Impact investing refers to investments made with the intention of generating positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. The aim is to move from extractive to generative finance, which puts people at the centre, avoids speculative drift and manages to combine the pursuit of profit with social and environmental protection, restoring a more positive relationship with the planet and society. As a designer, I was interested in understanding what role design could play in this process, particularly in the context of impact venture capital funds. At first, the connection seemed clear: impact investing contributes to social innovation by using investment to support positive systemic change in society. In this context, design has played a leading role in recent years in driving social and systemic innovation, setting strategies and developing new types of services. But here is the challenge: if the connection is so intuitive and strong, why isn’t design being embraced by these organisations? Of all the funds analysed, only a few had a designer on their staff, and not always in a design role. In the vast majority, designers are absent, and this applies not only to the Italian context, but also to the European one. Design methods are used occasionally, mainly through the contribution of participatory practices or for communication purposes. So far, design has little to do with impact VC funds. The research then focused on exploring the possible contributions that designers can bring to the sector by being directly involved in the core activities of the funds. Through literature review, context analysis, interviews and co-design sessions with experts, I developed 8 contributions that design can bring to Impact VC funds, which I present in the booklet “Why hire designers in Impact VC funds?”. The project has a dual purpose: to help organisations envision the benefits that designers can bring to their activities, and to show designers their potential role in impact investing. By informing and inspiring, the project aims to increase opportunities for the adoption of design in the impact sector, providing evidence and case studies of its effectiveness and transformative potential.
Per impact investing si fa riferimento ad investimenti effettuati con l’intento di generare un impatto sociale e ambientale positivo e misurabile assieme a un ritorno finanziario. L’obiettivo è quello di passare da una finanza estrattiva a una generativa, che metta al centro le persone, eviti le derive speculative e riesca a coniugare la ricerca del profitto con la tutela sociale e ambientale, ripristinando un rapporto più positivo con il pianeta e la società. Come designer, ero interessato a comprendere quale ruolo potesse avere il design in questo processo, in particolare nel contesto dei fondi di venture capital ad impatto. All’inizio il collegamento sembrava chiaro: l’impact investing si occupa di innovazione sociale utilizzando gli investimenti per supportare cambiamenti sistemici positivi nella società. In questo contesto, negli ultimi anni il design ha svolto un ruolo di primo piano nel guidare processi di innovazione sociale e sistemica, definendo strategie e sviluppando nuove tipologie di servizi. Ma ecco la sfida: se la connessione tra i due ambiti risulta così forte e intuitiva, perché il design non viene adottato da queste organizzazioni? Tra tutti i fondi analizzati solo pochi hanno un designer nel loro staff, e non sempre questi svolgono mansioni afferenti al design. Nella larga maggioranza i designer sono assenti, e questo vale non solo per il contesto italiano, ma anche per quello europeo. I metodi del design vengono utilizzati occasionalmente, soprattutto attraverso il contributo di pratiche partecipative o per scopi di comunicazione. Ad oggi, il design ha poco a che fare con i fondi di impact venture capital. La ricerca si è quindi concentrata sull’esplorazione dei possibili contributi che i designer possono apportare al settore venendo direttamente coinvolti nelle attività principali dei fondi. Attraverso la revisione della letteratura scientifica, analisi del contesto, interviste e sessioni di co-design con esperti ho sviluppato 8 contributi che un designer può portare in fondi di impact venture capital. I risultati sono presentati nel booklet “Why hire designers in Impact VC funds?”. Il progetto ha un duplice scopo: aiutare le organizzazioni a comprendere i benefici che i designer possono apportare alle loro attività e mostrare ai designer il loro potenziale ruolo nel settore dell’impact investing. Attraverso la spiegazione di pratiche e casi studio, il progetto mira ad aumentare le opportunità di adozione del design in fondi di impact venture capital, e ispirare una nuova generazione di designer a perseguire una carriera nel settore impact.
The roles of designers in impact VC funds : 6 (+2) contributions that design can bring to impact venture capital
Caon, Massimo
2023/2024
Abstract
Impact investing refers to investments made with the intention of generating positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. The aim is to move from extractive to generative finance, which puts people at the centre, avoids speculative drift and manages to combine the pursuit of profit with social and environmental protection, restoring a more positive relationship with the planet and society. As a designer, I was interested in understanding what role design could play in this process, particularly in the context of impact venture capital funds. At first, the connection seemed clear: impact investing contributes to social innovation by using investment to support positive systemic change in society. In this context, design has played a leading role in recent years in driving social and systemic innovation, setting strategies and developing new types of services. But here is the challenge: if the connection is so intuitive and strong, why isn’t design being embraced by these organisations? Of all the funds analysed, only a few had a designer on their staff, and not always in a design role. In the vast majority, designers are absent, and this applies not only to the Italian context, but also to the European one. Design methods are used occasionally, mainly through the contribution of participatory practices or for communication purposes. So far, design has little to do with impact VC funds. The research then focused on exploring the possible contributions that designers can bring to the sector by being directly involved in the core activities of the funds. Through literature review, context analysis, interviews and co-design sessions with experts, I developed 8 contributions that design can bring to Impact VC funds, which I present in the booklet “Why hire designers in Impact VC funds?”. The project has a dual purpose: to help organisations envision the benefits that designers can bring to their activities, and to show designers their potential role in impact investing. By informing and inspiring, the project aims to increase opportunities for the adoption of design in the impact sector, providing evidence and case studies of its effectiveness and transformative potential.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/226836