These awards exist to provide recognition to any nominees that were either not shortlisted or did not win in their respective categories, but that are contributing materially to the development of the impact investing market through their impact investing intervention. Such awards can be made by the judging panel at its discretion.
60 Decibels
About
60 Decibels intermediates in the impact investing industry primarily through its innovative and tech-enabled impact measurement services.
They offer actionable, comparable social performance data to over 1,000 organisations, with the aim of facilitating a deeper understanding among investors about the social and environmental outcomes of their investments.
Through its Core Insights framework, 60 Decibels provides a standardised yet customisable approach to measuring impact across sectors, enabling impact investors to conduct a detailed assessment of the effectiveness of their investments.
In addition to its bespoke services for clients, 60 Decibels contributes to the development of broader impact investing ecosystem through its public-facing work. By making robust, aggregated data publicly available, 60 Decibels helps to elevate the standards and practices of impact investing, encouraging more informed, effective and strategic decisions across the value chain.
The problem
Social impact data forms the cornerstone of impact measurement and management, a critical enabler for successful impact investing. However, the measurement and management of impact data is complex and requires specialist expertise and appropriate methodologies and approaches to ensure the data is credible and risks of ‘impact washing’ are avoided. Industry reports and academic research have consistently highlighted the challenges of measuring and managing impact effectively, citing these as significant barriers to the growth and credibility of impact investing.
60 Decibels works to enhance the accuracy, comparability, and actionability of social impact data.
Scalability
The scalability of 60 Decibels’ model lies in its adaptability – a feature refined over time through experience across several markets.
As 60 Decibels expanded, the organisation encountered the complexities of scaling and responded to these challenges by refining its model to enable analysts to specialise in specific sectors and regions, enhancing insights and service quality.
Recognising the diverse needs of its clientele, it introduced a tiered pricing model, offering core insights that work for smaller entities with tighter budgets, while providing comprehensive portfolio level analysis suitable for larger organisations.
What makes 60 Decibels unique?
60 Decibels employs an innovative approach to impact data collection and analysis, which enables the assessment of both the breadth and depth of impact. Core components of the approach include:
Localised data collection: 60 Decibels utilises local researchers to gather primary data, ensuring authenticity and relevance.
Speed and scalability: Through its tech-enabled platform, 60 Decibels can deploy surveys and collect insights faster than traditional methods, providing timely data to investors.
Benchmarks and comparative insights: With deep benchmarks across multiple sectors gathered over nearly a decade, 60 Decibels allows investors to compare their impact over time and against peers, driving a competitive edge in social performance.
Customised yet standardised methodology: The Core Insights approach allows for both consistency in measurement across investments and the flexibility to tailor to the specific context of an investment, striking a balance that is hard to find elsewhere.
Addressing challenges
As a market intermediary, 60 Decibels faces numerous risks that could prevent it from achieving its intended social outcomes, or that could lead to unintended negative consequences. Key impact risks that the organisation actively mitigates include:
| 1
Data quality and integrity |
The accuracy of impact data is crucial. Poor data quality can lead to incorrect conclusions and decisions. | To address this, 60 Decibels employs stringent quality control measures, uses standardised questions vetted for different contexts, and trains local researchers extensively to ensure reliability and validity in data collection. |
| 2
Inadequate representation |
There is a risk that the voices captured in surveys may not fully represent the target population. | 60 Decibels mitigates this by employing a statistically significant and diverse sample size, ensuring inclusivity in language, gender, geography and socioeconomic status. |
| 3
Cultural contextualisation |
Without proper localisation, insights may not be culturally relevant or appropriate. | 60 Decibels counteracts this by engaging local researchers who understand the cultural nuances, which helps in framing questions
appropriately and interpreting answers correctly. |
| 4
Response bias |
Beneficiaries might provide answers they think researchers want to hear, rather than their true feelings. | To reduce this risk, 60 Decibels trains researchers in neutral questioning techniques and establishes trust with respondents to encourage honest feedback. |
| 5
Changes in external environment |
External events can affect the effectiveness of an intervention. |
60 Decibels stays adaptive by regularly updating its benchmarks and insights to reflect current realities, and by being responsive to new information and trends. |
|
6 Ethical concerns |
There is an inherent risk of breaching ethical considerations in impact measurement. |
60 Decibels upholds strict ethical standards in research, ensures informed consent, protects the privacy and confidentiality of data and employs non-intrusive data collection methods. The organisation never shares information about the respondent without their written consent. |
By actively managing these risks, 60 Decibels aims to ensure that its work reliably supports organisations in achieving genuine, sustainable impact and avoids unintended harm.
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