Involve partnered with the Impact Investing Institute to produce this guide, which provides a practical introduction to community engagement for place- based impact investors.
Meaningful engagement with local stakeholders and communities is a key factor in the success of place- based impact investing (PBII). Investors, developers, and other relevant stakeholders can build trust, deepen local impact and improve financial performance by building partnerships with communities.
Community engagement is increasingly relied upon by PBII investors to deliver on the promise of investing in and for places. This guide aims to be a practical resource that will help investors to develop their understanding and grow their practice of doing good community engagement.
This is guide is for investors, including asset owners that invest directly, and asset or fund managers who invest on their behalf, who are making investment decisions or leading the development of PBII strategies.
The guide also offers insights for other types of investors, such as asset owners or fund-of-fund investors, who are interested in the benefits of community engagement, but are engaging communities through their underlying investment managers.
As part of the development of the guide, the Impact Investing Institute and Involve also organised a series of “Community Cuppas” - community engagement events in February 2023 in the North of Tyne region. The “Cuppas” were attended by members of local communities in North Tyneside, Newcastle, and Northumberland, representatives from the North of Tyne Combined Authority, and local investors. The learnings from the Cuppas were used to make sure the content of this guide takes account of the preferences of a representative community for PBII. Key findings from the Cuppas are summarised in section 3.2.