Analysis and Measurement of Impact

Analysis and Measurement of Impact supports impact creators and funders in optimizing their social and environmental impact.

This course provides students the opportunity to work with organizations that are focused on achieving impact, including impact for-profits, investment funds, and evaluators.

Topics include current trends and drivers in the impact space, frameworks for measuring impact, financial instruments and techniques for achieving impact, analysis of impact fundamentals, organizational structures for impact, and challenges in fundraising for impact businesses.

Students work on projects to analyze impact investments including private equity and fixed income products, assess the financial viability of an impact business, develop equitable alternative risk assessment metrics, model the economic and social value of outcomes, and evaluate the impacts of an organization.

Jaclyn Foroughi breaks down the criteria impact investors use to choose opportunities and measure their impact.

Project Examples

  • Examine portfolio data alongside one of the leading impact investors and impact measurement innovators to identify key trends across business models, sectors, and/or regions.
  • Analyze and assess an impact investment alongside one of the world’s leading private equity investors.
  • Evaluate a real-time fixed income investment, Blue Bond, or Emissions Reduction-Linked Bond alongside one of the largest for-profit impact asset managers in the world.
  • Support the implementation of an alternative risk rating system for a debt fund focused on social enterprises employing and empowering people overcoming barriers to work.
  • Evaluate various impact measurement approaches across various investment stages to identify best practices across the industry.
  • Analyze the relationship between financial return and racial and ethnic diversity at the fund and portfolio level alongside the largest nonprofit impact investor in the world.

Faculty

Lecturer in Management

Who Should Register

Analysis and Measurement of Impact (ALP 303) is available to the following students:

  • Students with a strong interest in analyzing financial, environmental, and social returns from impact investments
  • MBA and MSx students at Stanford GSB
  • Other Stanford graduate students with a good understanding of financial or data analytic techniques, and an interest in impact or other mission-focused enterprises and investments (application required)