CASE at Duke University Coordinating Research for B Lab and GIIRS

Thursday, February 3, 2011

DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 02 /CSRwire/ – With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business is leading an effort to create priorities for future research for the national and global data being collected by B Lab and the Global Impact Investing Rating System. The Rockefeller Foundation is also providing support for B Lab and GIIRS.

“B Lab and GIIRS are collecting a unique pool of data, which will only become more interesting as it grows,” said Cathy Clark, Faculty at CASE, and director of the CASE B Lab and GIIRS Research Project. “Data on the social impact and practices of privately-held ventures and funds has been largely anecdotal until now. But with B Lab’s transparent ratings system for certifying B Corporations and as GIIRS sets a new global standard for rating impact investments, we see a new field of study emerging. With nearly 380 Certified B Corporations and 25 pioneer GIIRS funds with over 200 companies in their portfolios, we’ll have a substantial data set by the end of 2011. We can start to ask and answer essential questions about the emergence of a new form of capitalism which aims to generate financial returns and social impacts.”

Researchers, consulting firms, banks and others have already expressed interest in this new data, which is relevant to those studying entrepreneurship, corporate finance, social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, social ventures, social innovation, venture capital, mission-related investing, development finance, emerging and bottom of the pyramid markets, employee practices, certifications and standards, and the role of policy in influencing corporate behavior, among many other fields.

Source: CSRwire (link opens in a new window)