Social impact presentation system, information processing device, report display terminal, and information processing method

Abstract

This social impact presentation system comprises: an impact-related information acquisition unit 11 that acquires impact-related information that contributes to visualization of social impact created by a business operated by a recipient of funding; an investor attribute acquisition unit 21 that acquires an investor attribute, which is attribute information of an investor, from an investor's terminal 10'; a report creation unit 15 that creates a report, including content specified in accordance with the investor attribute, using the acquired impact-related information; and a report presentation unit 16 that presents the created report to the investor's terminal 10'. By creating a report with content corresponding to the investor attribute, a report for the investor that visualizes the social impact can be created with appropriate content.

Description

Social impact presentation system, information processing device, report display terminal, and information processing method

[0001] The present invention relates to a social impact presentation system, an information processing device, a report display terminal, and an information processing method, and is particularly suitable for use in a system that visualizes the social impact created by businesses conducted by recipients of funding who receive funding from funders such as investors.

[0002] Since the 2015 UN Summit's proposal of the "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," there has been growing attention on businesses that are more public-interest and sustainable. In recent years, impact investing has also been gaining attention. Impact investing is an investment activity that aims not only to obtain economic returns, but also to simultaneously create social impacts—social or environmental outcomes—through business and activities. Against this backdrop, there is a need to create a system that accelerates investment in businesses that are beneficial to society by visualizing the social impacts created by the activities of business operators in response to investors' investments.

[0003] In response to this, a technology is known that aims to evaluate and visualize the social impact of a business with minimal effort (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the business evaluation device described in Patent Document 1, a business theory creation program generates a business theory template based on information extracted from a database according to the type of business, and a user inputs the results and outcomes of the business using indicators set in this business theory template. A social impact evaluation program then converts the input results and outcomes of the business into quantitative and qualitative formats to generate evaluation results of the business's social impact. A report creation program also generates a report template, and a user uses this report template to input the generated evaluation results of the business's social impact and create an impact report related to the business.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-77772

[0005] According to the description in Patent Document 1, by using the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the human and time burden required for evaluating the social impact of various businesses, and also to provide standard methods and evaluation criteria for evaluating the social impact of various businesses. However, while Patent Document 1 discloses the creation of reports in accordance with various report formats for report recipients (governments and licensing organizations), business implementers, business beneficiaries, business evaluators, and supporters (companions) of evaluators, it does not disclose how to appropriately create reports for investors who have made impact investments.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to make it possible to create appropriate reports for funders that visualize the social impact created by businesses conducted by fund recipients who receive funding from funders such as investors.

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention acquires impact-related information that contributes to visualizing the social impact created by the business undertaken by a funded entity that receives funding from a funder, acquires funder attributes, which are attribute information of the funder, and uses the acquired impact-related information to create a report containing content specified according to the funder attributes, and presents the created report to the funder.

[0008] According to the present invention configured as described above, a report with content according to the attributes of the funder is created, so that a report with appropriate content that visualizes the social impact can be created for the funder.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an impact management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the planned amount of quantitative impact. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information in which the planned amount and actual amount of quantitative impact are visualized as cumulative values. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a report created by a report creation unit. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the impact management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the impact management server according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the impact management server according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the impact management server according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of report formats. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the impact management server according to the third embodiment.

[0010] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the social impact presentation system of this embodiment includes an investor terminal 10, an investment target terminal 20A, an investment manager terminal 20B, an association manager terminal 20C, an information collection server 30, an investment management server 40, and an impact management server 100.

[0011] The investor terminal 10 is a terminal used by an investor making an impact investment in a desired business or an operator (either an individual or a corporation) that operates that business, and is configured as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, etc. The investor terminal 10 is equipped with a web browser, which enables the investor to view web pages provided by the investment management server 40 or the impact management server 100 and input information via the web page.

[0012] The investment target terminal 20A is a terminal used by the investment target who receives investment from the investor, and is configured by a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, etc. The investment target terminal 20A is equipped with a web browser, and the investment target can use the web browser to view web pages provided by the information collection server 30 and input information via the web pages.

[0013] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a business operator conducts business by receiving investment from an investor, but the present invention can be widely applied to cases in which a business operator conducts business by receiving funding from a funder. A funder may be any funder, including investors, those who provide donations, subsidies, grants, etc., and those who provide loans at financial institutions, and a funded person refers to a person for whom an impact is created by receiving the provided funds. Therefore, in the following explanation, an investor can be read as a funder, and an investment target can be read as a funded person. Furthermore, investment management can be read as fund management.

[0014] The investment manager terminal 20B is a terminal used by the investment manager who manages the operation of the business conducted by the investment target, and is configured as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, etc. The investment manager terminal 20B is equipped with a web browser, and the investment manager can use the web browser to view web pages provided by the information collection server 30 and input information via the web pages.

[0015] The association manager terminal 20C is a terminal used by the manager of the association related to the business conducted by the investment targets, and is configured as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or the like. Multiple investment targets belong to the association, and the investment targets carry out their business under the management of the association. The association manager terminal 20C is equipped with a web browser, and the association manager can use the web browser to view web pages provided by the information collection server 30 and input information via the web pages.

[0016] In the following description, the investment target terminal 20A, the operations manager terminal 20B, and the association manager terminal 20C may be collectively referred to as the business associate terminals 20. The investment target, the operations manager, and the association manager may be collectively referred to as the business associates. Depending on the content of the business conducted by the investment target, at least one of the operations manager and the association manager may not be involved in the implementation of the business. In this case, at least one of the operations manager terminal 20B and the association manager terminal 20C may not be present.

[0017] The information collection server 30 collects impact-related information from the business associate terminal 20, which contributes to visualizing the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target that has received investment from the investor. The impact-related information includes at least information that contributes to quantifying the social impact, and may further include information that contributes to qualifying the social impact. Details of the impact-related information will be described later. Note that in the following explanation, the person who manages whether the investment is actually creating both a social impact and an economic return from the investor's perspective may be referred to as an investment manager. Although the business associate and the investment manager may be the same person, for convenience, they will be referred to as investment managers when explaining from the investor's perspective.

[0018] The information collection server 30 collects information that contributes to quantifying and qualifying social impacts from the business associate terminal 20 in a predetermined format. For example, the information collection server 30 provides the business associate terminal 20 with an information input webpage in a predetermined format that includes predetermined information input fields, and collects impact-related information input from the business associate terminal 20 through the information input webpage. By collecting information based on the predetermined format, a certain level of information quality can be ensured. In particular, information that contributes to qualifying social impacts is likely to vary more than information that contributes to quantification, but by collecting information based on the predetermined format, a certain level of quality can be ensured.

[0019] A web page for inputting information in a predetermined format is prepared in advance for each business category, for example. By selecting a category that corresponds to the business to be implemented, a business associate displays an information input web page corresponding to the selected category in the web browser of the business associate terminal 20, enters impact-related information in the information input fields included in the information input web page, and transmits it to the information collection server 30. The information collection server 30 provides the impact-related information collected from the business associate terminal 20 to the impact management server 100.

[0020] The investment management server 40 is a device for managing investments from investors. For example, the investment management server 40 executes processes related to crowdfunding. The processes related to crowdfunding include processes related to soliciting business support requests from investment targets, processes related to soliciting investments from investors for supported businesses, processes related to providing funds procured from multiple investors to investment targets and managing them, processes related to managing the results of the investment targets' business implementation, and processes related to calculating economic returns to investors based on the results of the business implementation. The investment management server 40 provides at least a portion of the information related to investments obtained through these processes to the impact management server 100.

[0021] The investments managed by the investment management server 40 are not limited to crowdfunding. They may be any type of fund for a business, such as an investment trust or investment partnership run by a financial institution. Furthermore, the investment does not necessarily have to be a fund, but may be a one-to-one investment from an investor comprised of one person or one organization to an investee comprised of one person or one organization.

[0022] The various pieces of information provided to the impact management server 100 from the information collection server 30 and the investment management server 40 are managed by linking them together using, for example, an investor ID that uniquely identifies each investor and an investment target ID that uniquely identifies each investment target. Based on the information provided from the information collection server 30 and the investment management server 40, the impact management server 100 executes various processes related to the visualization of the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target that has received investment from the investor. The specific contents of the various processes will be described later using Figure 2 and subsequent figures.

[0023] In this embodiment, the impact management server 100 visualizes the social impact in the form of a report and provides the report to the investor terminal 10. The report may be provided to the investor through a web page, by sending an email (either as a description in the email body or as an attachment), or by sending a printed document to the investor's address.

[0024] While the configuration in which the impact management server 100 and the information collection server 30 exist separately has been described above, the impact management server 100 may also have the functions of the information collection server 30. Furthermore, the configuration in which the impact management server 100 acquires information about investments from the investment management server 40 has been described above, but the information may also be acquired by other means. For example, the information about investments may be acquired by importing information exported from the investment management server 40 to a specified data file, or by an operator manually entering the necessary information based on information exported from the investment management server 40 to a specified data file or printed information. Similarly, the impact management server 100 may also have the functions of the investment management server 40.

[0025] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the impact management server 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the impact management server 100 according to the first embodiment includes, as its functional configuration, an impact-related information acquisition unit 11, an investment-related information acquisition unit 12, a quantitative impact calculation unit 13, a qualitative impact assessment unit 14, a report creation unit 15, and a report presentation unit 16. The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 includes, as its specific functional configuration, a planned impact calculation unit 13A and an actual impact calculation unit 13B.

[0026] The functional blocks 11 to 16 can be configured using any of hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured using software, the functional blocks 11 to 16 are actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are realized by the operation of a program stored in a storage medium such as the RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0027] The impact-related information acquisition unit 11 acquires information that contributes to quantifying the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target that has received investment from the investor (information that contributes to visualizing the quantitative social impact) from the information collection server 30. The impact-related information acquisition unit 11 also acquires information that contributes to qualifying the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target (information that contributes to visualizing the qualitative social impact) from the information collection server 30. In the following description, quantitative social impact is referred to as quantitative impact, and qualitative social impact is referred to as qualitative impact. Information that contributes to quantifying and qualifying social impact is referred to as impact-related information.

[0028] The investment-related information acquisition unit 12 acquires information related to investments (hereinafter referred to as investment-related information) from the investment management server 40. The investment-related information includes information about investors, information about investment targets, information indicating the investment management period, information indicating the economic return to investors, etc.

[0029] The impact-related information acquisition unit 11 and the investment-related information acquisition unit 12 acquire impact-related information and investment-related information at multiple regular or irregular intervals from the start of investment management, and store and preserve the acquired information in a storage medium. The start of investment management refers, for example, to the end of a fundraising period for crowdfunding or an investment management fund for institutional investors, when funds raised from multiple investors are provided to the investee and management begins. The start of investment management can be recognized from the investment-related information acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12 from the investment management server 40.

[0030] The multiple regular or irregular timings for acquiring information include, for example, the timing for creating a report on social impact. Regular timing is, for example, once a month. Irregular timing is the timing for creating a special report other than the regular timing. The irregular timing can be arbitrarily specified by, for example, the administrator of the impact management server 100. Note that, since a report may be created a certain period of time after the information is acquired, the timing of information acquisition and report creation do not necessarily have to be exactly the same. Furthermore, in addition to being used to create the above-mentioned report, the information acquired at multiple times may also be used only by the investment manager to confirm whether impact is being created. In the latter case, a report for investors may not be created.

[0031] The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the quantitative impact created by the investment target's business implementation based on the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 and the investment-related information acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12. Here, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the quantitative impact for each of the above-mentioned multiple timings. The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 stores and saves the calculated quantitative impact in a storage medium so that it can be used for creating the current and subsequent reports.

[0032] The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates two types of quantitative impact using the planned impact calculation unit 13A and the actual impact calculation unit 13B. The planned impact calculation unit 13A calculates the planned amount of quantitative impact that may be generated by the implementation of the business during a predetermined reporting period from the start of investment management. The actual impact calculation unit 13B calculates the actual amount of quantitative impact that has actually been generated by the investment target's implementation of the business after the start of investment management, for each of the multiple timings described above.

[0033] The reporting period is the period set as the period for calculating the quantitative impact to be included in the report, and includes the investment management period (fund management period) and the monitoring period after the end of the management period. The fund management period is determined in advance for each crowdfunding or investment fund implemented by the investment management server 40, and information indicating the management period is included in the investment-related information. Alternatively, the administrator of the investment management server 40 can arbitrarily set the management period depending on the content of the business implemented by the investee, etc.

[0034] The monitoring period is the period during which the calculation of the actual amount of quantitative impact continues even after the end of the fund management period. The monitoring period may be predetermined for each crowdfunding project implemented by the investment management server 40, or may be arbitrarily determined by the administrator of the impact management server 100 depending on the content of the project implemented by the investment target, etc.

[0035] The planned amount of quantitative impact may be calculated for a period longer than the combined period of the fund management period and the monitoring period, in which case the reporting period further includes the period after the monitoring period ends. The period for which the planned impact calculation unit 13A calculates the planned amount of quantitative impact is the entire reporting period. The multiple timings for which the actual impact calculation unit 13B calculates the actual amount of quantitative impact include timing during the fund management period and timing during the monitoring period.

[0036] In this embodiment, the investor, the investment target, the content of the business conducted by the investment target, etc. are arbitrary. As an example, the investment target is an individual who conducts a business with investment from an investor, and the quantitative impact calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 can include the increase in income obtained from a business conducted by the investment target using equipment purchased with a loan, from the original income before the business started.

[0037] In this case, the investment targets are assumed to be poor individuals who do not have the funds of their own to purchase the equipment necessary to carry out the business and are unable to obtain a loan. If this type of investment target were to purchase the equipment using a loan with funds raised from the fund and start a business, it is expected that their income would increase significantly. The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates this increase in income as the quantitative impact.

[0038] Here, the loan repayment period is set to the same period as the fund management period. The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the quantitative impact as the increase in income during the fund management period by subtracting the original income before the start of the business from the income after loan repayment. The income after loan repayment is the amount obtained by subtracting the monthly or annual loan repayment amount from the actual income obtained by implementing the business. Furthermore, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the quantitative impact as the increase in income during the period after the end of the fund management period by subtracting the original income before the start of the business from the actual income.

[0039] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the planned amount of quantitative impact calculated by the planned impact calculation unit 13A. In Figure 3, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents monthly income. In the example of Figure 3, the investment period is set to 36 months from the start of fund investment. This fund investment period is the same period as the loan repayment period. In addition, a monitoring period is set to several months from the end of the fund investment period. In addition, the reporting period is set to the period from the start of fund investment to the end of the useful life of the equipment purchased by the investment target. In this case, the reporting period is longer than the combined period of the fund investment period and the monitoring period.

[0040] In FIG. ０ is the original income before the start of business, IC １ is the income after loan repayment during the fund management period after the start of business, ２ indicates the actual income after the end of the fund management period. The investee's income increased significantly in a short period of time due to the start of the business, and has remained constant since then. Since there is a loan repayment amount during the fund management period, the income after loan repayment IC １ is the actual income IC ２ Although the amount is lower, after the loan repayment period is over, the actual income ２ The trend will be as follows.

[0041] In the example of FIG. 3, the expected impact calculation unit 13A calculates the post-loan repayment income IC during the fund management period. １ and former income IC ０ The difference between the actual income and the actual impact is calculated as the expected amount of quantitative impact. ２ and former income IC ０ The difference between the original income and the estimated amount of quantitative impact is calculated. ０ , Income after loan repayment IC １ (or loan repayment amount) and actual income IC ２ is included in the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11.

[0042] Here, the expected impact calculation unit 13A calculates the expected amount of quantitative impact during the reporting period (during the fund management period and the period after the end of the management period) based on the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 at a predetermined time after the start of the fund management period. The predetermined time is the time when the income amount is expected to stabilize at a nearly constant level. For example, this can be four months (the first quarter) after the start of fund management. It is also possible to acquire impact-related information several times to determine whether the income amount has stabilized. In this case, the expected impact calculation unit 13A makes a statistical judgment based on the rate of fluctuation in the income amount. Because the regular income amount varies depending on the individual investee, acquiring the information multiple times can obtain a more accurate expected amount.

[0043] The planned impact calculation unit 13A may recalculate the planned amount of quantitative impact for the period after the end of the fund management period based on the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 at the end of the fund management period or at a timing thereafter. ２ and the latest income (IC) obtained as impact-related information after the 36-month operation period has ended. ２ This is because there may be a difference between the most recent income and ２ By recalculating the planned amount of quantitative impact after the end of the fund management period based on the above, a more accurate planned amount can be obtained.

[0044] The planned impact calculation unit 13A may calculate the total planned amount of quantitative impact during the reporting period. Similarly, the actual impact calculation unit 13B may calculate the total amount of actual quantitative impact from the start of fund management to the present timing. In the example of Figure 3, the total planned amount of quantitative impact during the reporting period corresponds to the total amount in the shaded area, and can be roughly calculated using the following formula: IC １ × 36 months + IC２ × (Reporting period - 36 months) - IC ０ ×Reporting period

[0045] When the investment targets who raise funds from the fund and conduct business are one or more individuals (for example, multiple individuals belonging to a business partnership), the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 acquires impact-related information for each of the one or more individuals. The quantitative impact calculation unit 13 may then calculate the planned amount and actual amount of quantitative impact per person for each individual based on the impact-related information for the one or more individuals acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11. The planned amount of quantitative impact per person is as shown in FIG. 3.

[0046] In addition, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 may calculate the planned and actual amounts of quantitative impact for the entire fund. The quantitative impact for the entire fund can be found by adding up the quantitative impact per person calculated for each individual. Furthermore, when calculating the planned quantitative impact for the entire fund, the planned quantitative impact for the entire fund may be calculated according to a function including a loss rate determined taking into consideration the possibility that some investment targets may withdraw from the business during the reporting period. In this case, the planned quantitative impact for the entire fund can be calculated using the following formula: Σ (total planned amount of quantitative impact per person) for the number of people × (1 - loss rate)

[0047] The qualitative impact assessment unit 14 assesses whether the lives of the investment targets have qualitatively improved compared to before the investment targets started their business, based on the impact-related information (particularly information that contributes to the qualification of social impact) acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11. The qualitative impact assessment unit 14 stores and saves the results of the quantitative impact assessment in a storage medium so that they can be used for creating the current and subsequent reports.

[0048] Examples of information that contributes to the qualification of social impact include images, videos, interview articles, and questionnaire response information that show the living conditions of the investment targets. The qualitative impact assessment unit 14 evaluates whether or not their lives have improved based on, for example, the questionnaire response information. Alternatively, the qualitative impact assessment unit 14 may perform natural language analysis on the text of the interview article to extract words, and then evaluate whether or not their lives have improved by analyzing whether or not the extracted words match keywords pre-registered as words indicating an improvement in their lives. Furthermore, the qualitative impact assessment unit 14 may perform speech recognition on the speech included in the video to convert it into text, and then perform natural language analysis on the text to analyze whether or not the extracted words match keywords, thereby evaluating whether or not their lives have improved.

[0049] The qualitative impact may be classified into multiple categories, and each category may be evaluated to see whether the investment target's life has improved qualitatively compared to before the investment target started the business. The categories may be, for example, three: food, clothing, and shelter. Further categories such as savings and education may be added.

[0050] The report creation unit 15 creates a report that includes the quantitative impact calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 and the qualitative impact evaluated by the qualitative impact assessment unit 14. In addition to the assessment results by the qualitative impact assessment unit 14, the report may also include information that contributes to the qualification of the social impact acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 (images, videos, interview articles, questionnaire response information, etc. that show the living conditions of the investment targets). Furthermore, in addition to the quantitative impact and the qualitative impact, the report may also include the economic return on the investment acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12. Note that if the funding provided by the funder is a donation or the like that is not intended to obtain profit, information on the economic return does not need to be included in the report.

[0051] For quantitative impact, a report is created that visualizes the planned and actual quantitative impact. For qualitative impact, a report is created that visualizes the qualitative improvements in the lives of the investment targets compared to before they started their business. Individual investors, in particular, who have a strong sense of social contribution, tend to perceive qualitative effects more easily than quantitative effects. Therefore, by creating a report that shows the changes in the investment targets' living conditions before and after investment, it is possible to attract investors who prioritize social impact and invest even if the economic return is weak, and to expect to create even greater social impact.

[0052] Here, the report creation unit 15 may create a report that visualizes changes in the actual amount of quantitative impact calculated by the actual impact calculation unit 13B at multiple timings. For example, it is possible to create a report that includes the actual amount of quantitative impact from the previous time and the actual amount of quantitative impact from the current time, or a report that includes the difference between the actual amount of quantitative impact from the previous time and the current time. Alternatively, the actual impact calculation unit 13B may accumulate the actual amount of quantitative impact calculated at multiple timings for each of the multiple timings, and the report creation unit 15 may create a report that visualizes the accumulated value of the actual amount of quantitative impact for each of the multiple timings.

[0053] A report may be created that visualizes the cumulative value of the planned quantitative impact in addition to the actual amount of quantitative impact. In this case, the planned impact calculation unit 12A accumulates the planned amount of quantitative impact at multiple points in time during the reporting period. The report creation unit 15 creates a report that visualizes the cumulative value of the actual amount of quantitative impact at multiple times and also visualizes the cumulative value of the planned amount of quantitative impact at multiple points in time.

[0054] Figure 4 shows an example of information visualizing the planned and actual quantitative impacts as cumulative values. Figure 4 shows a line graph based on the example shown in Figure 3, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing cumulative revenue increase. Figure 4(a) shows a line graph included in a report created at the third timing during the fund management period. Figure 4(b) shows a line graph included in a report created at the end of the fund management period.

[0055] In FIG. 4(a), the line graph AP Ｃ The graph shows the cumulative actual amount of quantitative impact for three times. １ , EX ２ is the cumulative amount of the planned amount during the operation period and the planned amount after the operation period has elapsed. As explained in Figure 3, the income of the investee after starting the business, IC ２ The expected amount of quantitative impact is calculated on the assumption that the value will remain constant, but when expressed as a cumulative value, it will be a straight line that rises to the right. １ The slope of the income after loan repayment IC １ This is due to the straight line EX after the fund management period has elapsed. ２ The slope of the actual income IC ２ As the fund management period elapses, loan repayments will cease, and after that, the straight line EX ２ The slope of the line EX １ is larger than the slope of

[0056] In FIG. 4(b), the line graph AP Ｃ ' shows the actual amount of quantitative impact calculated at multiple times during the fund management period as a cumulative value. １ , EX ２ is the same as in Figure 4(a). In Figure 4(b), the line EX after the fund management period has elapsed ２ ' has been added. This straight line EX ２4B, the line EX′ indicates the cumulative value of the planned amount of quantitative impact recalculated based on the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 at the end of the fund management period. ２ The slope of ' is a straight line EX ２ This makes it clear at a glance that the actual results are better than originally planned.

[0057] Furthermore, when multiple individuals are involved in a business, the investor may be allowed to select any one of the individuals to invest in, and a report may be created that visualizes the social impact of the selected investee and the overall social impact of the fund. For example, a webpage for selecting an investee may be displayed on the investor terminal 10, and when the investor selects a business they wish to invest in, a list of multiple potential investors belonging to associations related to that business may be displayed. The investor may select the desired investee from this list of candidates. The report creation unit 15 then creates a report that visualizes the social impact of the selected investee and the overall social impact of the fund. Allowing investors to select their own investees can improve their motivation to invest. Since it is important for investors to see the faces of the investees in whom they have invested, the system may select the investor rather than the investor.

[0058] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a report created by the report creation unit 15. This report visualizes the social impact of three investment targets selected by the investor and the social impact of the entire fund.

[0059] This report includes the cumulative quantitative impact 51 for the entire fund. The example in Figure 5 shows the cumulative planned quantitative impact at the end of the fund management period and the cumulative actual quantitative impact to date. This allows investors to get an overall picture of the planned and actual quantitative impact, and recognize that they are participating in a fund with great social significance (large scale).

[0060] The report also includes a change 52 in the actual amount of quantitative impact for each of the three investment targets from the previous time, and a line graph 53 that visualizes the planned and actual amounts of quantitative impact for the reporting period as cumulative values. This allows investors to easily recognize at a glance the changes in the social impact occurring for each investment target, and to realize that they are contributing to the social impact of the investment targets.

[0061] The report also includes a total 54 of the expected quantitative impact for the three investors over the fund's management period. The example in Figure 5 shows the investor's investment amount and the total expected increase in the investee's income. This allows the investor to recognize that the total expected quantitative impact will exceed the investment amount.

[0062] The report also includes a qualitative impact assessment result 55 and interview articles or questionnaire response information 56 showing the living conditions of the investment target. In the example of FIG. 5, the qualitative impact assessment result 55 shows categories in which the investment target's living conditions have qualitatively improved compared to before the investment target started the business. Specifically, icons representing multiple categories are shown, and icons for improved categories are grayed out to indicate "done." This allows investors to get a sense of the qualitative changes in the investment target's living conditions. Receiving multiple reports allows investors to recall items previously reported, and the gamification element of filling in category boxes can also maintain motivation for continued investment.

[0063] The report also includes a photo 57 of the investee and a message 58 sent by the investee, allowing the investor to feel closer to the investee. The report also includes information 59 regarding the economic return on the investment. In the example of Figure 5, the investment start date, end date, planned month and planned amount of economic return payment, and total amount paid to date are shown.

[0064] The background color or design of the report may be changed depending on the magnitude of the social impact achieved. For example, by using gray or a cloudy sky when the social impact achieved is small, and blue or a blue sky when the social impact achieved is large, the magnitude of the social impact achieved can be intuitively grasped.

[0065] The report presentation unit 16 presents the report created by the report creation unit 15 to investors. For example, the report presentation unit 16 presents the report to the investor terminal 10 in the form of a web page. Specifically, the report presentation unit 16 generates data for the web page of the report and saves the data in a storage location that can be accessed by the investor terminal 10 by specifying a predetermined Uniform Resource Locator (URL). This allows investors to view the web page of the report at any time by specifying the URL from the web browser of the investor terminal 10.

[0066] The report presenting unit 16 may generate the report as a document file in a predetermined format, attach it to an email, and send it to the investor terminal 10. Alternatively, instead of attaching the document file, an email with the above-mentioned URL written in the email body may be sent to the investor terminal 10. As another example, the report presenting unit 16 may print out the report. In this case, the printed report is sent to the investor's address or a specified location.

[0067] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the impact management server 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above. First, the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 determines whether one month has passed since the previous information collection (initially, the start of investment management) (step S1). If one month has not yet passed, the determination of step S1 is repeated. If one month has passed, the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 acquires information contributing to the quantification and qualification of social impact from the information collection server 30 (step S2). Furthermore, the investment-related information acquisition unit 12 acquires investment-related information from the investment management server 40 (step S3).

[0068] Next, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 determines whether the current timing is a predetermined period (e.g., the first quarter) after the start of investment management (Step S4). If the current timing is after the predetermined period, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the planned amount of quantitative impact for the reporting period using the planned impact calculation unit 13A, and calculates the current actual amount of quantitative impact using the actual impact calculation unit 13B. In addition, the qualitative impact evaluation unit 14 evaluates the current improvement in the lives of the investment targets (Step S5).

[0069] If it is determined in step S4 above that the present time does not correspond to the timing after the predetermined period, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 determines whether the present time is the end of the fund management period (step S6). If the present time corresponds to the end of the management period, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 recalculates the planned amount of quantitative impact for the period after the end of the management period using the planned impact calculation unit 13A, and calculates the current actual amount of quantitative impact using the actual impact calculation unit 13B. In addition, the qualitative impact evaluation unit 14 evaluates the current improvement in the lives of the investment targets (step S7).

[0070] If it is determined in step S6 above that the present time does not correspond to the end of the fund management period, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 determines whether the present time is the time after the end of the monitoring period (step S8). If the present time does not correspond to the time after the end of the monitoring period, the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 calculates the current actual amount of quantitative impact using the actual impact calculation unit 13B, and evaluates the current improvement in the lives of the investment targets using the qualitative impact evaluation unit 14 (step S9).

[0071] After the quantitative impact is calculated and the qualitative impact is evaluated in step S5, step S7, or step S9, the report creation unit 15 creates a report including the quantitative impact calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 and the qualitative impact evaluated by the qualitative impact evaluation unit 14 (step S10). Then, the report presentation unit 16 presents the report created by the report creation unit 15 to investors (step S11). Note that if the report is presented via a web page, in step S11, a process is performed to save the report data in a storage location indicated by the URL of the web page. Then, the process returns to step S1.

[0072] If it is determined in step S8 above that the current timing corresponds to the timing after the end of the monitoring period, the processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 ends. Note that even after the processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 ends, investors can access the web page and view the report at any time.

[0073] As described above in detail, in the first embodiment, impact-related information that contributes to quantifying and qualifying the social impact generated by the business conducted by an investment target that has received an investment from an investor is acquired at multiple regular or irregular intervals from the start of investment management, and quantitative and qualitative impacts are calculated and evaluated at each of the multiple intervals based on the acquired impact-related information. According to the first embodiment configured in this manner, the social impact generated by the business conducted by an investment target that has received an investment from an investor can be calculated and evaluated by monitoring the social impact at multiple regular or irregular intervals, thereby enabling the social impact to be calculated and evaluated appropriately. Furthermore, unlike Patent Document 1, there is no need to ensure the appropriateness of the social impact assessment by having two or more users with different user attributes evaluate the impact. Even a single investment manager can ensure appropriateness by monitoring the impact at multiple intervals.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the impact management server 100 is described as having an impact-related information acquisition unit 11, an investment-related information acquisition unit 12, a quantitative impact calculation unit 13, and a qualitative impact assessment unit 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a dedicated application program may be installed in the business associate terminal 20, and this application program may have the above-mentioned functional configurations 11 to 14. The impact management server 100 acquires quantitative impact and qualitative impact information from the business associate terminal 20 and creates a report that visualizes the social impact.

[0075] In the above embodiment, an example of creating a report that includes both quantitative impact and qualitative impact has been described, but a report that includes only quantitative impact may also be created. In the above embodiment, an example of creating a report that includes both planned and actual quantitative impact amounts has been described, but a report that includes only actual amounts may also be created. However, creating a report that includes both planned and actual amounts is preferable because it allows the difference between planned and actual amounts to be recognized.

[0076] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example of calculating an increase in income as a quantitative impact has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. While the increase in income can be considered a quantitative impact directly attributable to the investment amount, it is also possible to calculate a secondary impact derived from the directly attributable quantitative impact. For example, the number of children who are able to receive education as a result of an increase in income may be calculated as a secondary quantitative impact. Furthermore, the number of people who escape poverty when compared with the income amount of relative poverty or absolute poverty may be calculated as a secondary quantitative impact.

[0077] Secondary social impact is a fundamental element in correcting the gap between rich and poor in the medium to long term, and by quantitatively visualizing this, it becomes possible to evaluate social impact in the true sense. This also helps to prevent suspicions of impact washing and SDG washing, making it possible to attract investments from investors with a strong social contribution mindset.

[0078] The actual impact calculation unit 13B may also calculate the impact amount based on the investment amount of each individual investor as the actual amount of quantitative impact. For example, the actual impact calculation unit 13B calculates the impact amount per investment unit by dividing the total amount of the actual quantitative impact for the entire fund by the total investment amount of the investment fund. Furthermore, the actual impact calculation unit 13B calculates the impact amount for each individual investor by multiplying the investment amount of each individual investor by the impact amount per investment unit. In this way, investors can clearly understand the degree of their contribution, giving them the feeling that they are making an individual loan, even though it is a fund. This can increase investor satisfaction and is expected to lead to continued investment behavior.

[0079] In addition, in the above embodiment, the loan repayment period is the same as the fund management period, but in cases where the investment targets participating in the business are recruited or replaced as needed after the fund is established and management begins, the fund management period and the loan repayment period do not have to match. In this case, the start timing of fund management in the above embodiment can be interpreted as the start timing of the loan, thereby creating the same effect.

[0080] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a list of investment candidates is presented to an investor and the investor can select an investment target from the list. However, after the investor is selected, a means may be provided for allowing direct financial transactions between the investor and the investment target, for example, using blockchain technology. Furthermore, a default avoidance management system may also be provided. For example, human capital may be concentrated and invested in default avoidance.

[0081] (Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, components having the same functions as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 7, the second embodiment includes an investor terminal 10' and an investor terminal 20A' instead of the investor terminal 10 and the investee terminal 20A shown in FIG. 1. Also, an impact management server 200 replaces the impact management server 100 shown in FIG. 1. The impact management server 200 corresponds to the information processing device in the claims, and the investor terminal 10' corresponds to the report display terminal in the claims.

[0082] In the second embodiment, the investor terminal 10′ has the function of an investor attribute providing unit that provides and registers investor attribute information (hereinafter referred to as investor attributes) to the impact management server 200, and the function of a report display unit that obtains and displays from the impact management server 200 a report that visualizes the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target that has received investment from the investor, the report including content specified according to the investor attributes. The investment target terminal 20A′ has the function of providing and registering attribute information of the investment target (hereinafter referred to as investment target attributes) to the impact management server 200. Note that this attribute information may be temporarily registered in the information collection server 30, and then provided from the information collection server 30 to the impact management server 200 for registration. Note that in the second embodiment and the third embodiment described below, investor attributes can be read as funder attributes, and investment target attributes can be read as funded target attributes. Furthermore, investment candidates can be read as funded candidates.

[0083] In the second embodiment, the impact management server 200 executes a process of matching investors with investment targets based on investor attributes acquired from the investor terminal 10' and investment target attributes acquired from the investment target terminal 20A'. The investor can select a desired investment target from the matched investment candidates and invest in them. The impact management server 200 creates a report including details of the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target selected by the investor.

[0084] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the impact management server 200 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, components with the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore, redundant explanations will be omitted here. As shown in FIG. 8, the impact management server 200 according to the second embodiment includes a report creation unit 15′ instead of the report creation unit 15 shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the impact management server 200 according to the second embodiment further includes, as functional components, an investor attribute acquisition unit 21, an investment target attribute acquisition unit 22, a matching unit 24, an information management unit 23, and an investment execution probability acquisition unit 25. Furthermore, the impact management server 200 according to the second embodiment further includes, as a storage medium, an attribute information storage unit 26.

[0085] The functional blocks 21 to 25 can be configured using any of hardware, DSP, and software. For example, when configured using software, the functional blocks 21 to 25 are actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are realized by the operation of a program stored in a storage medium such as the RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0086] In the second embodiment, the same impact management server 100 as in the first embodiment may be used, and the configuration of functional blocks 21 to 25 may be provided in the investment management server 40. Alternatively, a matching server may be provided separately from the investment management server 40 and the impact management server 100, and the configuration of functional blocks 21 to 25 may be provided in the matching server. In the former case, the investment management server 40 and the impact management server 100 constitute an information processing device within the scope of the claims. In the latter case, the impact management server 100 and the matching server constitute an information processing device within the scope of the claims.

[0087] The investor attribute acquisition unit 21 acquires investor attributes, which are attribute information of investors, from the investor terminal 10′. For example, the investor attribute acquisition unit 21 displays a webpage for inputting investor attributes on the investor terminal 10′, and acquires the investor attributes input by the investor through the webpage from the investor terminal 10′. The investor attributes acquired by the investor attribute acquisition unit 21 include, for example, the investor's demographic attributes (age, gender, occupation, family composition, etc.). The investor attributes may also include information indicating the investor's interests and concerns. Specifically, the investor's preferences (whether or not they have a family, regions of interest, industries of interest, etc.) and impact themes of interest (poverty, environment, healthcare, gender, employment, etc.) may be acquired.

[0088] The investment target attribute acquisition unit 22 acquires investment target attributes, which are attribute information of the investment target, from the investment target terminal 20A'. For example, the investment target attribute acquisition unit 22 displays a web page for inputting investment target attributes on the investment target terminal 20A', and acquires the investment target attributes input by the investment target through that web page from the investment target terminal 20A'. The investment target attributes acquired by the investment target attribute acquisition unit 22 are, for example, the demographic attributes of the investment target. Furthermore, the investment target attributes may include business attribute information related to the business conducted by the investment target. The business attribute information includes, for example, the region in which the investment target conducts its business, the industry to which the business belongs, and the impact theme related to the business.

[0089] The information management unit 23 records and manages investor attributes for each investor in the database of the attribute information storage unit 26, and also records and manages investment target attributes for each investment target in the database of the attribute information storage unit 26.

[0090] The matching unit 24 extracts investment targets whose investment target attributes match predetermined matching conditions with respect to the investor attributes based on the investor attributes and investment target attributes stored in the database of the attribute information storage unit 26, and presents the extracted investment targets as investment candidates to the investor terminal 10'. Investors can select and invest in their desired investment targets from the investment candidates presented by the matching unit 24.

[0091] For example, the matching unit 24 extracts, as investment candidates, investment targets who meet the matching condition that the demographic attributes of the investment targets are the same as or similar to the demographic attributes of the investor. By extracting investment candidates based on such matching conditions, the investor can feel a sense of affinity with the investment target selected from the investment candidates, and can feel satisfaction and contribution from the investment activity.

[0092] In addition, the matching unit 24 extracts as investment candidates investment targets that meet the matching condition that the matters or demographic attributes included in the investment target's business attribute information are identical or similar to the investor's interests and concerns. By extracting investment candidates using such matching conditions, appropriate matching can be performed for investors with specific goals, thereby increasing the investor's motivation to invest. Furthermore, by selecting an investment target that is engaged in a business related to the impact theme desired by the investor, the investor can experience a contribution to the social issues that interest them most.

[0093] When the investor selects an investment target, the selected investment target is notified to the information management unit 23 via the matching unit 24. The information management unit 23 assigns an investment execution flag to the investment target selected by the investor in the database stored in the attribute information storage unit 26.

[0094] The report creation unit 15' uses the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 and the investment-related information acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12 to create a report including details of the social impacts generated by the business conducted by the investment target selected by the investor from among the investment candidates, based on the quantitative impacts calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 and the qualitative impacts assessed by the qualitative impact assessment unit 14. For example, if the investor selects three investment targets, the report created will be similar to that shown in FIG. 5. The investment targets selected by the investor can be identified by referencing the investment execution flag stored in the attribute information storage unit 26.

[0095] The investment execution probability acquisition unit 25 inputs each combination of investor attributes and multiple investment target attributes stored in the attribute information storage unit 26 into a machine-learned model, and acquires investment execution probabilities corresponding to the multiple investment target attributes from the model. Here, the model of the investment execution probability acquisition unit 25 is generated by machine learning processing using the investor attributes, investment target attributes, and investment execution flags as learning data. The investment execution probability is a value indicating which investment target attributes combined with a certain investor attribute are more likely to result in an investment (more likely to be selected as an investment target from among investment candidates).

[0096] After a large number of investment execution flags have been recorded in the database of the attribute information storage unit 26, it is possible to perform machine learning processing using the investor attributes, investment target attributes, and investment execution flags as learning data to generate a model configured to output an investment execution probability when a combination of investor attributes and investment target attributes is input.

[0097] The matching unit 24 may extract, as investment candidates, investment targets having investment target attributes corresponding to investment execution probabilities that meet predetermined matching conditions from among the multiple investment execution probabilities acquired by the investment execution probability acquisition unit 25 for each combination of investor attributes and investment target attributes. For example, it is possible to extract, as investment candidates, a predetermined number of investment targets having the highest investment execution probabilities. By performing such matching, it is possible to present to investors investment targets that are likely to be the targets of investment.

[0098] Alternatively, for example, a predetermined number of investment candidates may be selected from those with the highest and lowest investment execution probabilities. Alternatively, a predetermined number may be selected from those with the highest investment execution probabilities, and the remaining number may be selected randomly. This prevents investors from becoming bored with a list of only investment candidates with the same tendencies.

[0099] The matching unit 24 may perform matching based only on the investment execution probability, without performing matching based on demographic attributes or interests and concerns. The matching unit 24 may also perform both matching based on demographic attributes and interests and matching based on the investment execution probability. When performing both types of matching, investment candidates extracted using an OR condition of both types of matching may be presented to the investor, or investment candidates extracted using an AND condition of both types of matching may be presented to the investor.

[0100] 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the matching unit 24 provided in the impact management server 200 according to the second embodiment configured as described above. The processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 starts, for example, when an investor instructs the impact management server 200 to execute matching from the investor terminal 10'. At this time, the investor attributes of the investor have already been stored in the attribute information storage unit 26, and the investment target attributes of multiple investment targets have also already been stored in the attribute information storage unit 26.

[0101] First, the matching unit 24 acquires the investor attributes of the investor who instructed the execution of matching from the attribute information storage unit 26 (Step S21). Then, the matching unit 24 performs matching based on the acquired investor attributes and the investment target attributes of multiple investment targets stored in the attribute information storage unit 26, thereby extracting one or more investment targets whose investment target attributes match predetermined matching conditions with the investor attributes (Step S22), and presents the extracted investment targets to the investor terminal 10' as investment candidates (Step S23).

[0102] The matching unit 24 then determines whether any of the investment candidates has been selected by the investor (step S24). If no selection has been made, the matching unit 24 determines whether an instruction to end the process has been received from the investor (step S25). If an instruction to end the process has not been received, the process returns to step S24 and waits for the investor to make a selection. If an instruction to end the process has been received from the investor, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 ends.

[0103] In step S24, when the investor selects one of the investment candidates, the matching unit 24 notifies the information management unit 23 of the selected investment target. In response, the information management unit 23 assigns an investment execution flag to the investment target selected by the investor in the database stored in the attribute information storage unit 26 (step S26). This completes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9.

[0104] It has been explained here that the process of Figure 9 starts when an investor instructs the execution of matching, but the process of Figure 9 may also be executed following the process in which the investor registers investor attributes in the impact management server 200.

[0105] The operation of the report creation unit 15′ when creating a report in the second embodiment is the same as the example of operation shown in the flowchart of Fig. 6. When creating a report in step S10, the report creation unit 15′ refers to the investment execution flag stored in the attribute information storage unit 26 to confirm the investment target selected by the investor who is the subject of the report, and creates a report including details of the social impact created by the business carried out by the selected investment target.

[0106] As described in detail above, in the second embodiment, a report including content specified according to investor attributes is created, and the created report is presented to investors. Specifically, investment targets whose investment target attributes match predetermined matching conditions with the investor attributes are extracted, the extracted investment targets are presented to investors as investment candidates, and a report is created including content of the social impact created by the business carried out by the investment target selected by the investor from the investment candidates.

[0107] According to the second embodiment configured as described above, a report with content according to investor attributes is created, so that a report with appropriate content that visualizes the social impact for investors can be created. Furthermore, because the most suitable investment target is selected according to investor attributes, the probability of investment can be increased, and as a result, the impact on society can be maximized.

[0108] (Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a social impact presentation system according to the third embodiment. In Figure 10, components having the same functions as those shown in Figure 1 are given the same reference numerals. As shown in Figure 10, the third embodiment includes an investor terminal 10" instead of the investor terminal 10 shown in Figure 1. Also, an impact management server 300 replaces the impact management server 100 shown in Figure 1. The impact management server 300 corresponds to the information processing device in the claims, and the investor terminal 10" corresponds to the report display terminal in the claims.

[0109] In the third embodiment, the investor terminal 10" has the function of an investor attribute providing unit that provides and registers investor attributes to the impact management server 300, and the function of a report display unit that obtains and displays from the impact management server 300 a report that visualizes the social impact created by the business conducted by the investment target that has received investment from the investor, the report including content specified according to the investor attributes.In the third embodiment, the impact management server 300 uses a report format specified according to the investor attributes obtained from the investor terminal 10 to create a report including content specified in the report format.

[0110] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the impact management server 300 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 11, components assigned the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted here. As shown in FIG. 11, the impact management server 300 according to the third embodiment includes a report creation unit 15" instead of the report creation unit 15 shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the impact management server 300 according to the third embodiment further includes, as functional components, an investor attribute acquisition unit 31, an information management unit 32, and a format acquisition unit 33. Furthermore, the impact management server 300 according to the third embodiment further includes, as storage media, a format storage unit 34 and an attribute information storage unit 35.

[0111] The functional blocks 31 to 33 can be configured using any of hardware, DSP, and software. For example, when configured using software, the functional blocks 31 to 33 are actually configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. of a computer, and are realized by the operation of a program stored in a storage medium such as the RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0112] The format storage unit 34 stores a plurality of report formats, each having predetermined input information items and / or layout, along with their respective identification information (hereinafter referred to as format IDs). For example, the format storage unit 34 stores an objective pattern report format, as shown in FIG. 12( a), which includes many input information items related to quantitative impact, and an emotional pattern report format, as shown in FIG. 12( b), which includes many input information items related to qualitative impact. The objective pattern report format is a report format that includes input information items or layouts that are expected to be important to institutional investors. The emotional pattern report format is a report format that includes input information items or layouts that are expected to be important to individual investors.

[0113] The investor attribute acquisition unit 31 acquires investor attributes, which are attribute information of investors, from the investor terminal 10". For example, the investor attribute acquisition unit 31 displays a web page for inputting investor attributes on the investor terminal 10", and acquires the investor attributes input by the investor through that web page from the investor terminal 10". The investor attributes acquired by the investor attribute acquisition unit 31 include, for example, information identifying whether the investor is an individual investor or an institutional investor.

[0114] The information management unit 32 records and manages investor attributes for each investor in the database of the attribute information storage unit 35. Furthermore, when an investor makes an additional investment action, the information management unit 32 assigns an additional investment execution flag to the investor who made the additional investment in the database of the attribute information storage unit 35.

[0115] The format acquisition unit 33 acquires, from the format storage unit 34, a report format specified based on the investor attributes acquired by the investor attribute acquisition unit 31 (the investor attributes stored in the database of the attribute information storage unit 35). For example, when creating a report for a certain investor, the format acquisition unit 33 extracts the investor attributes of that investor from the attribute information storage unit 35, and acquires, from the format storage unit 34, a report format specified based on the extracted investor attributes.

[0116] For example, when the investor attributes extracted from the attribute information storage unit 35 indicate that the investor is an institutional investor, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires a report format of an objective pattern from the format storage unit 34. On the other hand, when the investor attributes extracted from the attribute information storage unit 35 indicate that the investor is an individual investor, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires a report format of an emotional pattern from the format storage unit 34.

[0117] The report creation unit 15" creates a report including content defined in the report format acquired by the format acquisition unit 33, using the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11 and the investment-related information acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12, as well as the quantitative impact calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 using these pieces of information and the qualitative impact evaluated by the qualitative impact evaluation unit 14.

[0118] While individual investors may place importance on the degree of contribution to social issues, institutional investors may place more importance on quantitative information and financial returns. By switching the report format according to investor attributes as described above, it is possible to create and provide reports containing the most appropriate information for investors. This will help increase the motivation of individual investors and improve the operational efficiency of institutional investors (such as the efficiency of reporting to institutional investors).

[0119] The investor attributes and report formats according to the investor attributes described above are merely examples and are not limited to these. For example, if the investor attributes are information indicating that the investor is an individual investor, they may further include information indicating the individual investor's interests. Specifically, they may include information indicating the investor's preferences (whether or not they have a family, areas of interest, industries of interest, etc.) and impact themes of interest (poverty, environment, healthcare, gender, employment, etc.).

[0120] The format acquisition unit 33 acquires a report format including input information items or layouts related to the individual investor's interests and concerns from the format storage unit 34 based on the investor attributes. For example, if the investor attributes indicate that the investor is an individual investor and the investor's preference is that they have a family, a report format including many photos of the family looking happy or working hard is acquired. Alternatively, if the investor attributes indicate that the investor is an individual investor and that they are interested in environmental themes, a report format including input information items in line with the impact theme, such as whether the equipment used by the investment target contributes to reducing environmental impact, is acquired.

[0121] Furthermore, when the investor attributes are information indicating that the investor is an individual investor, they may further include information indicating the personality of the individual investor. The information indicating personality may be obtained by common means such as a questionnaire survey or a personality trait diagnosis such as the well-known Big Five. The information indicating personality may also include information indicating whether the individual investor is wealthy or not. In this case, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires a report format including input information items or a layout that is predefined according to the personality from the format storage unit 34 based on the investor attributes.

[0122] As described above, by segmenting the investor attributes of individual investors and switching the report format according to the segmented investor attributes, it is possible to create and provide reports tailored to the interests and personalities of individual investors. This can increase investor satisfaction and increase the incentive for individual investors to invest.

[0123] Furthermore, when the investor attributes are information indicating that the investor is an institutional investor, the investor attributes may further include information identifying whether the institutional investor is a financial institution, an investment specialist, or a business company. In this case, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires, from the format storage unit 34, a report format that is pre-associated with either a financial institution, an investment specialist, or a business company, based on the investor attributes.

[0124] Furthermore, when the investor attributes are information indicating that the investor is a financial institution, they may further include information identifying whether the financial institution's customer base is impact investors. In this case, when acquiring a report format related to a financial institution, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires from the format storage unit 34 a report format that is pre-associated with whether the financial institution's customer base is impact investors.

[0125] As described above, by subdividing the investor attributes of institutional investors and switching the report format according to the subdivided investor attributes, it becomes possible for institutional investors to efficiently provide reports to their subsequent customer base (investors), thereby increasing the satisfaction of that customer base.

[0126] The format acquisition unit 33 may use a model generated by machine learning processing using the additional investment execution flag to acquire a report format according to investor attributes from the format storage unit 34. In other words, the format acquisition unit 33 may be configured to input investor attributes into a machine-learned model and acquire a format ID from the model.

[0127] Here, the model of the format acquisition unit 33 is generated by a machine learning process that uses the format ID of the report format used to create the report by the report creation unit 15'', investor attributes, and an additional investment execution flag as learning data. In this case, the model has learned which report format is more likely to result in additional investment when used for a certain investor attribute.

[0128] After a large number of additional investment execution flags have been recorded in the database of the attribute information storage unit 35, machine learning processing can be performed using the format ID, investor attributes, and additional investment execution flags as learning data, thereby generating a model configured to output the format ID of a report format that is likely to result in additional investment when investor attributes are input.

[0129] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the impact management server 300 according to the third embodiment configured as described above. In Figure 13, the steps assigned the same step numbers as those shown in Figure 6 are the parts that execute the same processing, so duplicated explanations will be omitted here. Note that when the processing in Figure 13 is disclosed, the investor attributes of the investor have already been stored in the attribute information storage unit 35.

[0130] In FIG. 13, after the quantitative impact is calculated and the qualitative impact is evaluated in step S5, step S7, or step S9, the format acquisition unit 33 acquires the investor attributes of the investors to be reported from the attribute information storage unit 35 (step S31), and acquires a report format specified based on the acquired investor attributes from the format storage unit 34 (step S32).

[0131] Next, the report creation unit 15″ creates a report including content defined in the report format acquired by the format acquisition unit 33, using the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit 11, the investment-related information acquired by the investment-related information acquisition unit 12, and further the quantitative impact calculated by the quantitative impact calculation unit 13 using this information, and the qualitative impact evaluated by the qualitative impact assessment unit 14 (step S10).

[0132] As explained in detail above, in the third embodiment as well, a report including content specified according to investor attributes is created and the created report is presented to investors. Specifically, in the third embodiment, the report is created using a report format specified according to investor attributes.

[0133] According to the third embodiment configured as described above, a report is created according to a report format having input information items and layouts according to investor attributes, so that a report with appropriate content that visualizes the social impact can be created for investors. This can increase investor satisfaction and the probability that it will lead to additional investment, thereby maximizing the impact on society.

[0134] Although the first, second and third embodiments have been described above, any two or three of these embodiments may be applied in combination.

[0135] Furthermore, the first to third embodiments are merely examples of specific embodiments of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by these. In other words, the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof.

[0136] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Impact-related information acquisition unit 12 Investment-related information acquisition unit 13 Quantitative impact calculation unit 13A Planned impact calculation unit 13B Actual impact calculation unit 14 Qualitative impact assessment unit 15, 15', 15" Report creation unit 16 Report presentation unit 21 Investor attribute acquisition unit 22 Investment target attribute acquisition unit 23 Information management unit 24 Matching unit 25 Investment execution probability acquisition unit 26 Attribute information storage unit 31 Investor attribute acquisition unit 32 Information management unit 33 Format acquisition unit 34 Format storage unit 35 Attribute information storage unit 10, 10', 10" Investor terminal 20 Business related party terminal 20A, 20A' Investment target terminal 20B Investment manager terminal 20C Association manager terminal 30 Information collection server 40 Investment management server 100, 200, 300 Impact management server

Claims

1. A social impact presentation system comprising: an impact-related information acquisition unit that acquires impact-related information that contributes to visualizing the social impact created by businesses conducted by funding recipients that receive funding from funding providers; a funder attribute acquisition unit that acquires funder attributes, which are attribute information of the funders; a report creation unit that uses the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit to create a report including content specified in accordance with the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit; and a report presentation unit that presents the report created by the report creation unit to the funders.

2. The social impact presentation system of claim 1, further comprising: a funding recipient attribute acquisition unit that acquires funding recipient attributes, which are attribute information of the funding recipients; and a matching unit that extracts funding recipients whose funding recipient attributes meet predetermined matching conditions with the funder attributes and presents the extracted funding recipients to the funder as funding candidates, wherein the report creation unit uses the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit to create a report including details of the social impact created by the business carried out by the funding recipient selected by the funder from the funding candidates.

3. The social impact presentation system according to claim 2, wherein the funder attributes and the funded recipient attributes include demographic attributes, and the matching unit extracts funded recipients who meet the matching condition that the demographic attributes of the funder and the demographic attributes of the funded recipient are identical or similar.

4. The social impact presentation system of claim 2, wherein the funder attributes include information indicating the funder's interests and concerns, the funded person attributes include business attribute information related to the business conducted by the funded person, and the matching unit extracts funded persons who meet the matching condition that the matters included in the business attribute information of the funded person are identical or similar to the funder's interests and concerns.

5. The social impact presentation system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it comprises: an information management unit that assigns an investment execution flag to a funded recipient selected by the funder in a database for recording and managing the funded recipient attributes for each of the funded recipients; and an investment execution probability acquisition unit that inputs each combination of the funder attributes and multiple funded recipient attributes into a machine learning model and acquires investment execution probabilities corresponding to the multiple funded recipient attributes from the model, wherein the model is generated by a machine learning process using the funder attributes, the funded recipient attributes, and the investment execution flag as learning data, and the matching unit extracts funded recipients having the funded recipient attributes that correspond to the investment execution probability that meets the predetermined matching condition from the multiple investment execution probabilities acquired by the investment execution probability acquisition unit.

6. The social impact presentation system of claim 1, further comprising: a format storage unit that stores a plurality of report formats, each having predefined input information items and / or layout, along with their respective identification information; and a format acquisition unit that acquires from the format storage unit a report format identified based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit; and wherein the report creation unit uses the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit and the report format acquired by the format acquisition unit to create a report including content specified in the report format.

7. The social impact presentation system described in claim 6, characterized in that the funder attributes include information identifying whether the investor is an individual investor or an institutional investor, and the format acquisition unit acquires from the format storage unit, based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit, either a report format including input information items or layout that are expected to be important to the individual investor or a report format including input information items or layout that are expected to be important to the institutional investor.

8. The social impact presentation system described in claim 7, characterized in that the funder attributes further include information indicating the interests and concerns of the individual investor if they include information indicating that the individual investor is an individual investor, and the format acquisition unit acquires from the format memory unit a report format including input information items or layout related to the interests and concerns of the individual investor based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit.

9. The social impact presentation system described in claim 7, characterized in that the funder attributes further include information indicating the personality of the individual investor if they include information indicating that the individual investor is an individual investor, and the format acquisition unit acquires from the format memory unit a report format including input information items or layouts predefined according to the personality based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit.

10. The social impact presentation system described in claim 7, characterized in that, when the funder attributes include information indicating that the funder is the institutional investor, the funder attributes further include information identifying whether the institutional investor is a financial institution, an investment specialist, or a business company, and when the format acquisition unit acquires a report format related to the institutional investor based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit, it acquires a report format that is pre-associated with either the financial institution, the investment specialist, or the business company from the format storage unit.

11. The social impact presentation system described in claim 10, characterized in that, if the funder attributes include information indicating that the funder is the financial institution, the funder attributes further include information identifying whether the financial institution's customer base is impact investors or not, and when the format acquisition unit acquires a report format related to the financial institution based on the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit, it acquires from the format storage unit a report format that is pre-associated depending on whether the financial institution's customer base is impact investors or not.

12. The social impact presentation system of any one of claims 6 to 11, further comprising an information management unit in a database for recording and managing the funder attributes for each funder, which assigns an additional investment execution flag when the funder takes an additional investment action; wherein the format acquisition unit inputs the funder attributes into a machine-learned model and acquires identification information of a report format from the model; and wherein the model is generated by a machine learning process using the identification information of the report format used in the creation of the report by the report creation unit, the funder attributes, and the additional investment execution flag as learning data.

13. An information processing device comprising: an impact-related information acquisition unit that acquires impact-related information that contributes to visualizing the social impact created by businesses conducted by funding recipients who receive funding from funding providers; a funder attribute acquisition unit that acquires funder attributes, which are attribute information of the funders; a report creation unit that uses the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit to create a report including content specified in accordance with the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit; and a report presentation unit that presents the report created by the report creation unit to the funders.

14. A report display terminal comprising: a funder attribute providing unit that provides funder attributes, which are attribute information of funders, to the information processing device of claim 13; and a report display unit that acquires from the information processing device and displays a report that visualizes the social impact created by a business undertaken by a fund recipient who has received funding from the funder, the report including content specified according to the funder attributes.

15. An information processing method comprising the steps of: an impact-related information acquisition unit of a computer acquiring impact-related information that contributes to visualizing the social impact created by a business undertaken by a funding recipient that has received funding from a funding provider; a funder attribute acquisition unit of the computer acquiring funder attributes, which are attribute information of the funding provider; a report creation unit of the computer using the impact-related information acquired by the impact-related information acquisition unit to create a report including content specified in accordance with the funder attributes acquired by the funder attribute acquisition unit; and a report presentation unit of the computer presenting the report created by the report creation unit to the funding provider.

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