Thrive, the social impact measurement platform, recently announced Dr Daniel Fujiwara’s appointment as its Head of Economics. He will lead Thrive’s in-house Economics Team, deepening the economic expertise that already underpins the Impact Evaluation Standard.
Dr Fujiwara authored the chapters on valuation in the HM Treasury Green Book, which underpins how the UK Government appraises social outcomes, as well as co-authoring various supplementary guidelines such as on wellbeing analysis and for the Department for Work and Pensions. He is internationally recognised for his work pioneering new methods in social value such as wellbeing valuation, distributional weights, equity analysis and econometric methods, and previously founded social value research consultancy Simetrica.
The announcement comes as boards, investors and contracting authorities are pushing for more rigour in social impact and data they can defend in front of an audit committee and the social value discipline wants to more clearly understand the wellbeing outcomes of their interventions. Daniel’s appointment will help businesses deliver greater social value impact through highly credible economic reporting and analysis.
“Social impact is maturing. Boards and investors want the same rigour from social data that they expect from financial accounts. They need numbers that can support investment decisions, not just stories that read well in a report. The Impact Evaluation Standard already sets the methodological pace in this market, and Daniel’s appointment further deepens the economic expertise behind it. His role is to keep pushing that pace.”
Neil MacDonald, CEO, Thrive
The Economics Team will lead the next phase of the Impact Evaluation Standard, Thrive’s independently governed measurement framework. The Impact Evaluation Standard is already aligned with the Green Book and with the UK Government’s Social Value Model.
Thrive’s focus for the year ahead is to move the industry forward on rigour and on a clearer view of the wellbeing outcomes that social value interventions actually produce. The team’s output will be shared through successive Impact Evaluation Standard updates, including extending the Standard’s applicability to a wider range of international markets.
“Social value measurement is ready to raise the bar on rigour, and on how clearly it captures the wellbeing outcomes that interventions actually deliver. Building on the Green Book methodology and rigorous statistical analysis is where the discipline needs to go, and the Impact Evaluation Standard is the right vehicle to take that work to scale.”
Dr Daniel Fujiwara, Head of Economics, Thrive
The appointment comes alongside a significant expansion of Thrive’s consultancy capability, giving customers access to advice from social value strategy through to assurance. The Economics Team will also anchor a new economics consultancy offer, providing bespoke advisory support on valuation, methodology design and the evidence base behind social impact claims. These moves all contribute towards Thrive’s wider goal of bringing the “S” of ESG up to the rigour of the “E” and the “G”.
