Why do we need to accelerate innovation?

Impact investing is a rapidly-developing field that requires urgent continued innovation to deliver superior blended returns that meet the full range of investor objectives, mobilize resources, and address the critical issues of our times.  

The Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), a leading industry association, defines impact investing as investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and/or environmental impact alongside a financial return. GIIN recently estimated the current impact investing market to be USD 1.5 trillion.  This figure represents tremendous growth of activity over the last decade, but it is still only a small fraction of the broader markets.  There has been a substantial amount of good work across the ecosystem to date, and yet it seems the field has reached a natural point in its evolution as slowing momentum inhibits fulfillment of its full potential. 

Accelerating innovation requires a multi-disciplinary understanding of the complex markets and capital flows so that these strategies can drive superior results across the full range of investor objectives.  Impact investing has always been fortunate to have visionary leaders who have contributed their insights at critical moments to drive the field forward.  These leaders have both the breadth of experience and an appreciation for the long game. It is important to continue promoting these perspectives to engage the passion and energy of a new generation of leaders.

How can we accelerate innovation in impact investing, and how can we expand the conversation so new insights can be incorporated more quickly?  This independent initiative takes forward-looking, systemic, creative, and practical approaches to leverage existing projects and broad cross-sector knowledge to develop breakthrough approaches that can shape the next evolutionary phase of the field.