Enabling Impact

Strategist - Connector - Mentor

Change happens when leaders step in make sure it happens and respond to opportunities to create impact and to demonstrate what’s possible.

Rosemary is a pioneering leader who steps into these opportunities. She is a go to leader and strategist for deep subject matter expertise in systems change, social innovation and impact investment.

Rosemary is a trusted coach and strategist to senior leaders who want to make a difference and know business as usual will not deliver the change we need to see in the world, enabling them to make sense of global trends and opportunities and chart a course forward. She connects leaders with people, organisations, ideas and resources across sectors, disciplines and geographies with uncommon capacity to cut through to what is relevant and useful to create significant value.

Our Approach

We are values driven and have the highest standards of integrity and professional excellence. Impact is at the centre of everything we do. Our number one decision making criteria for accepting an engagement is whether it is an opportunity to maximise the impact we can make and the leadership we can bring for the best possible outcome.

Our approach is commercial and brings genuine heart, locally relevant and brings the best of global understanding to bear, pragmatic about what can be done and ambitious about what is possible, responsive and proactive, context appropriate and challenges the status quo.

We navigate ambiguity and complexity to create pathways for others to follow and make it easier for the leaders we work with to explore new ways of doing things. We are principled and clear about what we can and cannot do and what we will and will not do.

We are professional and fun, collaborative and disciplined, know our value and value the contributions of others.

Timeline for Impact

2007
Prospectus Guide: Inviting Investment in Social Enterprise

Prospectus Guide: Inviting Investment in Social Enterprise
2007
Led development of prospectus guide for inviting investment in social enterprise – supported by the RE Ross Trust, this was one of the first initiatives to put the spotlight on investing in purpose driven organisations to enable them to grow their impact. The Trust still supports this initiative with small grants to enable organisations to apply the guide.
2008
National Reform Agenda

National Reform Agenda
2008
Brought in by The Victorian Premier’s Department to lead major national social and economic policy reform agenda focused on productivity across all Australian jurisdictions. Strategy across complex agenda spanning financial arrangements between Commonwealth and States and policy areas from health and education to consumer affairs and deregulation which delivered billions in additional funding to States for core services and an outcomes focused platform for service delivery.
2011
Social Enterprise Development & Investment Funds

Social Enterprise Development & Investment Funds
2011
Led design and implementation of the Social Enterprise Development & Investment Funds, utilising government grant funding as cornerstone capital for new investment funds to help social enterprises expand their reach and impact. Resulted in three new investment funds entering the Australian market, which had a catalytic effect in the early stages of impact investment.

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2011
Senate Enquiry: Investing for Good

Senate Enquiry: Investing for Good
2011
Led foundational submission from Government Departments to Senate Economics References Committee on impact investing
2011
Children’s Ground – networked incubation in Government

Children’s Ground – networked incubation in Government
2011
From late 2010 to 2012 led the incubation of Children’s Ground, a transformation approach to working in and with communities to create change over a generation. A 2013 report by former McKinsey & Co partner Liana Downey, showcased the methodology as a new model of networked incubation in Government. Children’s Ground was spun out of Government and is operating in Alice Springs

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2013
Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing

Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing
2013
Impact Strategist has supported and informed the work of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing, founding the body in 2013 as part of the G8 Taskforce effort. Rosemary Addis’ services were provided as Executive Chair of the AAB and Impact Investing Australia until July 2019. During that time, Rosemary was instrumental in developing and executing strategy to grow innovation and impact investing in and from Australia. She continues as an Ambassador for the AAB and non-executive Chair of Impact Investing Australia.

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2013
Impact-Australia

Impact-Australia
2013
Led first broad-based public consultation and engagement and Australian field scan to set out a clear definition of impact investing, why it matters, what was happening globally and in Australia and what could and should happen in and from Australia. Undertaken as a Departmental initiative, this field scan laid the groundwork to grow the field.

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2014
Invisible Heart of Markets

Invisible Heart of Markets
2014
As an active member of the G8 Taskforce, Rosemary contributed to its landmark report Impact Investing: The Invisible Heart of Markets and the 4 working group reports that accompanied it.
2014
National Australia Bank

National Australia Bank
2014
Foundational advice for National Australia Bank to anchor its strategy in impact investing.

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2014
Impact Investing Australia

Impact Investing Australia
2014
Impact Strategist has supported and informed the work of Impact Investing Australia, founding the organisation in 2014 to provide operations, strategy and implementation capability for the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing. Rosemary Addis’ services were provided as Executive Chair of the AAB and Impact Investing Australia until July 2019. During that time, Rosemary was instrumental in developing and executing strategy to grow innovation and impact investing in and from Australia. She continues as an Ambassador for the AAB and non-executive Chair of Impact Investing Australia.

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2015
Social Finance – Role of Governments & Policy

Social Finance – Role of Governments & Policy
2015
Requested by Professor Alex Nicholls of the Skoll Centre at Said Business School, Oxford, to write chapter on role of Government and policy for first text on social finance
2015
Breaking the Deadlock

Breaking the Deadlock
2015
Collaboration with Social Finance UK for the FIA Foundation to bring a social innovation and investment lens to solutions to death and serious injury through road trauma. It is a companion report with Investing to Save Lives which demonstrates the investment case.

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2015
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
2015
Foundational advice for the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade to anchor its understanding of impact investing , its application as a policy tool and options for action.

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2016
Investing to Save Lives

Investing to Save Lives
2016
Collaboration with Social Finance UK for the FIA Foundation to demonstrate the investment case for investment in prevention of road trauma. It is a companion report with Breaking the Deadlock

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2016
Major institutional Investor

Major institutional Investor
2016
A major Australian institutional investor anchor its understanding of impact investing, its application for institutions and options for action.
2018
GSG Working Group, The Impact Principle

GSG Working Group, The Impact Principle
2018
Rosemary led a global working group across 10 countries for the GSG on the seminal issue of widening participation and deepening practice to drive impact investment at scale, covering a vision for an impact economy, field definition, theory of change together with roadmaps for concrete action.
2018
Impact Investing Australia Market Builder of the Year

Impact Investing Australia Market Builder of the Year
2018
Impact Investing Australia recognised as market builder of the year in the inaugural Australian impact investing awards.

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2018
Australian Advisory Board Blueprint, Scaling Impact

Australian Advisory Board Blueprint, Scaling Impact
2018
The Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing blueprint for collective action, Scaling Impact, was launched in late 2018 following a market engagement and strategy development process which Rosemary led in collaboration with Fabienne Michaux, then head of the AAB Strategy Working Group.
2019
SDG Impact Practice Standards

SDG Impact Practice Standards
2019
High level strategy and advice to SDG Impact team at the United Nations Development Programme to anchor engagement of its Steering Group, facilitate development and consultation on SDG Impact Practice Standards and provide a sounding board to the team leadership

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