Today Beth Sirull, Ben Thornley, and Sarah Ritter of PCV and the Initiative for Responsible Investment launched the Impact Investing Policy Collaborative (IIPC) at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Why Brazil? Well, this week PCV is playing host to a convening of researchers and policy makers from around the world for discussions on policy innovation in impact investing, coinciding with the United Nation’s Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development.
What is the IIPC? The IIPC seeks to clarify the role of public policy in impact investing through research and collaboration by helping investors, public officials, advocates, researchers and related communities better identify and support policies that lead to more robust and effective capital markets with intentional social and environmental benefits.
To learn more about the IIPC read the CSR Wire press release below. Also, be sure to follow the PCV team’s travels in Brazil on twitter: @bsirull and @ImpactInSight
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun. 20 /CSRwire/ – A new international network anchoring the growth and development of the field of impact investing was launched today by InSight at Pacific Community Ventures and the Initiative for Responsible Investment (IRI) at Harvard University, at an event hosted by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the largest provider of development capital in Brazil and a key player in the emerging field of impact investing in Latin America.
As leaders in advancing the arena of investing for both financial return and positive social and environmental impact, InSight and IRI will convene the Impact Investing Policy Collaborative (IIPC) to clarify and develop the critical role for government policy and leadership in growing impact investing.
Impact investors direct capital to companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of generating measurable social and environmental impacts alongside a financial return. Public policy plays an important role in supporting impact investing, for example by directing large institutions to invest in target areas (e.g. Priority Sector Lending regulations in India), byproviding tax credits and other subsidies for investments with social or environmental benefits (e.g. Green Funds Scheme in the Netherlands), and by creating investment opportunities by providing special recognition for special purpose enterprises and financial intermediaries (e.g. Solidarity Enterprises in Brazil) or procurement (e.g. Broad-Based Black Economic
Empowerment Act in South Africa).
In 2011 alone, over $2 billion was made available specifically for impact investment by governments in the UK, US, Europe and Australia, according to recent research from JP Morgan. The public sector is also responsible for innovations in the field including the development of social impact bonds.
The IIPC includes over 30 participating organizations in 15 countries actively researching impact investing policies and advising governments directly, in addition to policymakers and investors at the field’s forefront. The work of the IIPC will include an online forum for sharing insights and evidence, international in-person meetings, and sub-grants and fellowships for member organizations. The IIPC is supported by an International Advisory Council including:
Margot Brandenburg, Associate Director, The Rockefeller Foundation, United States
Daniel Duku, Chief Executive Office, Venture Capital Trust Fund, Ghana
Les Hems, Director of Research, Centre for Social Impact, Australia
Tessa Hebb, Director, Carlton Center for Community Innovation, Canada
Joe Ludlow, Impact Investment Director, NESTA, UK
Francisco Mazzeu, University of São Paulo Estate (UNESP), Brazil
Pawan Mehra, Managing Director, cKinetics, India
Ming Wong, Vice-Chair, Social Investors Club, Hong Kong, China
The Rockefeller Foundation is the lead funder of the IIPC and related activities and has been helping to lead the charge in building the field of impact investing. In 2008, the Foundationapproved an initiative aimed at catalyzing the field of impact investing, by supporting the networks, policies and infrastructure needed to grow the then nascent sector.
“The groundbreaking research of InSight and IRI, particularly the foundational report Impact Investing: A Framework for Policy Design and Analysis, has created a universal language and method for developing catalytic public policy in impact investing. The dozens of research organizations and policymakers now leveraging this knowledge will benefit immeasurably from the coordinated approach to public sector innovation and shared learning that the Impact Investing Policy Collaborative will make possible,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the RockefellerFoundation.
“Government plays an essential and central role in directing private investment to public purposes,” noted Beth Sirull, Executive Director of Pacific Community Ventures. “The Impact Investing Policy Collaborative will lead to the implementation of policies that are more efficient and effective, by providing a hub of knowledge and access to the insights and expertise of the leading international researchers in the field, led by InSight and IRI.”
About Insight At Pacific Community Ventures
InSight is the thought leadership and advisory practice at Pacific Community Ventures, a U.S. Community Development Financial Institution and nonprofit organization. InSight provides research on community development and impact investing to clients including The Rockefeller Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and The California Endowment. InSight also evaluates and reports on the social and economic performance of more than $19 billion invested in California by the $240 billion California Public Employees Retirement System. For more on InSight’s work visit www.pacificcommunityventures.org/research/.
About IRI
The Initiative for Responsible Investment (IRI), a project of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, promotes the development of the theory and practice of responsible investment through research and dialogue. The IRI encourages the development of responsible investment theory and practice across asset classes, builds communities of practice around innovative responsible investment strategies, and catalyzes new opportunities and concepts in responsible investment. For more on the IRI’s work see www.hausercenter.org/iri.
About Rockefeller
The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of people throughout the world has remained unchanged since its founding in 1913. Today, that mission is applied to an era of rapid globalization. Our vision is that this century will be one in which globalization’s benefits are more widely shared and its challenges are more easily weathered. To realize thisvision, the Foundation seeks to achieve two fundamental goals in our work. First, we seek to build resilience that enhances individual, community and institutional capacity to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of acute crises and chronic stresses. Second, we seek to promote growth with equity in which the poor and vulnerable have more access to opportunities that improve their lives. In order to achieve these goals, the Foundation constructs its work into time-bound initiatives that have defined objectives and strategies for impact. These initiatives address challenges that lie either within or at the intersections of five issue areas: basic survival safeguards, global health, environment and climate change, urbanization, and social and economic security. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.