IMPACT

Development impact framework

Why and how we use a development impact framework to measure the impact of our innovative finance tools.

An elderly person's hands counting money

Why we measure impact

Our development impact framework ensures we target our capital at partnerships that will deliver positive impact. The framework is based on four principles:

  1. Balancing rigour and pragmatism, making careful, evidence-based assumptions where required.
  2. Focusing on the direct outcomes resulting from our involvement, rather than the impacts that follow.
  3. Focusing on our contribution to the change, rather than attribution, as we always work in partnerships.
  4. Accompanying quantitative data with qualitative evidence.

We assess whether MedAccess’ innovative finance tools will lead to increased health benefits sooner than would have otherwise been the case, by looking at three indicators.

Our development impact indicators

A heart with a heart rate line through it

Lives changed

Key questions:

  • How many additional people will gain access to the product?
  • How much difference could it make to them?
A graphic of a bank note

Money saved

Key questions:

  • How much would our guarantee reduce the price of the product?
  • What does this mean in total dollars saved?
A series of circles showing connections

Markets shaped

Key questions:

  • What impact would our guarantee have on the broader market for a product?

How we measure impact

MedAccess’ approach to impact aims to balance rigour with pragmatism. Our claims are based on broad contribution, supported by the best available evidence, rather than precise attribution.

Projecting impact for decision-making

Before making a decision to provide a guarantee or loan, we estimate the potential impact of the opportunity against all three indicators (Lives changed, Money saved and Markets shaped) by comparing it against a scenario where we do not invest.

We use the framework to identify and prioritise high impact opportunities, to ensure that capital is deployed in the most impactful way. All opportunities must meet a minimum development impact threshold to be considered.

We build confidence in our underlying assumptions through desk research and gathering supporting evidence from partners. This ensures that, as well as capturing the potential additional impact generated by a MedAccess investment, we understand overall potential impact of the partnership, both for the duration of our involvement and in the long-term.

Reporting impact

After entering into a financing contract, we continue to use the framework to estimate the impact of the investment. To ensure our impact estimates are based on verifiable and validated data, impact is calculated based on the total reach of products supported by the investment, capturing change from baseline. No assumptions are made about changes to product purchasing that would have occurred without MedAccess financing.

We use these estimates to support the implementation of existing agreements and to guide our future strategy by considering how we can identify more impactful opportunities.

Partnering for sustainable impact

Partnership is crucial to the way MedAccess operates. The approach adopted by global health partners usually recognises that impact cannot be achieved by one entity alone. Joint activities which target multiple barriers to access and impact within a complex system are necessary to achieve sustainable impact.

To ensure the products that MedAccess supports have a positive long-term impact on peoples’ lives, we work with partners to tackle many of the market barriers which are preventing uptake of the product. For example, our partners support the registration and introduction of products in key countries to help ensure our volume guarantees are successful.