Criterion Institute Library: Tools for Social Finance

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Audiences

Criterion works with investors, governments and civil society organizations to design financial solutions to advance social justice, gender equality, and socio-economic development goals. Explore our work by audience below.

Roadmaps

Our Roadmaps are designed to be comprehensive navigational tools, charting both immediate and extended courses of action, customized to fit the financial mechanisms and ambitions of organizations aiming to make a tangible difference in society.

Cross Cutting Audiences

Criterion's approach transcends traditional sector boundaries, addressing issues relevant to a broad spectrum of stakeholders. We facilitate cross-sector dialogue, encourage collaborative problem-solving, and share knowledge that cuts across industries, fostering understanding and action among diverse groups united by common goals, including faith-based organizations, feminist or women's rights organizations, and leaders in the field of gender lens investing.

Tools

Tools and frameworks that lay out ways in which finance can be used for social change can be useful in sparking new ideas. The tools we build provide the resources to experiment, to engage, and to imagine new possibilities. They provide governments, investors and organizations with the prompts to take apart current structures and systems, and put them back together again in different and more equitable ways. This work is complex and there are no definite solutions; these tools invite you to reflect on and iterate your own organizational path to social change.

Type of Material

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Reframes

Introducing and building consensus in reframes has been a core part of Criterion’s work for years. The reframes we have developed provoke rethinking of how finance operates, thereby paving the way for imagining what might be possible beyond the current state of the field. Many of the below reframes have been used by Criterion for years. Others are emerging as Criterion identifies thinking patterns that are limiting imagination.

Geography

We recognize the critical importance in integrating local perspectives and context into the design and development of any financial intervention. We work with local partners and use feminist research principles that acknowledge the power dynamics within transactions, particularly when investments involve large, international pools of capital.

Campaigns

Criterion's campaigns are focused efforts around a particular systems change opportunity within finance, and span research, design, and field-building. Explore more below.

Pillars of Our Strategic Plan

The five pillars of our 10-year strategic plan represent the systems change we seek to effect in the world.

Approaches

Criterion´s six approaches organize how we get things done day-to-day to challenge systems of power. They are a core part of our theory of change, designed to increase understanding (through teaching and learning), imagination (design and amplification) and will to act (influence and field building).

Governments

Governments play a pivotal role in shaping economic and social policies. Criterion aids these entities by offering expertise in designing finance mechanisms that can drive public goods and enhance social welfare. We share lessons learned from partnerships, pilot projects, and policy implementations to inform and inspire effective governance for donor agencies, multilateral agencies (including UN agencies and international coordinating bodies), national government agencies, and subnational government agencies.

Investors

At Criterion, we engage investors who are not just looking to allocate capital but to catalyze real-world change. We provide research, insights, and tools to support investment decisions that prioritize social outcomes and long-term value creation. Our resources guide investors across various segments, including asset owners, private investors, sovereign funds, pension/superannuation funds, asset managers, IFI | International Financial Institutions, DFI | Development Finance Institutions, MDB | Multilateral Development Banks, and private and public market actors, to build portfolios that reflect their ethical convictions while improving the entire system one institution at a time.

Organizations

We recognize organizations as pillars of progress in our society. Criterion equips them with innovative strategies, impact assessment methodologies, and thought leadership to navigate the complexities of social finance. Our collaborative approach strengthens the capacity for impactful work and systemic influence for international NGOs, national organizations, local civil societies, philanthropic institutions, consulting firms, and academic institutions.

Browse resources for institutions and individuals actively moving capital and committed to creating a more just world, from asset managers and private investors to pension funds and DFIs.

Resources for organizations implementing social change programs or services who want to unlock the power of finance as a tool for change.

Browse resources for leaders in the field of gender lens investing, feminist and women's rights organizations, and faith-based organizations using finance as a tool for social change.

Browse resources for donor agencies, multilaterals and NGOs designing and implementing financial innovations for a more just world.

A feminist financial imagination is a solutions-oriented mindset that facilitates the formation of new ideas, visioning of alternate futures, and uncovering of possibilities that would ensure the power and tools of financial systems are channeled toward advancing gender equality and justice in transformative ways.

The 'Long' roadmap is for strategies requiring extensive timeframes, emphasizing sustained engagement and the gradual implementation of large-scale changes. It's about the long game, building systems and structures for lasting impact.

The 'Short' roadmap focuses on immediate, actionable steps that can be quickly implemented to address urgent needs or to pilot new ideas. It's about agility and swift action, testing and iterating quickly for immediate outcomes.

TOOLKIT is Criterion's signature framework and lays out five strategies which constitute our theory of change for how to use finance for social change. These strategies articulate components of the logic of finance and the social change approach associated with that logic.

Building upon due diligence processes that are standard worldwide, these tools support investors in understanding the risks social issues such as gender-based violence pose to their investments and how they can address them. The guides analyze existing due diligence categories – including political, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks.

Blueprints demonstrate how a variety of social change organizations can design strategies that use systems of finance as tools to create positive social change.

Roadmaps provide guidance on where we see the most significant opportunities to use finance as a tool for change, and what needs to be done to advance those opportunities. This is not a comprehensive solution to gender-based violence, social injustice, or any other social issue. Finance is but one tool in the broader work. We seek to identify opportunities where engaging systems of finance can fit into the broader landscape of social change efforts.

Our mission is to harness finance as a tool for social justice and equality, challenging and reshaping the power dynamics that currently govern financial systems. Criterion inspires and empowers diverse voices, particularly those historically marginalized, to influence and innovate within these systems.

Delve into the transformative journey of gender lens investing, a field where Criterion has been at the forefront, advocating for financial models that inherently support gender equality and social justice. Explore the evolution of gender lens investing with us, understanding the pivotal moments that have shaped this empowering investment strategy.

At the heart of Criterion lies a commitment to redefine who holds influence and whose expertise shapes the future of finance, driving a systemic change towards inclusive metrics of success. Discover how these principles translate into our initiatives and how they can inspire your own journey in impact finance.

Trace our journey from inception to the present, charting the growth and milestones of the Criterion Institute. Join us as we celebrate two decades of pioneering financial solutions for socio-economic development, continue to advocate for a world where financial power is a force for collective good all while reflecting on our past to understand the foundation of our work and envision the future we aim to build together.

Currently, there are no established metrics or frameworks for addressing power inequity and injustice within financial systems. Rethinking the way investors approach and implement standards is one solution. Criterion’s Standards of Practice is a system that makes the negative and usually hidden impacts of power, privilege and bias visible within investment practices, and provides concrete steps to address them in order to increase the likelihood that you will achieve your gender equity or social impact goals.

Issues such as gender and racial inequity, gender-based violence, and LGBTIQ+ discrimination, to name a few, tend to be part of impact or "social" conversations within finance. But there is plenty of evidence showing that inequity and violence in society impacts countries, sectors, and markets.

Gender-based violence affects more than 1 in 3 women worldwide and has deep and lasting impacts across our families, communities, and the economy. It is a core focus of Criterion's work: browse resources to support the design and implementation of strategies that use finance to prevent and mitigate the effects of GBV below.

In the context of finance, Localization is shifting the point of decision making to the closest point where that decision has implications, i.e. where the investment is taking place. Criterion is identifying the ways in which a localization lens enhances and informs a gender lens to lead to stronger social impact and financial returns - explore our learnings below.

Criterion is developing a translation function within the system of finance to close the capacity gap that currently exists between gender and finance. The goal is for contextualized knowledge and data about gender and social issues to be used to inform investment analysis and the development of market ecosystems.

Investing in children offers an incredible opportunity for transformative impact. And yet, while it has been the focus of billions of development and investor dollars to date, the field of investing in children hasn’t yet been formalized, making it difficult to bridge silos and work at a systemic level. This stream of work is designed to build the field of child lens investing and help connect the dots between finance and child wellbeing.

1K Churches was an ecumenical initiative to build a base of congregations and individuals committed to discovering God’s Economy and transforming our own. Through participating in a Bible study and making an investment in micro-businesses in their local communities, church members explored their individual and institutional call as economic actors. The name “1K Churches” came from the vision that by 2017, one thousand churches across the U.S. would be actively engaged, making this initiative a movement.

Criterion has built and nurtured thousands of relationships with actors across government, investment and social change organizations. Working with different groups to understand and influence how and where they see possibilities in systems of finance is a key part of our work. Below you can find materials on influence campaigns, or insights about what we've learned about influencing different groups to shift their mindsets and motivations within systems of finance.

Field building frames the goals of the field and shapes how the collective thinks, acts and comes together. Field building resources - such as maps of the field, terminology, and power dynamics - can help a set of actors see themselves as part of a whole, and use the momentum and power of that whole to push for systems change.

Our work amplifies new thinking on critical issues and elevates underrepresented voices to foster equity and inclusion. By highlighting important narratives, we seek to inform and inspire a broader audience around the possibilities of disrupting power dynamics and using finance to create social change. Amplification is also an avenue for sharing emerging, unfinished ideas with the world to invite people into a conversation and refine our thinking.

At Criterion, our learning is directed toward understanding more and more how the world creates social change by using or shaping systems of finance. Broadly this encompasses three areas of enquiry: 1) making sense of how systems change, 2) understanding our audiences and 3) reflecting on the 'how' of systems change work.

In design, we innovate approaches to using finance to create social change. In this section, you will find resources on how specific processes, structures and analyses in finance could be used to create social change in a particular context. In some cases this will include tangible demonstrations or case studies, as well as many insights that lay the groundwork for innovation to happen.

There is a general assumption that the inequities and injustices facing us today are intractable. This is part of the problem and cedes too much power to those defending the status quo. We need to envision a future that truly does work for all and design investment strategies that will help us achieve it. Criterion’s methodology will analyze a future in which the arc of history truly does bend toward justice.

Criterion trains and provides tools that support individuals and institutions to have the competence and confidence to use finance as a tool for social change. Our teaching begins with the reframe that finance is a system that people made up, and therefore people can change it. Our two signature training programs, 1K Churches and TOOLKIT, take apart how things work now to show that they could work in a new way. In this section, people who work in finance will find (sometimes challenging) guidance for how they can address power dynamics in their investment processes. People who work in social change organizations, many of whom find finance alienating and opaque, will find resources that help them to use finance as a tool for change and invite financial imagination.

Finance cannot create a more just world in a silo; it must be guided by those with deep knowledge and experience of how social change happens. Placing emphasis on those whose voices have traditionally been left out of financial design and decision making, we equip change makers with tools and strategies for how their expertise and skills can influence financial systems and inform new financial interventions.

Criterion has made a long-term commitment to demonstrating that finance can be used to address gender-based violence. This focus on a single issue area, albeit one with complex intersections with other issues, enables us to go deep in a content area and model new interventions.

More actors are calling for intersectional approaches to investment that bring an anti-racist, anti-colonialist, and anti-ableist lens to financial design and decision-making. Criterion is working to shift the narratives that influence innovative finance to better address how power, privilege, and bias impact the field.

As innovative finance is becoming increasingly core to development programs, many government actors are questioning how their financing strategies can support the full intent of their policy objectives. Criterion equips government bodies and advocacy groups to utilize existing social policies to raise the bar for innovative finance initiatives.

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Full Study or Report

Putting Nutrition on the Plate

April 23, 2024

In this report, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Criterion Institute have partnered to highlight the critical opportunities that child-lens investors can unlock by embedding a strong nutrition focus within their work.

Library

Resources and Publications

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Content Type

Putting Nutrition on the Plate

How Coralus Use Their Power to Address Privilege and Bias in Investment Practice

Implementation Guides: 5 Investment Pathways for Congregations

Gender Lens Investing

6 Areas of Activity

Web3 Solutions for Social Change

GBV Approaches to Investing: Catalytic Strategies

GBV Approaches to Investing: ESG Integration

GBV Approaches to Investing: Thematic Strategies

#025: Choirs of Change: Harmonizing Finance for Systemic Impact

#024: The Power of Informality: Redefining Innovation Over Tea

#023: Systemic Shifts: Rethinking Risk in Investment Strategies

#022: Navigating Paradoxes: Competition, Collaboration, and Systemic Change

#021: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: Designing an Investment Thesis

#020: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: The Costs of Doing Business

#019: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: GBVH Risk

#018: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: An Introduction

#017: A Lens to See (Unintended Consequences) More Clearly

#016: We Made This System Up, We Can Change It.

#000: Welcome, Here’s What You Can Expect from this Podcast

#015: The Core Pillars of Our Strategic Plan: Unleashing the Power of Policy

#014: The Core Pillars of Our Strategic Plan: Reframing Narratives in Innovative Finance

#013: Stories of Relationships

#012: Valuing Expertise

#011: Five strategies for using finance for social change

#010: A Couple Rants on Innovative Finance

#009: Wandering Around Wondering

#008: Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: An Opportunity for Change?

#007: Knowledge and Power. Part One.

#006: Why the Future Matters in Finance

#005: Imagining Alternative Futures and Contingencies

#004: Designing an Investment Thesis for Gender Lens Investing

#003: Bringing Financial Imagination to the Afghanistan Crisis

#002: Checking Our Power in the Work of Building Fields

#001: Fix the Capital, Not the Company. Part One.

Insights and Invitations

Gender Search Fund

Systems Change Training: March Session

Systems Change Training: February Session

TOOLKIT Workshop – March 20, 2023

Insights and Invitations

Online Event: What does it look like to design vehicles that disrupt power?

Ottawa TOOLKIT

Toronto-TOOLKIT

Convergence XX: All Things Systems

ARISE Closing Session

Criterion Institute Office Hours - March 16, 2023

Systems Change Training - October 2023

Systems Change Training - July 2023

Systems Change Training - May 2023

Open Dialogue Series: Shaping the Field of Gender Lens Investing - March 13, 2023

TOOLKIT Workshop - January 2023

Insights and Invitations - Nov 2022

Gender Lens Investing Training

Convergence XVIII: Financing the Reduction of Gender-based Violence

November 1-2 Gender-Smart Investing Summit (London, UK)

Gender Lens Investing Field-Building Event: Jakarta, Indonesia

TOOLKIT Training

Systems Change Training

Roadmap for Development Finance Institutions: Strategies to Address Gender-based Violence

Shifting Power Dynamics to End Sexual Exploitation in Kenyan Supply Chains

Tracking Norms Change as Market Risk in Public Equities

A Roadmap for Private Investors: Investing to Address Gender-based Violence

Gender-based Violence and Political Risk Analysis

Roadmap for Christian Denominations to Use Finance to Reduce Gender-based Violence

Valuing the State of Victoria’s (Australia) Plan to End Family Violence Impact on Investment Opportunities

Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Direct Investments in the Safety Sector

Incorporating a Gender-Based Violence Lens in Development Finance Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks’ Infrastructure Investments

Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Kenya Through Targeted Investments

Creating a Holding Company to Bolster Gender-Based Violence Direct Service Providers’ Power

Common Standards on Gender-Based Violence for Private Companies

Direct investments in media companies that aim to change gender norms

Reinterpreting Data to Assess the Risk of Gender-Based Violence in Public Equities

Financing the Reduction of Gender-Based Violence Through a Private Investors’ lens

Common Standards on GBV for Public Companies

Types of Violence