and promoting collaboration for investment projects through their ingenuities and approaches. The guidelines are expected to encourage investment practices and dialogue among investors, financial institutions and companies, which may consequently further enrich their experiences and expertise.” 94 What makes the guidelines important is that they offer advice to philanthropy, impact investors, and ESG investors. They call out the need for a Theory of Change and as well as the need to capture positive and unintended outcomes. What is missing is explicit language mentioning the community or individuals—the beneficiaries—who are enjoying the fruits of a positive investment and who bear the brunt of negative impacts. The guidelines speak to “dialogue among investors, financial institutions, and companies” to support ongoing understanding of how the business develops and achieves both social/environmental and financial objectives—which then creates a “positive feedback loop” of social or environmental benefits and financial returns. 95 Expanding the language of the regulations to include clear language on beneficiaries and community involvement is important to reinforce the intention of partnering with community. Learn from Colleagues and Peers Japan is very fortunate to already have a network of people with significant experience in defining impact from a beneficiary and systems change perspective. Many of these leaders and organizations have been supported by SIIF and are members of GSG Impact Japan. A few highlights include: n SIIF staff and leadership walk in multiple worlds and speak the language of social change and finance. Nanako Kudo, Fumi Sugeno, and Mitsuaki Aoyagi, Vice-chair of SIIF’s executive committee, understand the importance of the social sector to define impact. They have worked for international development, social sector, and philanthropy—in addition to finance and business. Hataraku Fund has tried to use IMM practices that capture the impact on beneficiaries and continues to deepen this process. The experience is described in greater detail in the case Insights into Japan’s First Impact Funds.
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Ten Years in the Making
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