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Impact Investing Advisory
Our impact investing advisory helps funds, family offices and the companies they back define, measure and improve real social outcomes, using behavioral science to show whether products and services actually change the lives they are meant to.
The problem behind the problem.
Impact investors face a measurement problem that financial investors largely do not. Revenue and margin are well defined and audited. Social outcomes are not. Many impact reports rely on outputs, such as products sold, users reached or programs delivered, because those are easy to count. But reaching people is not the same as changing their circumstances. A digital health tool may be downloaded widely and used rarely. A financial inclusion product may expand access while leaving underlying behaviors unchanged. Without outcome evidence, impact claims are hard to verify and easy to overstate.
Frameworks help but do not solve the problem on their own. The Impact Management Project's five dimensions of impact and the IRIS+ catalog of metrics give investors a common structure for describing what, who, how much, contribution and risk. Applying them well requires research design: knowing which behaviors lead to the intended outcome, how to measure them reliably and how to separate a company's contribution from what would have happened anyway. Impact investing advisory grounded in behavioral science brings that rigor to diligence, monitoring and LP reporting.
How we deliver impact investing advisory.
- 01Observe
Understand the people served
We begin with the people a company intends to benefit, using interviews, contextual inquiry and journey mapping to understand their circumstances, needs and the barriers they face. This grounds the theory of change in real experience and often reveals gaps between how a product is designed to help and how it is actually used.
- 02Signal
Find the behaviors that create impact
We analyze product, program and outcome data to identify the behaviors that lead to meaningful social results: sustained engagement, completion, adherence or changed financial habits. These become predictive impact KPIs, connected to the IMP five dimensions and, where appropriate, to IRIS+ metrics, so they can be compared and reported consistently.
- 03Design
Build the measurement framework
We design an impact measurement framework that fits the fund's thesis and each company's model: a clear theory of change, outcome and behavior indicators, data collection methods that do not overburden companies, and an honest approach to contribution and impact risk. Where impact can be improved, we also design product and service changes to strengthen it.
- 04Test
Evaluate what works
We design evaluations proportionate to the stage and resources of each company, from simple pre and post comparisons to pilots with comparison groups. Where companies are testing product changes, we help them include impact outcomes alongside commercial metrics, so they learn which features improve both returns and social results.
- 05Scale
Report credibly to LPs
We help funds turn portfolio data into impact reporting that LPs can trust: consistent metrics, clear distinction between outputs and outcomes, and candid discussion of limitations. We also build capability in portfolio companies so impact measurement becomes part of how they run the business, not a separate annual exercise.
Deliverables.
What changes.
Who engages us.
We work with impact funds, family offices with impact mandates, foundations making program-related and mission-related investments, development finance teams and mainstream private equity and venture firms building impact or ESG strategies. We also support mission-driven founders in health, education, financial inclusion and community services. Typical moments include developing an impact thesis, pre-investment impact diligence, the first 100 days of setting measurement expectations, preparing annual LP impact reports and planning an exit that preserves the mission.
Industries
Beyond the balance sheet.
This service exists because social good deserves the same rigor as financial return. Our impact investing advisory helps capital reach outcomes that matter to people: better health, more accessible education, greater financial security and stronger communities. We are careful about impact claims, because overstated impact damages trust in the whole field. And we apply behavioral science ethically, helping people do what they already want to do rather than steering them toward outcomes they did not choose.
Frequently asked questions.
What are the IMP five dimensions of impact?
The Impact Management Project framework describes impact through five dimensions: what outcome occurs, who experiences it, how much change happens, the contribution of the enterprise relative to what would have happened otherwise, and the risk that impact differs from expectations. It provides a shared language used widely by impact investors. We use it to structure measurement and reporting, supplemented by behavioral research on how outcomes come about.
How do you use IRIS+ in measurement frameworks?
IRIS+ is a widely used catalog of impact metrics and core metric sets organized by theme. We reference it to select standardized indicators where they fit, which supports comparability and LP reporting. We supplement standardized metrics with company-specific behavioral indicators when those better predict the outcomes that matter, and we explain how the two relate.
Can small portfolio companies realistically measure impact?
Yes, if the framework is proportionate. Early-stage companies cannot run large evaluations, but most can track a few behavioral indicators that lead to outcomes and collect simple outcome data from a sample of the people they serve. We design measurement that fits company resources and grows in rigor as the company scales, rather than imposing a burden that distracts from the business.
Do you help mainstream funds that are not impact funds?
Yes. Many private equity and venture firms want to understand the social effects of their portfolio companies, respond to LP questions or develop a responsible growth approach. We help them identify where portfolio companies affect employees, customers and communities, select practical indicators and integrate them into existing value creation and reporting processes without building a separate impact apparatus.
Often paired with.
Venture Capital & Startup Advisory
Help for venture investors and founders to read early traction honestly, set milestones that matter between rounds, and scale without losing what works.
ExplorePortfolio Value Creation
Predictive KPIs, tested initiatives and leadership support that help portfolio companies grow retention, revenue and capability across the hold period.
ExploreCustomer & Commercial Due Diligence
Customer diligence that reads what buyers actually do: retention by cohort, conversion points, adoption depth and the gap between stated and revealed behavior.
ExploreRelated insights.
Closing the Research-to-Practice Gap
Why good evidence so often fails to change real-world practice, and how knowledge translation, behavioral design and implementation science can close the research-to-practice gap.
Read
The Ethics of Persuasive Technology
Where persuasion ends and manipulation begins in digital products and services, and practical principles for designing behavior change that respects people's interests and autonomy.
ReadReady to talk about impact investing advisory?
Every engagement begins with a conversation. Tell us what you are facing and we will tell you, candidly, how we would approach it.
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