Economic Development
Verifying the impact of economic development programming
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Economic Development Standard
The Economic Development Standard spans all forms of economic development programming - business growth, job creation, entrepreneurship, financial well-being, job readiness, employment and community infrastructure. It is organized by outcomes or desired social changes. This Genome Genome also covers secondary or “adjacent” outcomes such as health, crime and housing.
Impact Taxonomies

Outcomes
Universal program goals (what the program is trying to achieve)

Program Features
Universal program design elements or mechanisms (what the program does)

Beneficiaries
Universal demographic types or program beneficiaries (who the program serves)

Context
Universal environmental conditions or variables (where the program operates)

Implementation
Universal measurement of dosage and fidelity to the intervention model (how the program operates)
Outcomes
Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Skills
Business Financial Access
Business Creation
Improved Business Practices and Resilience
Business Performance and Growth
Immediate Access to Basic Needs
Future Security
Financial Resilience
Current Financial Stability
Financial Literacy and Skills
Develop Community Infrastructure
Local Economic Growth
A Culture of Innovation
Highly Engaged Employees
High Quality Leadership
Improved General Employability and Soft Skills
Improved Job Quality
Improved Job-Specific Skills
Job Advancement
Job Attainment

Program Overview
The Impact Genome's Verified Impact Standard is the world's leading standard for verifying the outcomes of social programs. To date, the world has not had a common definition of what it means to achieve an outcome - every social program currently adopts its own metrics. Our Impact Standards have been peer-reviewed, evidence-based and reported against by thousands of social programs. The Standards enable any program to report their outcomes in a standardized way, including beneficiaries served, context, program design and implementation. Program claims are backed up by evidence and independently verified by the Impact Genome Registry.
Our Methodology
Our peer-reviewed Verified Impact Standards were developed though a rigorous, evidence-based process. To learn more about it, see our methodology paper here.