One would think that the most challenging aspect of this project would have been the sheer scale of the research. And that would not be inaccurate.
But I quickly realized that two more basic challenges represented an underlying problem that simply had to be figured out before the compiling of information could begin in earnest.
1.) WHAT ARE WE GOING TO CALL ALL OF THESE THINGS? Many of them already had their own names, obviously, but the names were used differently and/or interchangeably across sectors. This created problems. And so a glossary <insert link> became a need.
2.) HOW ARE WE GOING TO ORGANIZE ALL OF THESE THINGS? Social Finance mashes together multiple fields of practice (finance, economics, social work, research, and public policy, to name a few) which have each stood on their own for centuries, if not millennia. Mix them together and the organizing frameworks, even principles, for each get confusing very quickly. And so an integrated taxonomy became a need.
I’ve worked extensively with websites and so the concept of taxonomies isn’t foreign to me. I started to think of this social finance taxonomy as piles. And folders within those piles. The piles are the domains (the top row across the matrix). The folders are the categories within each pile (the columns of the matrix organized under each domain). And that’s how I set to work. Sorting, moving, regrouping, refining, until I [think I] arrived at a system that works.
Through it all, there was one guiding question, “What single framework can intuitively capture both the current state of the field as well as all future versions?”
The litmus test for the framework was the research I was doing every day. I first worked through the entire index of Social Finance (Nicholls, Paton, Emerson). And then started folding in journal articles, organizational profiles, SIB prospectus materials, and the like. After dozens of iterations (currently on version 62), below appears my best guess. Please know that this is a work in progress and will be revised further.
Many of these items appear (or could appear) in multiple categories under different domains. When unsure, I defaulted to placing the item in the domain/category where they are most actively part of the process.
| SERVICES (PROVIDERS) | INVESTORS | COMMISSIONERS | PARTNERS | LOCATION(S) | RESOURCES |
| The categories that encompass the providers and types of services used | Those who assume the primary financial risk/reward | The lead entity catalyzing the process | Additional parties who are integral to the SIB process | The physical place(s) where services are delivered | Tools and resources drawn from to inform the process |
| Workforce Development | Bank | Multi-National Government Multiple nations working together | Advisors | Global Continent | Measurement, Evaluation, & Methodology |
| Homeless & Housing | Foundation | National Government Country, Federal | Intermediaries | National Country | Templates |
| Children & Family | Philanthropists | Regional Government State, Province, District | Evaluators And the evaluation methods used | Regional State, Province, District | Publications |
| Health & Wellness | Venture Capital | Local Government County, City | Technical Assistance | Local County, City | Events |
| Justice | Private Equity Hedge Fund Family Office Trust | Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) | Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) | Hyperlocal Community, Zip Code(s), Street | Learning |
| Education | Government | Inter-Governmental Organization (IGO) | Fiduciary | Trade Groups | |
| Agriculture | Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) | Public Policy | |||
| Environment | Inter-Governmental Organization (IGO) World Bank (WB) United Nations (UN) | Advocacy | |||
| Aging | Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | ||||
| Transportation |
Additional Components / Questions:
– Will crowdfunding become a future investment mechanism?
– What role(s) will blockchain technology play both for investment, and – more likely – for measurement/evaluation/validation?
– Are SDGs in the correct place?
– Ensure that Services are aligned according to a commonly-accepted grouping (e.g. –
https://www.mcmasterforum.org/docs/default-source/resources/sse_taxonomy.pdf?sfvrsn=4)
Image: myrfa / Pixabay