“Systemic Investing for Social Change: A Starter Kit” is designed for anyone getting started in the field of systemic investing — an approach to deploying capital that seeks to transform entire systems for better long-term outcomes for people and the planet.
Whether you hope to direct investments, shape strategy, design ecosystems, or support others in doing so, our goal with this guide is to offer practical steps and tools that can help you move from isolated efforts to coordinated, systems-level change.
Below is an overview of the six key stages on the journey toward systemic investing. Read the full report to access practical tools, specific frameworks, and application examples.
- Clarify your purpose and values. Systemic investing is inherently mission-driven, so you need a clear sense of who you are, what you care about, and what change you seek. Aligning investment goals with personal values ensures that your portfolio truly reflects what matters to you.
- Understand where you stand. With your purpose defined, the next step is to develop situational awareness of your current position as an investor. Where do you currently sit along the spectrum of systemic investing, and how far have you progressed on your journey from traditional to systemic approaches?
- Map the system stakeholders. Having reflected on your own role, next you will map the broader ecosystem of actors in your issue area. No single investor can drive systemic change alone; it requires understanding who else is working in this space and how you might collaborate or complement each other.
- Analyze the systemic context. This stage is about gaining a nuanced understanding of what the system needs, who is already active, and where you can contribute most effectively. It asks: Where are the opportunities for meaningful intervention? How can your efforts be additive, not duplicative?
- Map the system and identify high-leverage areas. This stage is about sharpening your focus: targeting places in the system where strategic action can unlock outsize, cascading change. You’re looking for specific interventions that can multiply your impact by shifting how the system behaves over time.
- Coordinate and deploy a multicapital strategy. This stage involves identifying which complementary capital flows you can leverage and coordinate, keeping in mind that systemic challenges require a layered approach that involves philanthropy, concessional and commercial finance, social and cultural capital, and more — all aligned toward a shared purpose.
