Social Impact Investing

SOCIAL IMPACT INVESTMENT: BUILDING THE EVIDENCE BASE
8.8 There also needs to be deeper knowledge sharing about social impact investment practices.
Currently there is a lot of show casing but not enough learning about what is working and what is not,
including about the true costs, efficiencies and outcomes of particular practices. More detailed case studies
which outline the roles of various actors and the processes involved in structuring social impact investment
products would be useful along with more formal evaluations of these practices.
8.9 Social impact investment touches many different fields of analysis. To minimise the challenges
of building a robust evidence base for the whole SII market, detailed analysis could initially focus on
certain cases and\or social need areas. This more focused approach is important as there are bound to be
variations in appropriate policies within and across sectors. As part of the next phase of the work on social
impact investment, the OECD could, for example, focus on a particular area and work on building the
evidence base across difference countries and cases.
8.10 At this stage of development of the SII market, an international organisation, such as the OECD,
could potentially play a useful role in facilitating shared definitions, common data collection processes,
development of indicators and evaluation of policies, in addition to providing a platform for the review and
sharing of information about policies and practices.
8.11 The social impact investment market remains small relative to traditional markets, however, it is
growing in visibility and importance. Further and sustainable growth would require a commitment to
building the evidence base in terms of practices and outcomes.
128 © OECD 2015