8 July 2020

CDC publishes its approach to aligning with the Operating Principles for Impact Management

We’re pleased to publish our approach to aligning with the Operating Principles for Impact Management. The Principles were launched to harmonise the different approaches to measuring development impact with the aim of giving a clearer picture of progress globally.

Our statement includes an independent assessment by Tideline Advisors, a certified women-owned advisory firm in impact investing, which judges CDC to have ‘advanced’ alignment with the majority of the Principles.

In our statement, we outline the measures we’ve taken over the past year to meet the Principles. This includes developing an overarching Impact Framework that provides for a consistent approach to thinking of and articulating development impact across sectors and products.  We’ve also created and published impact dashboards specific to each of our investments that articulate the expected development impact, enabling effective decision-making around impact.

In its assessment, Tideline praises CDC for “deliberate and practical approaches to assessing and articulating its investor contribution for each investment (Principle 3), as well as for selecting impact KPIs (Principle 4) and using these to facilitate comparison of expected and actual impact over time (Principle 6).”

We’re a founding signatory to the Principles. As well as providing a reference point against which the impact management systems of investors may be assessed, they also help investors integrate impact considerations throughout the investment life cycle. Launched just over a year ago, over 100 organisations have now signed up to them, with global institutions such as UBS Group and Prudential joining alongside established development finance institutions and impact investors.