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Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs

Metrics and Impact

About ANDE's Metrics Work
Demonstrating that investing in small and growing businesses provides social and environmental impact is at the core of ANDE’s mission.  ANDE supports its members by providing the following resources to help measure the impact of their work in supporting small and growing business (SGBs).

Standards for Social and Environmental Performance:
ANDE has developed a strategic partnership with the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) initiative, which is a collaborative effort to provide a system to collectively capture and manage impact investing, benchmark performance, and assess overall social and environmental impact.  Learn more about ANDE’s partnership with IRIS and check out version 2.0 of the IRIS standards.

Impact Assessment:
ANDE members have the opportunity to work with ANDE’s Impact Assessment Manager on their metrics and evaluations efforts.  This includes incorporating an impact framework into their work, adopting and utilizing the IRIS taxonomy within their collection and reporting processes, and reporting their impact in an aggregated format. Members who contribute to the IRIS repository will also get the opportunity to learn more about the performance of their work against that of contributed standards when the repository is available in 2012.  Please contact Saurabh Lall to learn more.

ANDE Core Metrics:
One of the ANDE governing principles is for all members to participate in reporting common social and financial indicators to help the sector build understanding of the work that is happening.  Only by reporting common indicators can we provide aggregated data to benchmark individual performance and measure the sector as a whole.  While these indicators only speak to part of the story of the work being done, they form a core baseline when looked at across the ANDE membership.  Over time, this baseline will tell the story of the positive financial, social, and environmental impact that is derived from supporting SGB growth. Click here to see the ANDE Core Metrics.

Metrics and Evaluation Conference:
ANDE hosts a metrics and evaluation conference annually in the late spring to discuss the challenges and best practices of collecting, reporting, and disseminating impact.  This annual conference convenes leading experts on metrics and evaluation and produces dialogue that spurs action. 

ANDE held the third annual Metrics From the Ground Up Conference June 20th and 21st, 2011  in Washington, DC. This conference gathered leading thinkers in the field for an interactive, informative two day workshop.   The focus of the two days was implementing impact tools through a learning lens.   Resources from the conference are available for download below including some of the presentations made during the conference, a participant list and an agenda from the conference.

2010 sessions included conversations on Social Impact Frameworks, Tools, and Practical Applications, New Tools: Pulse, GIIRS and IRIS, and Cultivating a Performance Management Culture.

ANDE Impact Report:
ANDE publishes an annual impact report which produces sector level data on the impact small and growing businesses have in our world as well as the specific impact our members are having.  View the 2010 Impact Report here.

Check out these additional metrics and evaluation resources to learn more about other initiatives that are benefitting our members:

  • Impact Reporting & Investment Standards
  • Global Impact and Investing Rating System (GIIRS) - GIIRS is a standardized rating system that generates an easily digestible single value for scoring an impact organization and/or impact investment fund.  ANDE proudly reports that 9 of the 12 emerging market pioneer funds are ANDE members.
  • Pulse is a flexible metric recording and performance management tool that is built on the IRIS taxonomy