An article written by FDI Center’s Managing Director Andreas Dressler was published in the latest edition of fDi Intelligence’s magazine. The article, titled: Beyond jobs- why IPAs should measure the broader impact of the investment they attract, discusses how and why IPAs should use a wider range of KPIs to measure their impact.  

Traditionally an IPA’s impact and performance has been measured by reviewing the number of jobs created as a result of foreign direct investment in their specific area. However, many IPAs are now being asked – or expected – to contribute to a greater number of economic and social objectives. These include innovation, digitalisation, regional development, inclusiveness, sustainability and talent attraction. Therefore, Andreas Dressler recommended considering a more diverse range of KPIs to accurately measure and reflect an IPA’s contribution to these wider aspects.   

To this day, most IPAs still report on their impact centring around job creation. However, the article contains extracts from our exclusive report of IPAs who are tracking their wider contributions. These include environmental impact and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, such as gender equality and sustainability. Costa Rica’s CINDE, Ireland’s IDA, Scottish Development International, and London and Partners are a few of the IPAs around the world doing just that. The complete list of case studies can be found in our report Measuring Impact: Key Performance Indicators in FDI Attraction. The article can be read on fDi Intelligence’s website here.