The World Economic Forum’s 2025 report, “Redefining Value: From Outcome-Based Funding to Tradeable Impact,” introduces a transformative vision to grant impact: turning verified social and environmental outcomes into impact credits that can be traded in digital markets. This innovation has the potential to revolutionise how global challenges are financed. It’s unlocking private-sector capital, rewarding high-performing organisations, and scaling solutions that work.
What Does this Tradable Impact Model Look Like?
Rather than relying solely on traditional funding flows, the report imagines a system where verified outcomes – such as improved educational attainment or reduced emissions – can be converted into credits and traded in impact markets.
This shift could fundamentally reshape the grant funding landscape, placing greater emphasis on measurable results and long-term value creation. For organisations delivering or managing grant programs, this means building stronger capabilities in outcome tracking, data transparency, and alignment with international standards.
This future requires more than vision. It demands a trusted infrastructure for measuring, verifying, and reporting impact. In the grant management space, demonstrating real, measurable grant impact will be more important than ever. A grant and impact management platform such as Enquire by Tactiv, is increasingly relevant in this context. While not a marketplace or credit issuer, Enquire offers tools that may help you prepare for a more outcomes-oriented funding ecosystem.
There are multiple aspects you can start building on with the proper tooling right now to prepare your organisation for the future of grant impact. Let’s have a look at these.
Verified Outcomes at the Centre of Grant Impact
A central message of the WEF report is the importance of robustly verified outcomes. For impact credits to hold value, they must be underpinned by clear evidence of change that can be independently validated.
For grantmakers and delivery organisations, this means moving beyond activity-based reporting and adopting approaches that link funding to tangible results. Platforms like Enquire already support you in this shift, with capabilities for:
Mapping program objectives to measurable outcomes
Tracking data across implementation cycles
Producing structured reports that demonstrate results
These features can assist in strengthening internal accountability and providing a foundation for future engagement with outcomes-based funding models.
Laying the Groundwork for Digital Infrastructure
To support the emergence of tradable impact, the WEF highlights the need for a digital backbone. This includes tools to register, monitor, and eventually exchange verified outcomes.
While many components of this infrastructure are still in development, grant management systems can already provide some of the building blocks. By centralising program and outcome data, offering real-time reporting, and enabling interoperability through APIs, these tools may contribute to the data integrity and continuity needed in an outcomes-focused ecosystem.
A key feature in this regard is the Enquire Reporting Warehouse. It’s a secure, queryable repository that consolidates data across programs, funding rounds, and delivery partners. This enables you to generate custom reports, extract insights, and analyse performance trends over time. The Reporting Warehouse supports you in making evidence-based decisions. Additionally, it helps responding flexibly to evolving reporting requirements from funders or regulatory bodies.
This doesn’t imply that every organisation must be marketplace-ready. Rather, it points out that systems which promote good data stewardship and traceability will be increasingly valuable.
Transparency, Assurance, and Governance
The report also addresses the potential risks of a tradable impact system. An example is “impact-washing”, where credits are issued for outcomes that are poorly evidenced or exaggerated. Ensuring transparency and strong governance is essential to building trust.
Digital tools can help here by embedding controls and accountability mechanisms into everyday program management. For example, Enquire includes features like:
Transparent approval workflows
Detailed audit histories
Role-based access and documentation trails
These types of safeguards can support internal governance. They also facilitate third-party verification processes as required in future funding or credit frameworks.
➔ Read more about how smart workflows can improve transparency and reporting
Working Within Standardised Frameworks
For tradable impact to scale, the WEF report stresses the need for common measurement frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), IRIS+, or ESG-aligned indicators. Standardisation allows outcomes to be compared, aggregated, and valued across contexts.
Organisations using tools that align with these frameworks will be better positioned to demonstrate their effectiveness to a broader range of stakeholders. Enquire offers flexibility in configuring reporting templates and indicators. This helps you report against both funder-specific metrics and internationally recognised benchmarks.
This kind of framework alignment supports consistency in reporting and may contribute to a more integrated view of grant impact across the sector.
Looking Ahead at Grant Impact
While the concept of tradable impact is still developing, the shift towards outcome-driven funding is already well underway. Organisations that focus on evidencing results, improving data quality, and aligning with emerging standards will be best placed to navigate this change.
Digital solutions like Enquire may play a supportive role by helping you strengthen your organisational approach to grant impact management – from program planning and delivery through to reporting and stakeholder engagement.
In doing so, you will not only meet today’s operational needs but also begin to lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s evolving funding environment.
Prepare yourself for the future of grant impact.
Get in touch with us today, or request a demo of Enquire and the Reporting Warehouse to see how it can work for you.
