With the growing popularity of impact investing, more and more investors are looking to develop analysis skills in this area. Fortunately, in the internet age, there are a number of free and valuable online courses available for impact analysis training. These courses cover essential knowledge of impact investment, teach widely-used analysis frameworks, and provide opportunities to apply analysis skills in real case studies. By taking these courses, impact investors can improve their understanding of impact models, metrics and measurement, as well as strengthen their ability to evaluate impact investment opportunities.
Coursera course ‘Business Strategies for Social Impact’ explaining key concepts of impact investing
The Coursera course ‘Business Strategies for Social Impact’ from University of Pennsylvania provides a comprehensive introduction to impact investing. It explains important concepts like social enterprises, impact measurement, and innovative financing structures in detail through videos, readings and quizzes. Learners can understand the landscape of players in impact investing and evaluation methods of social impact. This fundamental knowledge equips investors with conceptual frameworks to analyze potential impact investment projects.
‘Mapping Outcomes for Social Impact’ teaching widely-used analysis methodologies
Another great Coursera course for impact analysis training is ‘Mapping Outcomes for Social Impact’ from Santa Clara University. It focuses on the SROI (Social Return on Investment) methodology which measures social impact in financial terms and compares to costs for a ratio of benefits to costs. Investors taking this course will learn to map outcomes of target beneficiaries over time, assign financial proxy values, calculate SROI ratios and interpret results. By mastering this globally recognized framework, they can better evaluate the impact performance of different investment options.
Real case applications in ‘…Metrics for Evaluating Impact’ from Harvard
To apply impact analysis skills in real decision scenarios, the online course ‘…Metrics for Evaluating Impact’ from Harvard University provides great opportunities. Learners are presented with various impact case studies from around the world, asked to choose evaluation metrics, collect data, analyze results and give improvement suggestions. Such practical exercises bridge the gap between conceptual understanding and application competence, enabling impact investors to carry out analysis smoothly in their future work.
In summary, major online course platforms offer free and valuable courses focusing on impact investing analysis, covering from fundamental concepts, widely-used methodologies to real case applications. Taking these courses helps investors enhance their analysis toolkits in this growing field.