Business impact on development

Businesses increasingly want to understand, measure, communicate and improve their development impact, often driven by the imperative of ‘sustainable business’ rather than ‘development’ per se.  ODI’s expertise on development issues puts us in a unique position to offer companies in-depth advice on the opportunities and risks faced in developing countries and their potential development impacts.  Donors who collaborate with business also want to show the impact and value for money associated with these partnerships.  

We are working on a wide range of relevant issues, including:

• The impact of corporates – we work with the corporate sector in the UK and overseas to increase understanding of development impact and identify viable ways to improve it.  We analyse sustainable and inclusive business models to assess feasibility and scalability.  In particular we have worked on issues relating to the tourism industry, the extractives industry, the food industry, the financial sector, and the ICT sector.
• Methodologies for measuring and communicating the impact of business activity, and for evaluating business partnerships with donors and NGOs;
• Ethical trade – analyzing the impacts of various ethical and development-related trade initiatives, we provide advice on how development benefits can be maximised;
• Supply chains – from supermarkets to food aid, we assess the supply chains of large organizations sourcing supplies from developing countries to improve development impact.
• Innovative models for engagement between business and donors.