Juan Taborda Burgos

Juan Taborda Burgos
Root Capital

Juan Taborda Burgos is Director of Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) at Root Capital. He leads the organization’s MEL efforts, working with global and regional teams to drive data-driven decision-making and oversee the impact monitoring system that tracks clients across multiple countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He also leads the team responsible for conducting rigorous impact evaluations to validate assumptions and assess the impact of Root Capital’s programs and services, and collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to inform organizational strategy and field-building.

Juan holds a Ph.D. in Development Economics and International Political Economy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, an M.P.P. from the Hertie School, and an L.L.B in Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Universidad de los Andes.

Articles by Juan Taborda Burgos

Guest Articles

Monday
March 2
2026

Juan Taborda Burgos / Jorge Bouchot / Miranda Hansen

The Impact Sector is Confusing Satisfaction with Impact: Rethinking the Growing Reliance on Lean Data and Perception Surveys

Measurement standards in the impact sector have shifted toward “lean data,” a cost-effective approach that often leverages perception surveys — i.e., forms that ask individuals to rate their personal experience with a program or organization — to quantify success. But as Juan Taborda Burgos, Jorge Bouchot and Miranda Hansen at Root Capital argue, perception-based metrics can mask a program’s ineffectiveness, potentially leading organizations to scale interventions that do not work. They share insights from a recent Root Capital report that reveal the downsides of relying solely on perception data, and offer four actionable principles that can help leaders navigate the pressure to demonstrate impact — while avoiding costly mistakes.

Categories
Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise

Tags
data, impact investing, impact measurement, research

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