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Impact Evaluation in Practice, Second Edition
by Patrick Premand Christel M. Vermeersch Paul J. Gertler Rawlings Sebastian MartinezThe second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.
Impact Evaluation of Infrastructure Interventions
by Howard White Ole Winckler Andersen Henrik HansenThe focus on results in development agencies has led to increased focus on impact evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of development programmes. This book illustrates the broad range of methods available for counterfactual analysis of infrastructure programmes such as establishment, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads, water supply and electrical power plants and grids.Understanding the impact of interventions requires understanding of the context in which the intervention takes place and the channels through which it is expected to occur. For infrastructure interventions it is particularly important to identify the links between the input and the outcomes and impacts because the well-being of people, the ultimate impact, does not change directly as a consequence of the intervention. Therefore impact evaluation of infrastructure programmes typically requires mixing both quantitative and qualitative approaches as illustrated in many of the contribution to this edited volume.This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Development Effectiveness.
Impact Evaluation of Small and Medium Enterprise Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean
by Gladys López-Acevedo Hong W. TanSmall and medium enterprise (SME) support programs are a common feature of industrial policy in developing countries, but one whose effectiveness is not well known. Governments are motivated to support SMEs both because they make up the majority of industrial enterprises and contribute substantially to GDP, employment and earnings, and because SMEs are thought to be weaker than their larger counterparts. Few governments, however, have evaluated their SME programs rigorously so there is little empirical basis for rational allocation of resources to the well performing programs. The paucity of empirical evidence from rigorous impact evaluations also presents problems for multi-lateral and bilateral donors in deciding whether or not to provide lending or aid for such policy interventions to promote SME development. This study rigorously evaluate SME programs in four Latin American countries to gain insights into which programs perform better than others, and just as important, why. These countries - Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru - cover a wide range of enterprise support programs, including training, innovation and technology upgrading, quality control, market development, export promotion and network formation. Broadly comparable panel data on enterprises is used to investigate the net impacts of these SME interventions.
Impact Evaluation: Treatment Effects and Causal Analysis
by Markus Frölich Stefan SperlichIn recent years, interest in rigorous impact evaluation has grown tremendously in policy-making, economics, public health, social sciences and international relations. Evidence-based policy-making has become a recurring theme in public policy, alongside greater demands for accountability in public policies and public spending, and requests for independent and rigorous impact evaluations for policy evidence. Frölich and Sperlich offer a comprehensive and up-to-date approach to quantitative impact evaluation analysis, also known as causal inference or treatment effect analysis, illustrating the main approaches for identification and estimation: experimental studies, randomization inference and randomized control trials (RCTs), matching and propensity score matching and weighting, instrumental variable estimation, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity designs, quantile treatment effects, and evaluation of dynamic treatments. The book is designed for economics graduate courses but can also serve as a manual for professionals in research institutes, governments, and international organizations, evaluating the impact of a wide range of public policies in health, environment, transport and economic development.
Impact Investing
by Jed Emerson Antony Bugg-LevineA ground-breaking book on the transformative power of impact investingThis is the first book to chart the catalytic path of this new industry, explaining how it is and can be a positive disruptive force. It shows how impact investing is a transformational vehicle for delivering "blended value" throughout the investment spectrum, giving a single name to a set of activities previously siloed in enclaves, revealing how they are linked within what is becoming a new field of investing. Written by two leaders in the growing field of impact investing, the book defines this emerging industry for participants on all sides of the funding equation (investors, funders and social entrepreneurs). Filled with illustrative examples of impact investing success storiesReveals how the field can expand in order to address the most critical social and environmental issues of our dayExplores the wide-ranging applications of impact investing as well as entrepreneurial opportunitiesThe authors do not take a normative approach to argue how investors should behave like an investment guide might but show how entrepreneurial people and institutions are already offering an integrated alternative.
Impact Investing and Financial Inclusion: Examining the Innovations that Empower the Underserved (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Nse UdohayaThis book incorporates real-world case studies and relevant data for a detailed reflection on impact investing and financial inclusion. It models relevant theoretical frameworks to analyse finance for good, making a strong argument for access to finance as a pivotal force in building sustainable societies and fostering inclusive economic growth, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Focusing on the synergy between impact investing and financial inclusion, it examines the importance of investment in innovations that promote affordable banking, microfinance, and insurance services for the underserved and analyse how such investment can drive sustained socioeconomic development. It investigates the challenges and opportunities in scaling impact investing in financial services infrastructures, considering structural and operational barriers such as the need for standardised impact measurement frameworks, risk mitigation in emerging markets, and the balance between financial returns and social impact. The book also explores technological enablers, including digital finance, blockchain, and AI-driven financial inclusion solutions, while addressing key issues such as digital literacy gaps, data privacy concerns, and regulatory inconsistencies. The relevance of the book is in its potential to drive positive change in financial systems, foster sustainable development, and empower marginalised populations through the knowledge of impact investment. The book will serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, investors, researchers, students and practitioners working towards a more inclusive and sustainable financial landscape.
Impact Investing at a Crossroads: A Pathway Forward
by John Forrer Terry GrayThere is no questioning the enthusiasm that welcomed impact investing as an alternative approach to making investments: Take account of both financial returns and the social and environmental impacts. But there is no denying that the approach has fallen well short of expectations.Impact investing has shown great promise as a major transformational investment paradigm, but in practice under-performing woefully and its prospects are dimming: It comprises less than 1% of the world’s equity investments, and too many claims of success are more about marketing and reputational value than hard evidence of positive social impacts. Drawing on over a decade of hands-on experience, this book presents a unique combination of a how-to guide and a reimagining – new models, frameworks, techniques, and tools – of what impact investing could be and could accomplish. It points to a new direction for future impact investments: achieve higher financial returns, more positive social and environmental impacts, and lower risks than conventional investments. Readers will learn what actions should be taken at each stage of impact investing, and which models, analytic frameworks, and techniques to use – and how to use them – for optimal results.This book offers a step-by-step guide to how impact investing can achieve its promise of transforming global investments into a powerful positive force for change. It is an inspiring and comprehensive resource for anyone who wants to understand how impact investing works and how it can be done better, from professionals at foundations, international NGOs, consulting firms, and government agencies, to students of finance, public policy, ESG, sustainability and international development.
Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet: Insights from EcoEnterprises Fund
by Tammy E. Newmark Michele A. PenaImpact Investing for a Sustainable Planet guides investors in supporting entrepreneurs to scale business models which maximize positive impact outcomes, including climate- and nature-based solutions. EcoEnterprises Fund is a long-standing leader in the impact investing industry, which helps advance sustainable entrepreneurial ventures and promote environmental stewardship in Latin America. Following on from their previous book, Portfolio for the Planet, Tammy E. Newmark and Michele A. Pena take stock of EcoEnterprises Fund’s processes and partnerships over two decades and three impact funds. They detail the unique strategies employed by the Fund to invest in expanding sectors such as regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, bio-innovation, and climate tech. Close analysis of the investment processes and company engagements offers practical takeaways, ranging from tips on structuring transactions to guidance on enhancing companies’ environmental and social management systems and community partnerships. These case studies highlight how specific themes – including biodiversity investing, supply chain management, gender-smart investing, climate solutions, and successful exits – form the basis for sustainable growth and enduring powerful outcomes. This inspiring volume offers practical advice for veterans and newcomers in the field of impact investing. It will also be a valuable resource for students and scholars of sustainable investing and finance, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable business.
Impact Investing in Africa: A Guide to Sustainability for Investors, Institutions, and Entrepreneurs
by Edward MungaiAs investment in new ventures across the African continent grows, and enterprises multiply in a wide variety of sectors, the next wave of challenges and opportunities has become apparent to those with the experience and vision to understand them. In this book for investors, institutions, entrepreneurs, and everyone interested in the economic future of Africa, noted Kenyan executive Edward Mungai will analyze recent successes and failures in business ventures across the African continent and identify the most important opportunities for impact investment impacting the future of Africa available today and in the near future.
Impact Investing: Global Trends and China’s Practices
by Finance Center for South-South CooperationThis book aims to clarify the concept of impact investing by combing the international experience and the practices in China, promote the standardization of the measurement and evaluation system of impact investing, contribute to the establishment of an impact investing ecosystem in China, and guide investment to consider both the social and environmental impact and profitability. This book mainly contains four parts: the definition of impact investing and the similarities and differences with other related concepts; the development, characteristics and trends of global impact investing; the development and the current situation of impact investing in China; a case study in China.
Impact Investing: Instrumente, Mechanismen und Akteure
by Barbara Scheck Wolfgang Spiess-KnaflImpact Investing ist ein dynamischer Bereich, der in letzter Zeit als zusätzliche Finanzierungsquelle für die Lösung gesellschaftlicher Probleme diskutiert wird. Das Thema ist auf großes Interesse gestoßen und wird in den kommenden Jahren vermutlich erhebliche Wachstumsraten erzielen. Dieses Buch bietet einen aufgefrischten und dennoch umfassenden Überblick über den Markt, die Finanzinstrumente und die damit verbundene Folgenabschätzung. Es behandelt insbesondere das Konzept des Impact Investing innerhalb des breiteren Feldes der sozialen Finanzen sowie die relevanten (und neuen) Akteure, stellt die aktuellen Finanzierungsinstrumente und die verschiedenen Instrumente zur Bewertung der Auswirkungen der Anlagestrategie vor und führt in Bewertungs- und Fondsmodellierungstechniken ein, die sich auf die Investitionsentscheidungen der Fondsmanager auswirken. Dieses nützliche Nachschlagewerk wird sowohl für Wissenschaftler und Forscher im Bereich Impact Investing als auch für Studenten und Praktiker in diesem Bereich von Interesse sein.
Impact Investing: Instruments, Mechanisms and Actors (Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance)
by Barbara Scheck Wolfgang Spiess-KnaflImpact investing is a dynamic field that has been recently been discussed as a supplemental funding source for addressing societal problems. The topic has generated significant interest and is presumed to achieve significant growth rates for the coming years. This book provides a refreshed yet comprehensive overview about the market, financial instruments and the associated impact assessment. Specifically, it covers the concept of impact investing within the broader field of social finance as well as the relevant (and new) actors, presents current financing instruments and the various tools to assess the impact of the investing strategy, and introduces valuation and fund modelling techniques which impact the investment decision of fund managers. This useful reference tool will be of interest to academics and researchers in the field of impact investing alongside students and practitioners in the space.
Impact Investment Funds for Frontier Markets in Southeast Asia
by Cfa Manuel Stagars Caia ErpUntil now, most socially responsible and impact investments have centred on developed markets, with growth potential and investment opportunities in the frontier economies of countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam being mostly overlooked. While some individuals and organizations have begun to develop responsible investment opportunities with these countries in mind, large new sources of capital for development could still emerge. This book explores the greater potential for global investment in Southeast Asia, and the ways in which socially responsible investment styles can be used in their developing economies. It demonstrates how the benefits of investment could create a robust platform for separate stakeholders, including governments, non-governmental organizations, development banks, the financial sector, and small and medium sized enterprises. The author explores how shaping collaborative sustainable investment policies could speed up inclusive development, address the needs of those at the bottom of the pyramid, and ensure sustainable future growth.
Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis (Wiley Finance)
by Keith A. AllmanApply a rigorous investment process and integrate social impact analyses to successfully select and invest in social impact investments Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis is a must-read guide for investors and wealth managers entering the social finance investment space known as "impact investing." This book walks readers through the demanding task of properly executing an impact investment strategy, providing solutions to some of the most vexing challenges that arise when investing for both financial return and social impact. Readers will learn how impact investing is different from other strategies, how the organization's mission affects investment decisions and structures, and what to look for in an organization prior to investing. A running example of a village distribution company illustrates the methods and concepts in action, and a full-fledged case study utilizing downloadable professional level analytical tools consolidates all examples into a real-world setting. Impact investing is generating significant momentum, but many individuals operating in this space come from alternative backgrounds and lack the knowledge to form a rigorous investment process. Disparate funding sources, immature markets, variations in fund economics, and the need to generate and report social impact all complicate the industry even further, creating a barrier for curious investors. This book is a guide to applying standard investment processes and social impact analyses to impact investing, helping readers: Adjust standard analysis techniques to suit the particularities of impact investing Discover how social mission influences the entire investment from entry to exit Plan and execute a robust custom impact investment strategy Understand social impact entities and the management of impact investments Investing with the goal of social impact doesn't remove the need for rigorous investment techniques and diligent processes. Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis is a guide to putting it all together, for a more targeted approach to impact investing.
Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change
by David EhrlichmanThis practical guide shows how to facilitate collaboration among diverse individuals and organizations to navigate complexity and create change in our interconnected world.The social and environmental challenges we face today are not only complex, they are also systemic and structural and have no obvious solutions. They require diverse combinations of people, organizations, and sectors to coordinate actions and work together even when the way forward is unclear. Even so, collaborative efforts often fail because they attempt to navigate complexity with traditional strategic plans, created by hierarchies that ignore the way people naturally connect.By embracing a living-systems approach to organizing, impact networks bring people together to build relationships across boundaries; leverage the existing work, skills, and motivations of the group; and make progress amid unpredictable and ever-changing conditions. As a powerful and flexible organizing system that can span regions, organizations, and silos of all kinds, impact networks underlie some of the most impressive and large-scale efforts to create change across the globe. David Ehrlichman draws on his experience as a network builder; interviews with dozens of network leaders; and insights from the fields of network science, community building, and systems thinking to provide a clear process for creating and developing impact networks. Given the increasing complexity of our society and the issues we face, our ability to form, grow, and work through networks has never been more essential.
Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact
by Liz WisemanWhy do some people break through and make an impact while others get stuck going through the motions?In every organization there are Impact Players—those indispensable colleagues who can be counted on in critical situations and who consistently receive high-profile assignments and new opportunities. Whether they are on center stage or behind the scenes, managers know who these top players are, understand their worth, and want more of them on their team. While their impact is obvious, it’s not always clear what actually makes these professionals different from their peers.In Impact Players, New York Times bestselling author and researcher Liz Wiseman reveals the secrets of these stellar professionals who play the game at a higher level. Drawing on insights from leaders at top companies, Wiseman explains what the most influential players are doing differently, how small and seemingly insignificant differences in how we think and act can make an enormous impact, and why—with a little coaching—this mindset is available to everyone who wants to contribute at their highest level. Based on a study of 170 top contributors, Wiseman identifies the mindsets that prevent otherwise smart, capable people from contributing to their full potential and the five practices that differentiate Impact Players:While others do their job, Impact Players figure out the real job to be done. While others wait for direction, Impact Players step up and lead.While others escalate problems, Impact Players move things across the finish line.While others attempt to minimize change, Impact Players are learning and adapting to change. While others add to the load, the Impact Players make heavy demands feel lighter.Wiseman makes clear that these practices—and the right mindset—can help any employee contribute at their fullest and shows leaders how they can raise the level of play for everyone on the team. Impact Players is your playbook for the new workplace.
Impact Pricing
by Mark StivingAM I PRICING RIGHT?Every business owner is haunted by this fundamental question. Expert pricing strategist Mark Stiving draws upon more than 15 years of experience in profitable pricing and delivers a practical plan to help you confidently answer.Price-it's most powerful marketing tool you have- and the least understood. Zeroing in on the areas where your efforts will generate the greatest impact, Stiving breaks down critical pricing concepts and provides the blueprint to integrate proven pricing strategies into your growth plans. Be empowered to strengthen your pricing structure to withstand any conditions, dramatically elevating your company performance, position, and profits for long-term success.Learn how to:Set prices that drive your market positionCorrectly use costs to make profitable pricing decisionsImplement value-based pricing to charge what customers are willing to pay Use price segmentation to leverage value and capture new businessCash-in on complementary products and product versions with portfolio pricingPrepare for changing conditions pricing strategically nowFollowing in the footsteps of sited examples including Apple, BMW, McDonalds, Mercedes, and other market leaders, learn how to create a powerful price strategy that does more than cover costs.
Impact Redefined: Transforming Partnerships, Social Moments, and Personal Connections to Drive Change
by Nick LynchCreate opportunities for your nonprofit or social enterprise with partnerships and social media In Impact Redefined: Transforming Partnerships, Social Moments, and Personal Connections to Drive Change, social entrepreneur and advisor Nick Lynch delivers an insightful exploration of how to use a variety of social opportunities to your advantage. Easy-to-understand, this book is for folks who desire positive change and are looking for strategies to create long-lasting impact via partnerships, real-life opportunities, and social media. You’ll discover the importance of self-branding, nurturing healthy collaborations and connections, championing empathy, and multiplying impact through relationships. In the book, you’ll find: Methods for developing social moments to foster connection and build community Tips for building and maintaining successful partnerships and collaborations with influencers and other people Ways to nurture human connections to form a wider network that benefits your social organizationA can’t-miss roadmap to maximizing your impact on your community and the wider world around you, Impact Redefined is an essential resource for social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and other philanthropically minded professionals.
Impact Statement: A Family's Fight for Justice against Whitey Bulger, Stephen Flemmi, and the FBI
by Bob HalloranNo one can deny that mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi are two of the most brutal killers in American history—not even the two gangsters themselves. But a jury denied the Davis family closure for the slaying of Debbie Davis, Flemmi's beautiful young girlfriend, who went missing in 1981 and whose remains were found nearly twenty years later under the Neponset River Bridge in Quincy, Massachusetts.Now serving a life sentence, Stephen Flemmi testified in graphic detail how he lured Debbie to a house in South Boston where Bulger jumped out of the shadows and strangled her to death. Flemmi then extracted her teeth and buried her body by the Neponset River while Bulger watched. Bulger wanted Debbie dead, Flemmi claimed, because she knew that the two men were meeting with an FBI agent named John Connolly. That, and he might have been jealous of the time Flemmi and Debbie were spending together. Throughout his trial, Bulger stubbornly insisted that he never would have committed the dishonorable act of killing a woman. In the end, it was one stone-cold murderer's testimony against another's.In Impact Statement, veteran journalist Bob Halloran looks at the devastating impact Bulger and Flemmi have had on the Davis family, whose longstanding relationship with the two mobsters cost them a father, two sisters, and a brother. Through up-to-the-minute coverage of Bulger's criminal trial and extensive interviews with Debbie's brother Steve Davis, a one-time protégé of Flemmi's and now an outspoken advocate for the victims' families, Halloran has pieced together this unique and compelling story of a family's quest for justice.
Impact Work: An Ethnographic Journey into the Making of Impact Entrepreneurship
by Guillaume DumontThis book provides a critical, ethnographically grounded examination of the hype surrounding the idea of impact by investigating the work of those attempting to create innovative social ventures. Through in-depth immersion in the day-to-day running of a social impact accelerator, Guillaume Dumont reveals the intricate, behind-the-scenes socialization through which entrepreneurs learn the ropes of impact entrepreneurship and sheds light on the roles of some of the key players of this unique social world. The book challenges the view that impact is a given property of a venture resulting from an intrinsic desire to change the world embodied by gifted and compassionate entrepreneurs. Instead, Dumont argues that impact emerges iteratively from a process of social engagement and negotiation among entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and mentors as they collaborate in the mundane processes of its production, what he calls “Impact work.” This book, therefore, is about impact in the making. It is a story of hope and collaboration unveiling the social and cultural challenges and contradictions faced by those attempting to create alternative organizations addressing social and commercial goals.
Impact and Influence: The World of Professional Services
by Jay W. Lorsch Thomas J. TierneyProfessionals and their companies may be the most powerful and unexplored source of value (both direct and indirect) in modern business. This chapter examines professional service firms in depth and discusses the business turmoil that surrounds them in today's world, from market growth and new entrants to globalization and technology.
Impact and the Management Researcher (Management Impact)
by Usha C.V. HaleyUniversities, governments, faculty-evaluation committees, grant-bestowing institutions, scholars, and accreditation organizations have increasingly insisted on identifying and placing value on research impact. Valuation of research and scholarly output predicts innovation, affects careers, and guides resource allocations worldwide. This book joins the burgeoning conversation in management and the social sciences with theoretical and applied discussions of the concepts, measurements, costs and benefits that accrue to pursuing scholarly impact. The author draws on a pioneering study by the Academy of Management that asked its global membership of 20,000 how they assessed scholarly impact, including rankings and impact factors, and how institutions supported this pursuit. Through qualitative and quantitative cross-country analysis by professorial rank, geographical region and support for various metrics, as well as exploration of parallel discussions in the social and hard sciences, the author argues for an urgent re-examination of the visible and invisible hands of research evaluation that shape lives and global societies. The book presents original data on the external impacts of management research on policy, through the media, and in interest displayed by constituencies, which will make the book of interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of business and management. Recommendations from leading management scholars and from the data follow for more valid, more reliable and less cynical metrics of research impact.
Impact in Doctoral Education: Product, Person and Process (Management Impact)
by Emma Parry Colin PilbeamDemonstrating how impact can be created and derived from doctoral programmes, this book focuses on their influence on academic knowledge, policy and practice. Significantly, it highlights the crucial impact of these programmes on the individual and the enduring consequences of this.Drawing on their extensive experience and conversations with stakeholders in doctoral education from around the world, and incorporating real case examples, the authors provide practical guidance throughout the book which enables readers to enhance the design of new and existing doctoral programmes for greater impact. Each chapter ends with questions to stimulate reflection on the readers’ experience of impact from doctoral education. The concluding chapter outlines a manifesto for enhancing and ensuring impact from doctoral research in the future.With insights into the impact of doctoral programmes on individual researchers, this book will be essential reading for scholars of management education, as well as being a valuable resource for Higher Education administrators and senior academics around the world tasked with increasing impact from their doctoral programmes.
Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Business and Society: Opportunities and Challenges (Routledge Studies in Innovation, Organizations and Technology)
by Francesco Schiavone Hatem Masri Francesca Lazzeri Francesco Paolo Appio Davide La TorreBelonging to the realm of intelligent technologies, it is increasingly accepted that artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from being merely a development standpoint in computer science. Indeed, recent reports and academic publications show that we are clearly on the path toward pervasive AI in both business and society. Organizations must adopt AI to maintain a competitive advantage and explore opportunities for unprecedented innovation. This book focuses on understanding the wide range of opportunities as well as the spectrum of challenges AI brings in different business contexts and society at large. The book highlights novel and high-quality research in data science and business analytics and examines the current and future impact of AI in business and society. The authors bridge the gap between business and technical perspectives and demonstrate the potential (and actual) impact on society. Embracing applied, qualitative, and quantitative research as well as field experiments and data analysis, the book covers a broad range of topics including but not limited to human-centered AI, product and process innovation, corporate governance, AI and ethics, organizational performance, and entrepreneurship. This comprehensive book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and postgraduate students across AI, technology and innovation management, and a wide range of business disciplines.