STEWARD REDQUEEN

Beginning 2019 we brought together a few DFIs to explore opportunities to align approaches on indirect impact modelling. Identifying indirect impacts is a key aspect of understanding the developmental effects of investments. However, understanding and measuring these impacts for a full portfolio of investments is complex.

At that time, we already supported several DFIs with developing a model to measure these impacts, particularly job impacts. Although the methodology of these models was the same, individual approaches of organisations differed. Each organisation had its own focus areas and applied its own assumptions: some organisations measured total jobs supported, others the change in jobs; some organisations included all impacts related to their investee, other attributed these impacts to their invested amount; some organisations used data at time of commitment, others used monitoring data.

These differences strengthened public scrutiny on jobs’ numbers. Due to a lack of transparency on assumptions and methodologies, numbers were hard to interpret and compare. Furthermore, exchange on improvements and learnings was limited.
Together with FMO, CDC, Proparco, AfDB, BIO and FinDev Canada we set up a coalition of the willing, and developed a harmonised model to measure and report on indirect impacts, the JIM. We agreed to make the model publicly available and take a collaborative approach.

Going forward we aim to continuously improve and expand the JIM, together with users and external experts. Elements that deserve particular attention are enabling impacts of infrastructure investments, improving ex-ante quantifications, and relieving some constraints and limitations of the IO methodology.

We welcome you to join the discussion!