Research
My research focuses on impact measurement and management — how the field emerged, why it looks the way it does, and what questions it now faces. I have also compiled frameworks, tools, and resources that I use and teach.
A layered set of resources I have developed or contributed to — for investors, ventures, and foundations.
A layered set of resources — including frameworks, tools, and a learning cohort — for foundations and family offices to integrate systems perspectives across strategy, investment, and IMM.
Explore the work →Introduces a four-phase framework and provides worksheets for both ventures and investors to identify the key questions, inform choices, and improve alignment within and across each other.
immjourney.com →Handbook by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors that provides detailed yet practical end-to-end guidance for asset owners on impact investing strategy, implementation, IMM, and governance.
Read the handbook →A comprehensive review of the formative phase of the impact investment industry — tracking achievements, surfacing challenges, and identifying priorities for building the field.
Read the report →Publications
Contribution on “(En)countering the Financialization of Impact Measurement.”
Additional publications are listed on the Projects and Publications page.
Recent webinars and recordings on impact measurement, systems thinking, and family office practice — each opens on YouTube.
Approaches, insights, and actionable guidance for family offices developing IMM approaches — featuring Wilstar, Builders Vision, and Good & Well.
Watch on YouTube →How systems-informed perspectives are reshaping impact strategy, investment practice, reporting, and learning.
Watch on YouTube →Translating systems thinking into practical investment and measurement strategies, with insights from pioneering investors Acumen and Access.
Watch on YouTube →Frameworks and lessons from experienced IMM practitioners, plus a new playbook for integrating systems thinking across the investment lifecycle.
Watch on YouTube →PhD Research
Impact measurement and management has now become more visible, more structured, and more widely used over the past decade. There is now more shared language, more infrastructure, and more practical guidance. At the same time, IMM can still feel unsettled: too many frameworks, too many overlapping expectations, and too many unresolved debates about what good practice actually looks like.
My doctoral research examined the emergence and evolution of IMM between 2011 and 2021 through interviews with investors, field-builders, standard-setters, policymakers, practitioners, and others, combined with analysis of the field’s documents and institutional infrastructure. This four-part series draws out key aspects of the findings and implications.
Alongside advisory, teaching, and formal research, I build sites and resources that make ideas more accessible — experiments in how to organise knowledge and invite people into the work.
Ventures at the Helm — a novel framework developed through venture experiences with IMM, with interactive features for ventures and investors to improve IMM alignment.
immjourney.com →An interactive site that presents the approach, findings, and implications of my research on the emergence and evolution of impact measurement and management.
karimharji.com/dphil →Inspired by earlier work on evaluating the field of impact investing, where I’m exploring how we (re)define success, what has happened in the last decade, and what is needed.
impinv.org →A resource for understanding and strengthening how impact considerations can be embedded in your investments — and the practical questions to ask as a retail investor.
knowyourimpact.org →Resources I Recommend
Foundational frameworks and entry points for building an IMM approach.
For practitioners deepening and refining their existing IMM work.