Impact Data Health Check Assessment for Impact Investors

Is your impact data working for you?

Think of impact data like the instrument panel in a car. If the gauges are missing, inconsistent, or only checked once a year, you can still drive, but you can't tell whether you're heading where you promised your LPs you would go. This check helps you see which gauges are working and which need attention.

It's built for fund managers, impact leads, and portfolio teams at impact investing firms of any size.

How to use this health check

Score each statement below based on how your firm operates today, not how you'd like it to operate.

Yes, this is consistently true for us
Sometimes, or for part of our portfolio
Not yet, or I'm not sure

Honest answers make the results useful. If you're unsure, mark it as "Not yet, or I'm not sure" - uncertainty is itself a signal.

Impact Data Health Check Questions

Our impact thesis is written down and shared across the investment team.

Every metric we collect connects to a specific outcome in that thesis.

We distinguish between outputs (what was counted) and outcomes (what changed for people or planet).

We define what "success" looks like for each investment before we close.

We ask each portfolio company for a focused set of core metrics, not an exhaustive list.

We can explain to investees why we need each data point we request.

Our metric definitions align with widely used frameworks where possible, so investees aren't reformatting data for every investor.

Investees submit data through one consistent process, not scattered emails and spreadsheets.

Every core metric has a written definition, unit, and reporting period.

We can compare the same metric across companies and across years.

We have a process to catch errors, gaps, or outliers before data is reported.

Our impact data lives in one place our team can access, not in individual inboxes or files.

Impact data informs investment committee decisions, not just post-investment reporting.

We review impact performance with portfolio companies at least once a year.

We've changed a decision (support, follow-on, exit) based on what our impact data showed.

We share insights back with investees so reporting feels useful to them.

We can produce a portfolio-level impact summary without weeks of manual work.

Our LP reports pair numbers with stakeholder voice (quotes, stories, context).

We report candidly on what didn't work, not only on wins.

We avoid double-counting or overstating results when aggregating across the portfolio.

Our top priority driving impact reporting work at the moment is...

Results

OVERALL DATA HEALTH SCORE: / 40

Score Breakdown:

Strategy Alignment Score: Request results
Collection & Investee Burden Score: Request results
Data Quality & Consistency Score: Request results
Learning & Decision Making Score: Request results
Reporting & Storytelling Score: Request results

Interpreting your Overall Score

30-40 Points: Strong - Impact data is a strategic asset. Focus on deepening insight and sharing learning with investees and peers.
16-29 Points: Developing - The foundations exist, but gaps in consistency or use limit what the data can tell you. Pick one or two sections to strengthen this year.
0-15 Points: Foundational - Data is collected mainly to satisfy reporting requirements. Start with strategy alignment: clarity there makes every other step easier.

See where your biggest opportunity is

Your overall score shows where you stand today. Your section breakdown scores show you where to start making improvements.

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Your score in each of the five functional areas
Five practical quick wins, one for each area, to help your team collect less, learn more, and put impact data to work in real decisions

10-Minute Impact Data Health Check