Foreword and acknowledgements

New and innovative approaches are needed for addressing social and economic challenges. Social impact investment seeks to leverage innovation and apply measurement rigor to achieve social outcomes. This approach has become increasingly relevant in today’s economic setting as social challenges have mounted while public funds in many countries are under pressure. Interest in social impact investment has grown considerably across several OECD countries including the G7 and G20. The field of social impact investment is expanding rapidly with a growing number of players entering the market. At the same time, greater knowledge about social impact investment as well as evidence about market activity and outcomes achieved to date are needed. The OECD social impact investment initiative is therefore timely as it aims to inform OECD member countries as well as non-OECD economies about developments in this area and the potential role of policy.