How we Measure Impact

RIIM = Assessment + Measurement

RIIM has assessment and measurement processes that together enable impact management:

• The RIIM assessment of impact covers a great number of data points and analysis to enable understanding of a product’s impact intention, as well as the depth, quality and context of its impact
• The RIIM measurement of impact is the measurement of progress towards a product’s impact goals (and therefore the portfolio’s impact goals)

Assessment requires evidence, deep analysis, judgment and close monitoring and tracking. It is a critical, necessary part of our methodology. While assessment may not be the measurement towards a specific impact goal it enables measurement. For example, we use metrics as part of our process to measure impact progress, but without the wider assessment we wouldn’t be able to determine a good metric in the first place or come to a conclusion about the rate and nature of progress on a goal.

Key Points, RIIM Assessment:

• Assessment of the system the product could or is impacting, including the scale of the impact challenge being tackled, importance of the outcomes to stakeholders, the degree of stakeholder vulnerability, the systems-change potential and the role the product is playing in a system
• Creation of an evidence-based impact thesis (which comes out of systemic understanding outlined above as well as analysis of the product’s contribution to impact and how significantly it is focused on contributing to positive impact).
• An extensive examination of a product issuer’s operational practices
• Examination of whether and to what extent the company or product issuer is contributing to impact through additional activity in support of impact performance, such as fund managers providing impact management and measurement (IMM) support or mentorship programs to underlying holdings
• Assessment to determine the often-overlooked potential negative impacts
• Assessment of how we as investors are contributing towards a product’s impact

Key Points, RIIM Measurement:

• A measurement of progress towards the impact goals, as shown in a results chain. The results chains allow us not only to measure impacts against our targeted outcomes but also to aggregate and disclose these impacts coherently, including at a portfolio level 
• A measurement of the product’s impact performance and our scoring of its impact performance, examining impact risk and impact return

Reassessment and remeasurement occur regularly. We regularly update impact assessments. In addition to formal annual impact performance updates, quarterly impact monitoring is conducted based on fund manager reports, discussions, investor calls, proxy voting, our proactive outreach and more.

RIIM is an iterative process of building and refining, where learning builds assessment and new learning and measurement brings reassessment.

Assessment builds impact understanding. It’s forward looking. Measurement builds impact accountability. It’s backwards looking. Both processes build upon each other; impact management is the continual active iteration of both processes.