Impact Deal

By project SKALE2CT

Published on 10 January 2025

Italy

About this good practice

Impact Deal aims to support the growth of European enterprises that seek to create positive social and environmental impact through a data-driven approach. To achieve this goal, Impact Deal works on the overlap between data, artificial intelligence, impact, and entrepreneurship. Its unique features include: access to exclusive datasets, an extensive network of mentors and data experts, connections with international impact investor networks, European Data Sharing stakeholders, and a constantly growing community.
The Impact Deal programme starts with a call for applications, to which interested companies can respond (40 companies applied in the first edition, more than 100 in the second). The most interesting companies in terms of social and environmental impact are then selected (10 companies in the first edition, 15 in the second and 30 in the third).
In order to provide the selected companies with the necessary tools to achieve their goals, the programme is structured in two phases:
- the first focuses on analysing the company needs, providing specific skills in Data Collaboration and meeting Data Club members and investors;
- the second, accessible only to a smaller group of enterprises, focuses on providing strategic mentorship, building investment opportunities and leveraging data assets.
The main stakeholders are Fondazione CRT, OGR, Top-ix, and ISI Foundation, while the beneficiaries are start-ups, scale-ups, and both profit and non-profit enterprises based in Europe.

Expert opinion

Impact deal is an extensive programme that supports European companies striving for social and environmental impact while leveraging existing data and AI technologies. What makes it stand out is the mix of exclusive access to high-value data and hands-on support from top mentors and data experts, while driving meaningful social and environmental impact. The idea validation with impact investors is also a noteworthy aspect. The two-stage setup gives selected companies the tools they need early on, while the second stage offers targeted advice and investor connections for those companies with the strongest potential and highest social and environmental impact. Notably, the programme brings public and private players together to ensure that the innovative data-driven solutions being developed are actually needed and can make a real difference. Programmes like this can nudge policymakers to leverage even more existing public datasets to support data-driven solutions for social and environmental impact and create more targeted policies to enhance using high-value data for innovation.

Mart Veliste

Works at Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Resources needed

The program is financed by Fondazione CRT, there is no direct investment in the start-up from Impact Deal. Each stakeholder (OGR, Fondazione CRT and ISI Foundation) has one person involved in the program organization, while Top-IX dedicates three persons.

Evidence of success

The programme's success is reflected by the number of applications received, the number of enterprises selected by the programme for the first phase and the increasing quantity of capital raised by participating enterprises. In addition, the Data Club is growing each year, ensuring more opportunities for collaboration and growth, and providing critical support to enable impact companies to develop innovative and measurable solutions that drive positive change.

Potential for learning or transfer

The practice described is interesting as it aims to support European enterprises with social and environmental impact through an innovative data-driven acceleration model, fostering a synergistic collaboration between public and private actors.
The key strength of the programme lies in the Data Club, a collaborative open group that uses the data provided to generate positive social impact elevating enterprises committed to achieving impact objectives aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From a local, regional, national, and international perspective, the practice is well suited to different contexts, as it includes participants from across Europe, making it inherently ready to be adopted by the project's partner countries.
Impact Deal focuses on driving measurable positive impact on the environment and society, contributing to a sustainable and equitable future.