I entered the Sustainable Investing Research Consulting Project course with no working experience in impact investing or consulting. I leave it with an elevated understanding of both.
It was a pleasure to admire the efforts of the existing impact investing ecosystem while also looking at it through a critical lens.
As mentioned in my previous blog, my team’s client sought to revolutionize the industry by adding a nontraditional pillar to its theory of change. Various challenges and learning opportunities accompanied this goal.
From attempting to benchmark traditional metrics for an unprecedented purpose to creating a consistent framework that aligned with the client’s diverse impact themes, internal evaluation of success, and desired communication to the retail investor, the project tested our creativity and intellectual flexibility. Analyzing what an impact investing firm is capable of based on its impact goals, portfolio composition, and size is something I feel more comfortable doing. This is a big step from the version of myself who once had to search for basic terminology definitions!
On the other hand, the learning experience gave me a wealth of knowledge on teamwork. The importance of developing, following, and adapting project timelines was highlighted as the dynamic nature of our scope and client communication were not easy to track with the ongoing semester.
Most enlightening was the social progress within our group. At the onset, working together was not so natural but having conversations about who we are as people got the gears shifting in a healthy manner. My team made the execution of this project as enriching as possible, from start to finish. We like to think that we contributed to an endeavor that will one day make the world a better place.