Our purpose
Capital for social and environmental goals should be allocated on evidence that can be independently examined.
In the experience of our Chairman and our Founder, and in the evidence we have published, capital for social and environmental goals is often committed on figures that people outside the transaction cannot check, and on judgements that leave no record. IntelliSearch works to make the evidence behind each decision traceable to its source, recorded and open to examination. This supports the independent verification that responsible investors already undertake, including under the Operating Principles for Impact Management.
Our thesis
An intervention succeeds when it is additional, measurably effective and able to continue.
Development finance and public policy produce many new programmes, tools and studies. Fewer can show that they changed a decision or an outcome, and fewer still continue once grant or concessional funding ends. We apply four tests to any intervention. The three below can be tried on this page; the fourth, contribution against a stated counterfactual, is assessed in our analyses.
- Additional. Would the result have happened without this capital or programme?
- Measured. Is the change measured, against a stated source?
- Able to continue. Can it continue, and grow, when grant or concessional funding ends?
The tests multiply: weakness in any one limits the whole. Our evidence shows which test is unmet and what would be needed to meet it.
Data culture, applied to capital
Decisions improve when evidence becomes routine practice.
In Data Culture (Kogan Page, 2024), Dr Shorful Islam argues that analysts and technology are not enough to make an organisation decide well. What matters is a shared practice of using evidence, led from the top and maintained over time. The book addresses organisations in general. We apply four of its ideas to the investors, enterprises and public bodies that fund development.
A common language
In the book (p. 29)Agree what each measure means and what good looks like.
Our applicationInvestor, enterprise and evaluator use one definition for each financial and impact measure.
One set of figures
In the book (pp. 74–75)People may interpret data differently, but they work from one set of numbers.
Our applicationEvery figure in a decision paper is linked to its source document.
Institutional memory
In the book (pp. 26–28, 159–162)Knowledge should be retained by the organisation, not held by individuals who may leave.
Our applicationA decision record of what was tried, what it cost and what it changed, kept beyond any one fund team or ministry.
Data-informed decisions
In the book (p. 25)Decisions should rest on evidence that allows others to understand why they were made.
Our applicationJudgement stays with those accountable for the decision. Our task is to make the evidence behind it clear.
The Chairman's agenda
Data culture for capital.
Dr Shorful Islam leads the firm's methods. The firm pursues two questions in public:
- What would it take for impact figures to be held to the standard of financial figures?
- How can investors, enterprises and public bodies keep what they learn when their people move on?
A long view
A new firm with a long-term programme.
IntelliSearch Limited (company number 16565445) was incorporated in England and Wales in 2025. Dr Shorful Islam has more than 20 years' experience in data and analytics. Rashed Mamun has worked in international development since 2015.
Engagement by engagement, we will build a documented record of what was tried, what it cost and what it changed. We intend to maintain and extend it over time, and to make it useful to those who commission the work.
How we work
Commitments a client can check.
- 1
We report what the evidence shows, including findings that do not support the client's case, promptly and in writing.
- 2
We aim to link every figure to its source. We correct errors in writing and state whether they affect other findings.
- 3
In any transaction we act for one party. We disclose in writing the relationships we know of that could affect our independence, including the other companies of our Chairman and our Founder, such as Be Data Solutions, described below.
- 4
We remain available to clients after an engagement closes.
- 5
A member of the IntelliSearch team reviews every conclusion before it is released.
- 6
People make and sign the judgements. We do not use methods we cannot explain to those who must act on the result.
Two firms, distinct roles
IntelliSearch and Be Data Solutions.
Be Data Solutions builds. It designs, engineers and runs data platforms and software from London and an engineering hub in Dhaka. IntelliSearch assesses. It produces evidence for investors, enterprises raising capital and public bodies, and states how it reached each conclusion.
IntelliSearch does not sell software, and Be Data Solutions does not carry out evidence reviews or give investment opinions. Where a client needs both, our findings come first, any engineering work is scoped and priced separately, and the client may appoint any supplier.
Disclosure. Be Data Solutions (company number 13548996) is a related party. Dr Shorful Islam, our Chairman, is a director and Chief Executive of Be Data Solutions. Dr Islam does not review recommendations that Be Data Solutions could deliver.