How Common Approach is supporting the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund
A strong social finance and social innovation ecosystem must have impact measurement that is relevant, trustworthy, community-driven, inclusive, achievable, and interoperable.
Common Approach is proud to be working with Realize Capital Partners in support of the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund. We will support the co-creation of an impact measurement approach that empowers SPOs. This work will be done in collaboration with stakeholders, including Fonds de finance sociale – CAP Finance and Boann Social Impact.
Common Approach’s role
Common Approach will support the development of flexible, shareable impact measurement that is focused on social purpose organizations (SPOs). Centering the needs and priorities of SPOs, and empowering them to develop indicators that align best with their work (no standard indicators here!) will result in better impact measurement data for those funding and investing in this work. This work will be achieved through the implementation of the Common Form and Common Impact Data Standard
Learn more about Common Approach’s role within the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund here.
🔍 Further reading:
Read our announcement regarding support of the Social Finance Fund
What Common Approach is and is not
Reading & resources from the impact measurement strategy co-creation
We are happy to be able to share the working materials, including the agendas, consultation notes, presentations and documents, that have arisen from Common Approach’s work with the Wholesalers of the Social Finance Fund.
Our journey towards supporting the Social Finance Fund
2017
Impact Measurement Task Force recommends a “common approach” to impact measurement and publishes a road map.
2019
Common Approach is chosen by Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Investment Readiness Program (IRP) as an ecosystem builder.
2020
Common Approach conducts a one-year consultation with ESDC on impact measurement for the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund.
2021
Social Finance Fund includes Common Approach’s recommendation to use a data standard in prospective fund manager’s expression of interest.
2023
The Common Impact Data Standard is selected to support the impact measurement for the Social Finance Fund.
The Common Form and Common Impact Data Standard
The Common Form and Common Impact Data Standard will be used to make data more flexible and shareable between SPOs, social finance intermediaries (SFIs) and wholesalers. These standards are not fixed indicators, and they do not tell organizations or individuals what data to collect.
The Common Form provides a set of organizational information, organized into a profile, for incorporation into software platforms and websites that are aligned with the Common Approach standards. The information is presented in a standard, accessible and interoperable format.
This information is essential for using the Common Impact Data Standard, which provides a standardized way to represent impact data and enable the exchange of impact information. The Data Standard is accessible through aligned softwares. We are working hard to align software used in the finance ecosystem with the Data Standard. It’s important to note that the Common Approach standards provide guidance on how organizations can gather and share their own stored data. At no point in the usage of the standards does Common Approach collect or hold this data.
The Common Impact Data Standard allows users to access the Common Framework. Common Approach will be available on request to advise SFIs and fund managers on using the Common Form and Data Standard to “roll up” dissimilar indicators. We will work with fund managers and SFIs to make the process easy, with the ultimate objective of creating low-burden processes for SPOs.
The list of softwares aligning with Common Approach is growing!
Keep an eye on the website for new additions to our aligned softwares. We are eager to get software used in the finance ecosystem aligned. If you are already using software you’d like to see align, or are a software developer interested in learning more about how your software can align with the Common Impact Data Standard, please get in touch at info@commonapproach.org.
Transparency
We are committed to being community-driven and transparent. We embrace backseat drivers. So if you are watching what we’re doing and have a unique perspective, please be in touch. We are here to listen.
In this spirit, we will be providing a public record of our working materials, including the agendas, consultation notes, presentations and documents.
-from the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund backgrounder
