We spoke to Ildiko Almasi Simsic – a distinguished social development specialist with 15 years’ experience in the realm of development finance. She has worked with organisations such as the World Bank and The World Health Organisation. Ildiko is author of What Is A Social Impact? which is a comprehensive guide to achieving social sustainability. She is Founder of E&S solutions which has developed the world’s first E&S specific research assistant – myESRA™ which saves hours on ESG research.
What inspired you to write your book on social impact?
I was working as a social specialist focused on project and site-specific impact assessments and I found the messages coming from the broader sustainability industry confusing on social impacts. I noticed, that while we are using the same terminology (social impact, data, assessment …), we are all talking about very different things. I was convinced that social performance practitioners, like myself, could greatly improve the definitions and planning and measurement of social impact by applying the academic methodology that is used for social impact assessments (SIA).
Can you share a particular moment or experience that deeply influenced your perspective on the issues you discuss in the book?
Whilst I witnessed the ESG and sustainability industries develop, I rarely saw them overlap directly. I had two clients that applied for loans from development finance institutions and who had to undergo our risk based social impact assessment. They had no qualified team members who understood our industry language, so I had to find innovative ways to explain what it is we do, and how it is different from CSR initiatives. Safeguarding against social risks that are a direct consequence of a company’s operations are very different than the other initiatives that are intended to create positive social impacts in a proactive manner, regardless of the company’s leverage. As an example, a company was more than willing to pay for CSR initiatives, but refused to pay compensation for impacts on people’s livelihoods that were directly related to their operations.
What do you think makes your book stand out from other books on social impact?
Social entrepreneurship has changed since I first studied it at university, as more and more companies embrace sustainability as part of their core business operations.
Social impact tools such as CSR, ESG, social impact bonds and social outcome contracts have been well studied on their own, but there was no comparative study that examined how they overlap or differ. There was also no clear definition of scope, context, purpose and timing – which are the first things we look at in a social impact assessment.
My book seems to be the first to offer an SIA practitioner’s perspective which looks broadly at all the social impact tools and how businesses and individuals can use them to really make a difference.
Can you discuss the key message or takeaway you hope readers will gain from your book?
When you start your social impact journey, ask yourself whether you look at site specific (micro) or portfolio level (macro) impacts. Are you responding to operations related social risks, or do you aim to proactively create positive social impacts? Risk-based approaches start with the potential risks of operational impacts while proactive impact initiatives choose a social issue and provide support for that. How much leverage do you have over the outcome? In other words, are you directly or indirectly responsible for the results? How well are you defining your communities and how transparent are you with your impact narrative? There is room for improvement when it comes to defining impacts, harmonising indicators and methodologies for measurement. We are often trying to compare apples and pears and focus too much on quantitative indicators.
What future projects or topics related to social impact are you considering exploring next?
My company, E&S Solutions has just developed the industry’s first AI-powered research assistant, myESRA, that is connected to a vast environmental and social knowledge data base. The solution came to me while thinking about my own problems in accessing socio-economic baseline data, country legislation on land/expropriation, or access to specialised industry research studies for the countries where I work.
