below summarises the key supply-side players, data-related challenges as well as some
examples of data sources. Supply-side data can be obtained from different types of data sources. Data
related to the role of the government as a social impact investor can be obtained from NSOs. However,
different levels of administration (central; regional; local) can entail measurement challenges. In countries
in which some tax breaks may apply, for example in the UK, National Tax Offices will store information
about eligible companies. 26 Also, in the US, the IRS discloses a list of all organisations eligible to obtain
tax-deductible charitable contributions. 27 Other institutions in the public sphere, such as central banks,
financial market regulators and other financial supervisory bodies, monitor and compile information on
investment activity and capital pools. The information is usually too aggregate, but can still be useful to
estimate the potential capital that could be deployed into SII on the basis of a top-down approach due to
difficulties in tracing-down actual SII amounts (Addis et al., 2013).
Table 6.2. Summary of type of supply-side players, challenges and data sources
Organisation Type Definition & Data
Challenges
Types of Data Sources
Government (National and local)
Foundations
Social venture funds
Venture philanthropy funds
Institutional investors
Corporations
High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI)
Mass retail (crowdfunding)
Untapped pools of capital
(dormant funds)
Most information is on potential
assets to be deployed
The actual amount of SII is hard to
trace.
Sizing and assessing potential
entails significant assumptions.
Confidentiality issues
National Statistical Offices
Social expenditures, National
Accounts
Networks\Associations
Japan Foundation Center; EVPA,
Europe
Surveys
JP Morgan\GIIN;
National Tax Offices
Tax breaks
Financial system
Financial Market Authorities;
Central Banks
Notes: Some examples are provided in italic below each point.
Source: OECD, based on desk research
26 . Information on the UK’s Social investment tax relief is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-investment-tax-relief-factsheet/social-investment-taxrelief.
27 . Available at: http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/forwardToPub78Download.do.
86 © OECD 2015