Thrive has appointed Dr Daniel Fujiwara as Head of Economics. A co-author of HM Treasury’s Green Book and an internationally recognised social impact economist, Dr Fujiwara will lead Thrive’s in-house Economics Team and deepen the economic expertise that underpins the Impact Evaluation Standard, the independently governed social value measurement framework used across the UK public and private sectors.
His appointment comes at a moment when boards, investors and contracting authorities are demanding far more rigour in social value reporting.
Thrive, the social impact measurement platform, has appointed Dr Daniel Fujiwara as its Head of Economics. He will lead Thrive’s in-house Economics Team, deepening the technical expertise that already underpins the Impact Evaluation Standard.
Dr Fujiwara co-authored the HM Treasury Green Book, which underpins how the UK Government appraises social outcomes, including chapters on valuation and the supplementary guidance on wellbeing. He is internationally recognised for his work pioneering new methods in social value such as wellbeing valuation, distributional weights, equity analysis and econometric methods, and previously founded social value research consultancy Simetrica.
The announcement comes as boards, investors and contracting authorities are pushing for more rigour in social impact and data they can defend in front of an audit committee and as the social value discipline wants to more clearly understand the wellbeing outcomes of their interventions. Daniel’s appointment will help businesses deliver greater social value impact through highly credible economic reporting and analysis.
Thrive CEO Neil MacDonald said:
“Social impact is maturing. Boards and investors want the same rigour from social data that they expect from financial accounts. They need numbers that can support investment decisions, not just stories that read well in a report. The Impact Evaluation Standard already sets the methodological bar in this market, and Daniel’s appointment further deepens the economic expertise behind it. His role is to keep raising that bar.”
The Economics Team will lead the next phase of the Impact Evaluation Standard, Thrive’s independently governed measurement framework. The Impact Evaluation Standard is already aligned with the Green Book and with the UK Government’s Social Value Model.
Thrive’s focus for the year ahead is to move the industry forward on rigour and on a clearer view of the wellbeing outcomes that social value interventions actually produce. The team’s output will be shared through successive Impact Evaluation Standard updates, including extending the Standard’s applicability to a wider range of international markets.
Dr Fujiwara himself said:
“Social value measurement is ready to raise the bar on rigour, and on how clearly it captures the wellbeing outcomes that interventions actually deliver. Building on the Green Book methodology and rigorous statistical analysis is where the discipline needs to go, and the Impact Evaluation Standard is the right vehicle to take that work to scale.”
The appointment comes alongside a significant expansion of Thrive’s consultancy team, giving customers access to advice from social value strategy through to assurance. The Economics Team will also anchor a new economics consultancy offer, providing bespoke advisory support on valuation, methodology design and the evidence base behind social impact claims. These moves all contribute towards Thrive’s wider goal of bringing the “S” of ESG up to the rigour of the “E” and the “G”.
Why rigour matters in social value measurement
Social value data is increasingly being treated as data the business can stand behind. Boards use it to support investment decisions, procurement teams need it to survive scrutiny, and buyers reporting up to Cabinet Office need it to be defensible. Meeting that bar takes more than a list of metrics: it takes a framework grounded in robust methodology, updated as policy moves, and applied consistently to every record.
The Impact Evaluation Standard meets that test. It is overseen by an independent steering committee of academics, economists and sector specialists, aligned with HM Treasury’s Green Book methodology and the UK Government’s Social Value Model, and refined through regular releases rather than the occasional refresh. When PPN 002 introduced a new Social Value Model in February 2025, mandatory for central government procurement processes from 1 October, the Impact Evaluation Standard 2025.2 release incorporated the new Standard Reporting Metrics in time for those rules taking effect, interoperable alongside the PPN 06/20 metrics that continue to govern existing contracts.
In April 2026, Thrive Validation went live alongside the IES 2026.0 release. Over 1,000 intelligent rules are now applied at the point of entry, giving data collectors immediate, structured feedback on whether each record meets the requirements of the framework.
That catches issues while the evidence is fresh and the fix is straightforward, rather than weeks or months later through retrospective sampling.
Daniel’s appointment as Head of Economics deepens the expertise behind all of this and brings additional weight to the next phase of work: preparing the Impact Evaluation Standard for PPN 026 and a new Social Value Model for 2027 and making social value data fully audit-ready.
Frequently asked questions
The Impact Evaluation Standard (IES) is an independently governed social value measurement framework aligned with the UK Government’s Social Value Model under PPN 002 and with HM Treasury’s Green Book methodology (soon to be aligned with PPN 026 as well).. It provides over 130 metrics and proxy values across employment, environmental, community and wellbeing outcomes, and is overseen by a steering committee of academics, economists and sector specialists. It is updated annually, and ad hoc when policy requires it.
The April 2026 release, IES 2026.0, focused on precision and consistency rather than new metrics. Every metric was reviewed: names tightened for clarity, recording guidance updated with examples, and evidence requirements sharpened and itemised across the framework. One new metric was added (IM181, Physical Wellbeing Initiatives), the FTE baseline was standardised at 35 hours per week, and snapshot reporting rules are now enforced in-platform for 17 point-in-time metrics. Full Data Entry went live for all customers, and Thrive Validation launched as a paid add-on.
Thrive Validation applies over 1,000 intelligent rules to social value data as it is entered, checking each record against the requirements of the Impact Evaluation Standard and giving the user immediate, structured feedback. Catching issues at the point of entry, while the evidence is still to hand, makes the fix straightforward, rather than leaving problems to surface months later in a retrospective review. Validation can be configured project by project, in strict or advisory mode.
Daniel leads Thrive’s in-house Economics Team, deepening the economic expertise that underpins the Impact Evaluation Standard. His work on wellbeing valuation, distributional weights and the Green Book gives the framework’s next phase of development a stronger evidence base, supporting the wider goal of treating social value data with the same rigour as financial data. For customers, that means a more robust framework, clearer evidence pathways, and access to economic consultancy support alongside the platform.
Alan Boyce
Senior Researcher More articles by Alan >
