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Valuing the Social? The Nature and Controversies of Measuring Social Return on Investment (SROI)

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Abstract

The concept of 'social return on investment' (SROI) has come to play an important role in debates about how social enterprises and charities conceptualise, measure and communicate their achievements. In this paper we analyse the nature and role of SROI as used in the United Kingdom for impact assessment of such organisations. The paper offers insight into methodological and procedural aspects of the framework. Key issues explored include the quantification of benefits, the valuing of volunteering and the ways in which judgement and discretion are exercised. There is a particular tension between the participatory element in the design of each SROI exercise and its use for the purpose of competition. The paper concludes by proposing a research agenda that includes an examination of the context in which discretion and judgement are applied and the use and usefulness of SROI in the new policy and funding environment in which third sector organisations currently find themselves.

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... A SROI approach was chosen to extend the current research base by providing a comprehensive evaluation of impact beyond traditional financial metrics. Programs for these young people often yield intangible benefits such as adaptive coping and improved resilience, and the SROI methodology has the potential to quantify these benefits, providing a clear picture of its true value (23). By providing an account of the social and economic value generated, SROI can assist in the future planning of policymakers, funder and managers. ...
... While it is acknowledged that the three identified programs have varying lengths, approaches and mediums, they share the same Theory of Change ( Figure 1). As Arvidson et al. (23) argued, a consistent Theory of Change allows for a structured approach for evaluating outcomes across different programs. Moreover, the mixed method approach employed ensures that the nuances of each program are captured while maintaining a consistent framework for evaluation (26). ...
... Nonetheless, to keep the SROI feasible and replicable, it was decided by the research team and Satellite management that the SROI focus on children and young people only. By focusing exclusively on children and young people, the SROI analysis can accurately capture the specific benefits and outcomes relevant to this demographic (23). This focus also allows for direct engagement with the primary end users, (namely young people) whose perspectives and experiences can be systematically and exclusively included in the analysis. ...
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol for the evaluation of programs offered by the Satellite Foundation, designed for, and with, children and young people aged between 8 and 25 years who have family members experiencing mental health challenges. To achieve this, the Social Return on Investment (SROI) method was chosen. SROI is an economic measurement tool used to apply a monetary value to socially situated outcomes. In this study, SROI will be used to provide a means of quantifying the social impact generated by various programs offered by the Satellite Foundation, a community-based mental health organisation. These programs are designed for children and young people who have a family member who experiences mental health challenges, with the aim to promote resilience, hope and connectedness. Given that traditional financial metrics often fail to capture societal benefits, SROI offers a systematic approach to measuring the economic and often intangible social outcomes of any given endeavour. This protocol will describe the SROI method, who the stakeholders are, and how they are engaged. The rationale for the monetisation of outcomes is shown. Other SROI steps are presented, including how impact was established, and the proposed method of calculating the SROI. The limitations and potential benefits of this economic measurement approach are also discussed.
... Similar regulatory equivalents did not emerge in the US context, despite the model origination, highlighting the development of a specific and more marked governing grip on SII in the UK over the last decade. Arvidson et al. [3] explain how the benefit of public spending is often intangible. This makes the investment returns of publicly funded health, housing, social services, amongst others, harder to quantify. ...
... As the authors note, SROI does not differ technically from CBA: 'SROI is described as an approach towards identifying and appreciating value created… The approach is focused on attributing financial value to inputs and outcomes… In order to estimate the positive (or negative) social value… the SROI model uses financial proxies. ' [3]. This logic informs the Cost Unit Database Model of the Greater Manchester Authority as well [13]. ...
... This research addresses some of these challenges to comparability and scalability of social outcome measurement by, first, constructing national financial proxy datasets (US) (UK-derived dataset) and, second, mapping financial proxies (within topical categories) onto the SDGs and their respective target indicators (CSDGs). Drawing on the work of Van der Meer [33] Arvidson et al. [3] note that SROI provides not only a framework for systematic assessment, but also neatly fits into a theory of evaluations as social constructions. Whilst the research focuses in the main on addressing challenges to the comparability and scalability of SROI, it also highlights the need and significance for qualitative analysis within quantitative datasets [35] (e.g. ...
Article
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This paper addresses the comparability and related scalability constraint of Maier et al. (VOLUNTAS 26: 1805–1830, 2015) of social impact measurement by deploying experimental mapping of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target indicators onto social return on investment (SROI) data proxies. Datasets on the unit cost database model hosted by the Greater Manchester Authority are derived for the UK and for the US. Discreet differences in data terminology between financial proxies in the UK and in the USA are translated with a contextual approach for data optimization. The resultant mapped datasets of financial proxies offer early evidence in support of the scalability of SROI. This is valuable for local measurement of progress towards the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This research finds that there are comparatively wide differences in sufficient data both within and across the UK and the US datasets. Yet, mapped data counts show sufficient cross-geographic financial proxy overlaps, pointing to the viability of data collection with financial proxy sampling and mapping both for the better understanding of place-based social value creation and for comparative localised social value contribution. This paper concludes that initial mapping of data onto the SDG target indicators improves the comparability constraint of SROI.
... Within this context, various levels of criticism have been raised by various researchers, who have found certain empirical evidence that highlights the dilemmas and challenges of using SROI. Indeed, a number of critical analyses have been published in recent years on the shortcomings and disadvantages of the SROI methodology (e.g., Arvidson et al., 2013;Bellucci et al., 2019;Chandara, 2016;Corvo et al., 2022;Ebrahim and Rangan, 2014;Fujiwara, 2015;Glowacki, 2021;Kehl et al., 2018;Maier et al., 2015;Moody et al., 2015;Morón and Klimowicz, 2021;Mulgan, 2010;Nielsen et al., 2021;Pathak and Dattani, 2014;Solórzano-García et al., 2019;Yates and Marra, 2017). ...
... Undoubtedly, understanding and addressing the causality problem is the key to every SROI analysis (Maier et al., 2015), but organisations may also experience practical difficulties in quantifying the value of outcomes via indicators and financial proxies. In fact, the identification of indicators is based on choice (Hernández-Marín and Solórzano-García, 2021), which means that it is sometimes arbitrary (Morón and Klimowicz, 2021), and can be influenced by expert judgement and preferences within the entity or its stakeholders (Arvidson et al., 2013). Similarly, a number of the most significant challenges involve difficulties in finding proxies that include all relevant features of social value and that are useful for analogous projects (Nielsen et al., 2021). ...
... Naturally, this lack of standards leads to an "information asymmetry" context (Hazenberg et al., 2015), which complicates the model reliability and its usefulness for decision making and internal improvement purposes (Maier et al., 2015;Nielsen et al., 2021). As a result of this, it is claimed in the literature that careful interpretations of SROI ratios must be made (Jirarattanasopha et al., 2018), and that more emphasis should be placed on identifying the reasons of change in such processes (Arvidson et al., 2013;Ortega-Maldonado and Corbey, 2016). ...
Article
Purpose The existing literature highlights challenges in measuring social impact within social and solidarity economy organisations, particularly regarding the social return on investment (SROI) methodology. This paper aims to address the barriers to SROI implementation while exploring the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing the measurement of social impact. Design/methodology/approach This review-based paper synthesises research on SROI methodology limitations and recent AI developments while focusing on ethical considerations. Drawing from these domains, the study constructs a conceptual framework to guide future research. Findings The study identifies necessary enhancements to existing AI systems for social impact measurement and explores how advances in generative AI could refine current tools and address SROI constraints. It advocates for open AI models to address ethical concerns. Originality/value This study pioneers the integration of social impact assessment and AI, an innovative intersection in the academic literature. The growing disparity between academia and the rapidly evolving AI industry is highlighted and scholarly discourse is enriched through theoretical deliberations and innovative technological solutions.
... Na iniciativa privada, a metodologia é comumente empregada para demonstrar os benefícios de se investir na empresa e motivar os investidores já existentes a manterem a parceria (LOMBARDO et al, 2019). Já na Administração Pública, a metodologia SROI é importante para auxiliar na prestação de contas e valorizar as ações sociais por parte do governo e investidores, fortalecendo a atuação da empresa e sua contribuição para a sociedade (RUIZ-LOZANO et al, 2020;ARVIDSON et al, 2013;PURWOHEDI;GURD, 2019). Embora a metodologia SROI seja utilizada na Administração Pública para medir o valor social criado por programas e projetos, sua aplicação enfrenta desafios e obstáculos, como a complexidade do processo de avaliação, variação de resultados sociais e custos elevados em recursos financeiros, humanos e tecnológicos. ...
... No entanto, é fundamental que o balanço social gerado pela metodologia não se limite a um diagnóstico da situação das pessoas antes e depois da ação da instituição, mas leve em consideração aspectos ambientais, econômicos e sociais que estejam diretamente relacionados com os compromissos da Agenda 2030 da ONU 3 . Seguindo essas considerações, é possível descrever os resultados das ações de Ater no processo de prestação de contas e na valorização das ações sociais por parte do governo e investidores (RUIZ-LOZANO et al, 2020;ARVIDSON et al, 2013;PURWOHEDI;GURD, 2019). Com relação ao passo a passo no processo de aplicação dessa metodologia na Administração Pública, destaca-se que o primeiro passo é a identificação de stakeholders, que pode ser traduzido como "partes interessadas" (RUIZ -LOZANO et al, 2020). ...
... O sexto passo é estabelecer um grupo de controle ou um contrafactual, ou seja, analisar o impacto gerado sobre os stakeholders, caso os serviços da organização não tivessem sido aplicados. Uma forma de reunir essa informação é aplicar questionários nos quais se indague a porcentagem de impacto que eles consideram que não deveriam ser atribuídos ao serviço da organização (RUIZ-LOZANO et al, 2020;ARVIDSON et al, 2013;PURWOHEDI;GURD, 2019). Assim, uma opção é pedir que a organização avalie em uma escala de 0 a 5 a possibilidade de conseguir atingir o impacto social, caso o serviço não tivesse sido aplicado ou a organização não existisse. ...
... It is ambiguous and contested (Rawhouser et al., 2017), as illustrated by the proliferation of related yet distinct concepts, such as "social value" (Santos, 2012), "social performance" (Mair and Marti, 2006), or "social returns" (Emerson, 2003). While initial research on the topic attempted to reduce that complexity by developing a unique and universal approach to measuring social impact (Arvidson et al., 2013;Emerson, 2003;Millar and Hall, 2013;Nicholls, 2009), recent articles have, in contrast, recognized the proliferation of alternative yet complementary approaches to assessing social impact, acknowledging the absence of an agreed upon definition, unit of measurement, or of standard conventions for its valuation or evaluation (Ebrahim and Rangan, 2014;Kroeger and Weber, 2014;Stievenart and Pache, 2014). ...
... Monetary metrics use monetary amounts as their unit of measurement to evaluate the amount of social value created by an innovation. One of the most visible outcome-based approaches to accounting for social impact is the Social Return on Investment (SROI), which attempts to compute the ratio of the social impacts generated by an intervention (e.g., increase in wages of beneficiaries, reduced reliance on government assistance, and so on), expressed in monetary terms, divided by the costs required to produce the intervention (Arvidson et al., 2013;Millar and Hall, 2013). Alternatively, the Trucost Environmental Impact Metrics approach calculates the dollar costs to society of a firm's environmental emissions (Jo et al., 2015). ...
... Contingent valuation and stated preference models use survey data to translate changes in wellbeing or satisfaction into economic values: one such survey might ask individuals in malaria zones how much they would be willing to pay for anti-malaria bed nets, and considers this price as a proxy for the value of the bed net innovation, as assessed by its main beneficiaries. Once value has been converted to a monetary proxy, it is generally evaluated using cost-benefit analysis, (S)ROI, cost-effectiveness, and other financial and accounting techniques (Arvidson et al., 2013;Stievenart and Pache, 2014). ...
... The SROI framework was originally presented in Emerson and Twersky (1996). It was then developed in the UK through a government-funded program on the measurement of social value started in 2008 (Arvidson et al., 2013). ...
... Notably, some issues with SROI are identified. These include the difficulty of comparing studies and different interventions due to the use of a range of valuation methods (Arvidson et al., 2013); difficulty of attaching monetary values to non-market goods and establishing the counterfactual, that is, what would have happened without the intervention (Banke- Thomas et al., 2015); and lack of guidance on how the opinions and values of individuals should be aggregated (Fujiwara, 2014). However, these issues are not unique to SROI, and its merits exceed the issues as Davies et al. (2019) state: "On balance, SROI offers a practical and transparent framework, which can be used to capture the social value of different activities for diverse audiences" (p. ...
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This study addresses the growing interest in the social impact assessment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Using the benefit (value) transfer approach, this study seeks to demonstrate how the social return on investment (SROI) of a CSR inclusion initiative promoting disability sport participation can be assessed. Literature on CSR inclusion initiatives, social impact measurement, disability sport participation and disability interventions/organizations was reviewed and compared. This helped identify the stakeholders and social outcomes to include, and the assumptions for the financial proxies and beneficiary percentages. Based on data provided by the Rugby Football League in England, an application to Inclusion Rugby League— a CSR inclusion initiative promoting disability sport participation—was then conducted. The SROI of Inclusion Rugby League is 3.39:1—a social return of £3.39 for £1 invested. Our research quantifies the positive social impact of a CSR inclusion initiative in monetary terms, providing insights for assessing SROI. This study informs future research on the social impact assessment of CSR initiatives, offering valuable guidance for organizations and their managers in making a case for further investments in CSR. Moreover, it encourages potential funders to engage in CSR initiatives.
... Because of SROI's broad nature, these evaluations have increasingly been used by scholars, public agencies, and private organisations to measure the value of social impacts and justify public investment within (e.g., de Boer et al., 2019;Fujiwara, 2014; and outside of sport scholarship (e.g., Arvidson et al., 2013;Banke-Thomas et al., 2015;Millar & Hall, 2013). Social impact is a widely used term within academic literature, and government and practitioner policy that encompasses social benefits (e.g., social capital; and social costs (e.g., feelings of unsafety; . ...
... From a methodological perspective, although numerous scholars have identified the need to apply monetary valuation methods when evaluating SROI (e.g., Arvidson et al., 2013;Banke-Thoms et al., 2015;, scholarship, to date, has rarely applied a monetary valuation method . Given the plethora of monetary valuation methods available , before conducting an examination of residents' SROI from hosting a major sport event, which method(s) is(are) best to apply must first be determined. ...
... However, SROI is not without its critics. The methodology has been frequently criticised for its lack of standardisation (Arvidson et al., 2013;Feor et al., 2023;Mulloth et al., 2021;Pathak and Dattani, 2014), meaning studies are context specific and ratios cannot be compared. Determining counterfactuals can be particularly challenging (Pattak and Dattani, 2014;Spear, 2024) without relevant data being either collected as part of the study or available in the public domain, meaning that subjective expert judgement is often the only viable option for making estimations (Wilson and Bull, 2013). ...
Article
Purpose Though qualitative evidence of social impact exists for disability-inclusive social enterprise, there is a dearth of quantitative economic impact on their social impact. This study aims to address this gap and investigate the appropriateness and usefulness of social return on investment (SROI) methodology in this context. Design/methodology/approach Primary data was collected from people with disabilities, their families, staff at the parent company (an Australian Disability Enterprise [ADE]), social investors and other key stakeholders ( n = 17). The study was also informed by the literature and a steering group to provide expert opinion when no other data existed to inform estimates. Sensitivity analysis was performed to check the robustness of the analysis. Findings Social return was estimated at 1.47–2.65 for every 1invested(over3years)and1 invested (over 3 years) and 8.48–$12.63 (20 years). Some forecast assumptions significantly impacted upon final ratios and need to be tested. How SROI ratios are received by social investors, the ADE sector and government remains untested. However, the political climate suggests ADEs adopting social enterprise models will be well received if they can deliver, and demonstrate through robust measurement, sustainable open employment opportunities. Originality/value Few studies exist that estimate the social impact of social enterprises supporting open employment of people with disabilities. At a time when ADEs (sheltered workshops) have been heavily criticised for providing repetitive, menial work for top up wages on welfare payments, the outputs from this research may provide valuable data to an ADE sector in transition as well as social investors and policy makers who increasingly require robust measurement of impact.
... Metrics, influenced by the Random Walk algorithm (Xia et al. 2020), are intricately linked with data from the enhanced graph. They play a pivotal role in elucidating genuine controversies within identified partitions (Arvidson et al. 2013). Random Walk Controversy (RWC) assesses controversy in discussions by employing random walks on a graph (Garimella et al. 2016).. ...
Article
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The impact of social media on information exchange is profound, providing valuable access to public information, but it can also intensify negative effects like cognitive bias, opinion extremism, and misinformation through the creation of echo chambers. These echo chambers, characterized by repeated information within closed systems, result from preferential exposure, homophily, and social impact. In this study, we present EchoSense, a framework that can conduct a comprehensive analysis of echo chambers on specific topics using both content and social network analysis and develop effective strategies to address the impact of echo chambers on public discourse and democratic processes. The objective of our developed framework is to serve as a comprehensive guide for detecting echo chambers, with a particular focus on the issue of racial discrimination and worker conditions in the Qatar World cup of 2022, For this purpose, over one million tweets were collected and stored, spanning from January 2022 to the beginning of the World Cup in Qatar. Through this comprehensive analysis, we aspire to contribute to a better understanding of echo chambers while addressing polarization concerns within online communities.
... A particular positive contribution and impact are seen as sufficient, although this contribution only needs to be visible at the input, output, outcome, impact (iooi)'s output level [60]. This might be explained by the findings of Arvidson et al. [61] and Nicholls [58], which state that the strongly limited resources of the crowdvesting platforms do not allow for detailed due diligence on impact. The same might apply to the relevance of integrated business models. ...
Article
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The opacity of the impact investment decision-making process is one of the main constraints hampering further growth in the impact investing ecosystem. This paper takes a differentiated view on why (investment motivation) and how (investment decision criteria) the major private impact investor types allocate funding to investees. We incorporate insights from 34 interviews with the five major impact investor types: social business angels, foundations, social banks, impact investment funds, and crowdvesting platforms. We find that motivation and decision-making significantly differ between the impact investor types, especially concerning strict vs. ambiguous impact definitions, active vs. passive investment approaches, and return requirements reaching from capital preservation to market-driven returns. By providing a differentiated overview of the investor type-specific motivations and most important investment criteria, our study offers social entrepreneurs a roadmap to identify the most appropriate impact investors for their business model.
... For example, this can be a desire to improve their own business practices (Carman & Fredericks, 2010;Lall, 2019). After all, some social impact measurement tools, particularly the Social Return on Investment, have been developed as a learning and management tool for organizations (Arvidson, Lyon, McKay, & Moro, 2013). The 'measuring to improve' argument addresses organizational learning as a benefit of undertaking evaluation processes that help improve services (Barraket & Yousefpour, 2013;Campbell & Lambright, 2016;Salazar, Husted, & Biehl, 2012). ...
Thesis
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In this PhD thesis, I have studied to what extent the welfare state shapes social entrepreneurship. In doing so, I have applied statistical methods of the social sciences and used different data and perspectives to study various aspects of social entrepreneurship. As described in chapter 1, the distinct yet related aspects of social entrepreneurship explored in this dissertation include a desire to engage in social entrepreneurship, the importance of social value creation goals for entrepreneurs, different types of organizational forms of social entrepreneurship, and the measurement of social entrepreneurial impact. The results suggest a paradox between the welfare state and social entrepreneurship. Whereas the welfare state creates a breeding ground for social enterprises, I argue that social entrepreneurial intentions among the public become lower.
... El resultado último de su aplicación consiste en la estimación de un coeficiente por comparación del valor social generado gracias a las actividades o los programas contemplados respecto de la financiación utilizada para su puesta en marcha. En los casos en los que el coeficiente resulte superior / inferior a la unidad, se puede afirmar que del fenómeno contemplado se deriva un valor social superior / inferior a la financiación requerida (Andrich y Caracciolo, 2007;Arvidson et al., 2013). ...
Article
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Transcurridos prácticamente veinte años desde la aprobación del Programa de Vida Independiente en Gipuzkoa y teniendo en cuenta la evolución de las normas y las políticas en materia de discapacidad, se ha estimado necesario llevar a cabo una evaluación de este. Para ello, se han abordado aspectos generales (caracterización del perfil de las personas participantes, así como cuestiones vinculadas con su acceso, su participación y las incidencias en el desarrollo del programa), sociales (análisis del grado de inclusión social), psicosociales (manera en que incide en el bienestar emocional y el empoderamiento de las personas con discapacidad) y económicos (rentabilidad económica de la inversión pública). La evaluación ha permitido analizar y concluir en qué medida ha contribuido el programa a alcanzar los objetivos inicialmente planteados, así como determinar las medidas de mejora correspondientes para alinear plenamente las políticas forales en materia de discapacidad con los requerimientos de la Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad
... However, even though volunteering in sports holds significant importance, evaluating its monetary worth can be complex due to its nature as non-market goods and services (17,18). In addition, there are philosophical concerns about attributing monetary values to outcomes and impacts in general as well as discomfort with summing a range of social values into a single financial value (19). Traditional approaches to valuing volunteering, such as the replacement cost approach or the opportunity cost approach, focus on the input of individuals rather than the outcomes in terms of obtained benefits (18,20,21). ...
Article
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Introduction Volunteering is a prominent and integral aspect of the activities undertaken by sports clubs in Europe. However, even with its growing importance, quantifying the monetary worth of this nonmarket activity, in terms of wellbeing, can present certain difficulties. Traditional approaches to valuing volunteering (i.e., replacement and opportunity cost approaches) do not fully capture the value of volunteering to individuals, as they do not consider the intangible benefits that individuals may derive from their participation. Methods This research provides added value to the monetisation of volunteering in sport by applying the wellbeing valuation approach (WVA) for the first time to a cross-sectional data in eight European countries. A double instrumental variable approach was developed to correct for unobservable variables that may influence the pairs: income and subjective wellbeing (SWB), and volunteering and SWB. This allows to estimate the causal impact of volunteering and income on SWB more accurately and assign a reasonable monetary value to this non-market activity. Results The results, based on a sample size of 1,091, show an income compensation for a volunteer, devoting on average 8.7 hours during a four-week period of €16 to €50 per hour, equivalent to between € 1,700 and € 5,200 per year, depending on the nationality of the volunteer. Discussion With these estimations insights into the value of volunteering in sports are provided, contributing to a better understanding of how this activity can be valued and supported. By recognising and accurately valuing the contributions of volunteers, sport organizations and policymakers can develop more effective strategies for promoting and supporting volunteering in sports.
... However, even though volunteering in sports holds significant importance, evaluating its monetary worth can be complex due to its nature as non-market goods and services (17,18). In addition, there are philosophical concerns about attributing monetary values to outcomes and impacts in general as well as discomfort with summing a range of social values into a single financial value (19). Traditional approaches to valuing volunteering, such as the replacement cost approach or the opportunity cost approach, focus on the input of individuals rather than the outcomes in terms of obtained benefits (18,20,21). ...
Article
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Introduction Scarcity of resources and mounting pressures on health systems make it critical to evaluate new and existing public health interventions related to physical activity and nutrition. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework has gained prominence for capturing traditional variables such as economic costs and returns, as well as wider beneficial social and environmental outcomes. A scoping review was conducted to present the existing evidence on the SROI of physical activity and nutrition interventions, demonstrating the wider benefits of these interventions. Methodology Existing peer-reviewed evidence and grey literature was collated to identify physical activity and nutrition interventions that were evaluated using the SROI framework between January 1996 up until February 2022. Only literature published in the English language, interventions that were conducted in high-income countries were considered for inclusion. Study information and economic data was entered into a pre-prepared data extraction sheet and eligible studies were quality assessed using a 12-point quality assessment framework for SROI studies. Results This review identified a total of 21 SROI studies, with only four deriving from peer-reviewed literature sources. In total, 18 studies evaluated physical activity interventions, one study was purely focused on nutrition, whereas the two remaining studies presented a mix of physical activity and nutrition. The majority of studies derived from the United Kingdom (n = 16) with very few of the studies published prior to 2010 (n = 1). In total, four studies were classified as low quality based on the 12-point quality assessment framework used for this review. Outcomes of the relevant studies show that the benefits of these interventions have added value to families, communities and the wider environments of the target groups. Conclusion This scoping review is adding to research conducted to understand the wider value of public health interventions such as physical activity and nutrition interventions using the SROI framework. This is important so that the development and implementation of public health interventions have the greatest value to people and society, which also benefits decision-makers to effectively and sustainably allocate scarce resources.
... (SE Funder) Funding bodies are understandably reluctant to invest in ideas without 'proof' that they will work. However, social enterprises tend to develop context-dependent solutions to problems that are not always amenable to the kinds of evidence demanded by policy makers or funders (Arvidson et al. 2013;Millar and Hall 2013;Roy et al. 2014). While not directly addressing this problem, the development of a simple tool that can help funders and practitioners assess/demonstrate how and why an idea or project is socially innovative, would at least permit better targeting of one-off grants towards socially innovative start up projects, and help move the sector towards new ways of thinking and doing: ...
Article
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Social innovation is an umbrella concept that allows space for a diverse range of perspectives to co-exist. In this paper, we explore how practitioners negotiate this complexity. Conducting 19 interviews with stakeholders involved in social enterprise and social care in Scotland, we show that almost anything can be conceived of as a social innovation as defined by the European Union. The EU definition can be a useful tool for organizations to demonstrate to funders how and why they are socially innovative. However, in failing to interrogate the power dimension of social innovation, the EU definition neglects any transformative potential.
... Selection of KPIs is integral to a company's strategy, and while financial KPIs have become largely routinized, the selection and measurement of societal KPIs is less developed (Hertel et al. 2022;Hristov and Chirico 2019). Effective use of societal KPIs requires expertise and skills (Arvidson et al. 2013) to both design and implement measurement systems as well as analyze and interpret the results (Reynolds et al. 2018). Results from assessing societal KPIs can be reinserted to refine and improve the company's strategy and practices (Nicholls 2018). ...
Article
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Companies today are increasingly called upon to address society’s issues, such as climate change and inequality, but traditional companies are not up to the task as they are designed primarily for profit maximization. Addressing society’s issues requires companies to societally hybridize, meaning introducing societal goals alongside profit goals thereby transitioning to a deeper societal impact commitment. However, extant literature predominantly considers born hybrid organizations and discusses specific design elements or types of hybrid design. Drawing on social–commercial hybrid organization and organization design literatures, this conceptual paper takes a dynamic view of social–commercial hybridity. This paper proposes a framework delineating four stages of societal hybridization based on the degree to which a traditional company realigns its design to pursue dual goals. The paper has practical and theoretical implications with contributions to social–commercial hybrid organization and organization design theories by demonstrating how redesign can enable a company to successfully integrate societal goals and improve multidimensional organizational performance.
... Para ello, define una secuencia causal de elementos que se inicia con los recursos empleados por la iniciativa (inputs) y pasa por los productos o servicios generados con dichos recursos (outputs), por los resultados obtenidos (outcomes) y finaliza, por último, con la repercusión o impacto final (impact)aquellos cambios ocurridos gracias a la iniciativa llevada a cabo y que no habrían sucedido en ausencia de la misma -. A diferencia de los dos primeros elementos de la cadena de valor del impacto, los outcomes e impacts pueden resultar complejos de medir, puesto que entra en juego una gran cantidad de factores que están fuera del control de la organización responsable de la iniciativa (Arvidson, Lyon, McKay y Moro, 2013). A continuación se describen dos metodologías que persiguen la valoración monetaria de los impactos sociales generados por una actividad: el Social Return On Investment y el Valor Social Integrado. ...
Article
Los centros especiales de empleo (CEE) son empresas de la economía social que compatibilizan la participación en el mercado y la viabilidad económica con la función social de la integración de las personas con discapacidad. El objetivo del presente trabajo es comparar dos enfoques utilizados para analizar el valor social generado por los CEE en términos monetarios: el Retorno Social de la Inversión (SROI) y el Valor Social Integrado (VSI). Con base en una revisión de once casos de estudio de CEE españoles, se explora el alcance de los estudios, los stakeholders identificados, las categorías de valor consideradas y el proceso de monetización de las mismas. El análisis comparado de los estudios de SROI y VSI concluye que las dos metodologías muestran muchas similitudes en el proceso seguido para medir el valor social generado, pero también algunas diferencias significativas que influyen en los importes calculados.
... For this reason, the SROI methodology seems to be the most suitable and applied in the study. The importance of this methodology lies in the fact that it seeks to provide social, environmental, and economic values that were previously difficult to estimate and experience strong biases or even distortions in the assessment of related values (Arvidson et al., 2013;Bellucci et al., 2019). ...
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... SROI melibatkan analisis bagaimana organisasi mewujudkan nilai kepada masyarakat. Ia melibatkan proses mengenal pasti pihak berkepentingan, menilai input yang dilibatkan, mengukur hasil (outcome) daripada dana yang dibelanjakan dan perubahan yang memberi kesan kepada pihak berkepentingan (stakeholders) daripada pelaburan yang dibuat (Arvidson et al., 2013). Perubahan yang terjadi pada masyarakat dari pelbagai perspektif sosial, alam sekitar dan ekonomi dinyatakan dalam nilai wang. ...
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Zakat merupakan satu bentuk bantuan kepada penerima zakat untuk membantu mereka meneruskan kehidupan dan meningkatkan taraf hidup. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai impak ekonomi dan sosial agihan zakat oleh Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah (LZNK) kepada sekumpulan penerima melalui skim bantuan perniagaan yang dipanggil Bantuan Jayadiri. Kaedah penyelidikan kualitatif digunakan untuk mengumpul dan menganalisis data. Impak ekonomi dan sosial diukur menggunakan formula Pulangan Sosial atas Pelaburan (SROI). Kajian mendapati bahawa bantuan ini secara umumnya telah meningkatkan tahap pendapatan asnaf. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pulangan sosial bagi skim ini kepada penerima zakat adalah sebanyak RM3.22 bagi setiap RM1 yang dilaburkan. Kadar pulangan ini adalah tinggi dan menunjukkan bahawa skim bantuan perniagaan ini telah mencapai matlamatnya, iaitu untuk meningkatkan pendapatan dan kesejahteraan asnaf melalui bantuan perniagaan ini. Pada masa akan datang, dicadangkan bahawa sistem pemantauan dan pelan penambahbaikan tahap peringkat perniagaan penerima bantuan dapat dibangunkan untuk mengekalkan kelestarian program bantuan ini dalam jangka panjang. Kajian ini adalah salah satu kajian terawal yang menggunakan formula impak sosial yang melibatkan pelaburan oleh institusi zakat.
... It is hoped that AGREE will function for 10 years; however, for the purposes of the economic estimates, it was decided to be prudent and consider a useful life of 5 years. Moreover, SROI estimations are, in general, carried out considering a time horizon between 1 and 5 years [36], so this is coherent with the choice of the authors. ...
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Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability overall worldwide. Upper limb impairment is a common consequence for stroke survivors, having negative impact on their quality of life. Robotic rehabilitation, through repetitive and monitored movements, can improve their status. Developed by a team of researchers at Politecnico di Milano, AGREE is an exoskeleton for upper limb rehabilitation at the stage gate between translational research and clinical validation. Since the cost of this device is particularly high, the present study aimed to provide a framework for assessing its value. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) method, able to grasp the economic, social and environmental impact of an activity, was applied, using expert opinions of a pool of clinical engineers and healthcare professionals from different Italian hospitals to obtain information. Environmental impacts were estimated through Life Cycle Assessment in terms of CO2 emissions and incorporated in the analysis. Considering a 5-year period, the SROI for a single exoskeleton was 3.75:1, and the SROI for the number of exoskeletons projected to be sold was 2.868:1, thus resulting largely in value for money. This study provides a model for combining economic, social and environmental outcomes that, besides contributing to theory, could be useful for decision-making.
... Then, since some values are related to future times, they need to be discounted with an appropriate discount rate. In this case, a time horizon of three years was chosen since SROI calculations are typically carried out for 1 to 5 years [38]. ...
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Hemiplegia is a form of disability that affects one side of the body and has a prevalence of 0.5–0.7 per 1000 live births. It has consequences not only at the medical level but also on psychological, cognitive, and social aspects, and it prevents children from social participation, especially in sports settings. The studies demonstrating the social impact of sports on the hemiplegic population and, in particular, children, are limited. In addition, previous evaluations of healthcare sports initiatives in the hemiplegic population are not available, and traditional methods of evaluation, which are mostly focused on economic outcomes, are not applicable. Thus, this article employs the social return on investment (SROI) methodology, which is able to determine the socio-economic impacts of an initiative, to evaluate the impact of an innovative ankle–foot orthosis (AFO) for hemiplegic children that was created to promote the possibility of “sports for all”. The model was designed with the involvement of stakeholders in all the phases and with mixed methods to assess the input, outcomes, and impact indicators. The final SROI, computed for a time horizon of three years and with a focus on the Lombardy Region, was equal to 3.265:1. Based on this result, the initiative turned out to be worthy of investment.
... These organisations are a network of certified professionals that promote SROI as a method to account for social value and the way it is evaluated. SROI methodology, which originated in the US in the mid-90s and was subsequently adopted in the UK following a government-funded initiative to measure social value in 2008 [30] continues to evolve [31]. ...
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With increasing costs of healthcare in England and Wales following the COVID-19 pandemic, finding alternatives to traditional medical interventions is more important than ever. Social prescribing provides a way of addressing health and well-being through using non-medical methods that may help relieve costs to the NHS. Evaluating interventions, such as social prescribing, which have high social (but not easily quantifiable) value, can be problematic. Social return on investment (SROI) is a method of assigning monetary values to both social value as well as traditional assets, so provides a way of evaluating social prescribing initiatives. This protocol outlines the steps that will be taken in a systematic review of the SROI literature surrounding social prescribing-type integrated health and social care interventions based in the community in England and Wales. Online academic databases such as PubMed Central, ASSIA and Web of Science will be searched, as will grey literature sources such as Google Scholar, the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR) and Social Value UK. Titles and abstracts from the articles returned by the searches will be reviewed by one researcher. Those selected for full text review will be independently reviewed and compared by two researchers. Where the researchers disagree a third reviewer will help resolve any differences. Information collected will include identifying stakeholder groups, assessing the quality of SROI analyses, identifying intended and unintended changes of social prescribing interventions, and comparing social prescribing initiatives in terms of SROI costs and benefits. Quality assessment will be independently conducted on the selected papers by two researchers. The researchers will discuss to obtain consensus. Where there is disagreement, a third researcher will resolve these cases. A pre-existing quality framework will be developed and used to assess the quality of the literature. Protocol registration Prospero registration number: CRD42022318911.
... In public investment analysis, an estimation of costs and benefits for only the sector invested in is often required 134,135 . If we consider the PA sector on its own, our results consistently suggest the 30% proposal would yield benefits several times larger than its investment costs, both in revenues and in broad-sense economic terms (i.e. ...
... Finally, the SROI methodology measures the blended value, monetising both economic and social value to measure the total amount of financial investment and calculating the ratio between the blended value (net of costs) and the financial investment for estimating a rate of return (Arvidson et al., 2013;Grieco, 2015). The SROI equation can best be represented by a formula that states a ratio of the return on investment resulting from an organisation's enterprises combined with the value of its activities used for the achievement of its social purpose (Moody et al., 2015). ...
Chapter
Our paper explores whether social crowdfunding triggers the success of social projects by focusing on the role of the Italian platform Meridonare. By examining 140 projects between 2016 and 2018, our study analyzes how the platform acts in facilitating the interaction between non-profit organizations and private investors willing to participate in the financing of social projects. Our results support the relevant role a social crowdfunding platform has on the success of a campaign. The involvement of the population through actions that leverage the human-touch relationship, and the social nature of the project increases the propensity to achieve the funding objectives.
Thesis
Creative farms have been appearing more and more in Europe since the 2010s and combine the areas of work and leisure in one place. With their offer, which they create together with and for a community, the creative institutions provide functions of social services of general interest (SSGI) in their regions. This raises the question of whether creative farms can serve regional development. In view of the fact, that social and territorial cohesion is becoming increasingly important in spatial planning and that securing the provision of social services of general interest continues to be an important goal of regional development, it is important to find out whether creative farms can specifically contribute to this. After a comprehensive definition of creative farms, their effects on the region and social services of general interest are examined based on three Austrian case studies. In the last part, creative farms are discussed as an instrument for regional development and their contribution with social innovation for the foundational economy. The findings show that the three creative farms can increase the attractiveness and quality of life in a region and that social exchange is promoted. A positive effect on social cohesion cannot be attributed in the three case studies, as it is conditioned by even more factors. Depending on the public accessibility of creative farms, a social meeting place is activated where knowledge is exchanged, and an awareness of the topics discussed at creative farms is created. Using creative farms as an instrument for regional development requires individual adjustments to create supportive conditions for creative farms. Creative farms cannot be established extensively, but they are an opportunity to develop regions with the society according to their needs. Social innovations in the provision of social services through creative farms serve to stabilize processes within social engagement. In the case of the provision of services of general social interest by civil society, creative farms with social innovation can serve the foundational economy. Taking the risks into account, creative farms have diverse potentials as social services of general interest for regional development.
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Las empresas sociales, en tanto que empresas híbridas, necesitan modelos alternativos para la gestión y medición de su desempeño social y económico, como apoyo a la toma de decisiones y para garantizar la rendición de cuentas ante sus grupos de interés. En los últimos años, han surgido diferentes metodologías para evaluar su desempeño e impacto social. En este contexto, el presente documento pretende hacer una revisión de la literatura académica existente, relacionando estos modelos de medición de su impacto social, con otros instrumentos de rendición de cuentas como las memorias de sostenibilidad y la información financiera tradicional.
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Chapter
This chapter addresses the challenging question of how to assess the social impact of an intervention. It develops a critique of an established approach, which monetises outcomes, and reveals the complex factors involved in measuring outcomes. And in this way builds a pluralist perspective drawing on environmental and ethical thinking, which indicates complementary or alternative approaches. It is based on secondary sources (The chapter is based on English language publications, particularly Anglo-Saxon studies), theoretical and empirical, and traces the historical evolution of social return on investment. It develops key learning about critical analysis, contrasting perspectives in social and environmental impact assessment, and understanding about major themes in the methodologies of measuring and evaluating outcomes.
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The impact of social media on information exchange is profound, providing valuable access to public information, but it can also intensify negative effects like cognitive bias, opinion extremism, and misinformation through the creation of echo chambers. These echo chambers, characterized by repeated information within closed systems, result from preferential exposure, homophily, and social impact. In this study, we present EchoSense, a framework that can conduct a comprehensive analysis of echo chambers on specific topics using both content and social network analysis and develop effective strategies to address the impact of echo chambers on public discourse and democratic processes. The objective of our developed framework is to serve as a comprehensive guide for detecting echo chambers, with a particular focus on the issue of racial discrimination and worker conditions in the Qatar World cup of 2022, For this purpose, over one million tweets were collected and stored, spanning from January 2022 to the beginning of the World Cup in Qatar. Through this comprehensive analysis, we aspire to contribute to a better understanding of echo chambers while addressing polarization concerns within online communities.
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Cet article, résultat d’une recherche partenariale combinant des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives, fait état des pratiques d’évaluation des organismes communautaires au Québec. Nos résultats montrent que l’évaluation comme processus réflexif fait partie de l’ADN des organismes communautaires. Ils corroborent deux éléments soulignés dans la littérature sur le sujet : la confusion encore présente entre la reddition de comptes et l’évaluation, et le rôle fondamental des ressources. Nos résultats font ressortir également un élément essentiel à la compréhension des pratiques d’évaluation propres aux organismes communautaires : la cohabitation des pratiques réflexives, dites parfois « informelles », qui sont intégrées au fonctionnement quotidien des organismes, avec des pratiques d’évaluation systématisées. Ces dernières ont un caractère plus complexe, se focalisent sur quelques objectifs ou thèmes précis, nécessitent une expertise et des capacités en évaluation et demandent des ressources financières importantes.
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Cet article, résultat d’une recherche partenariale combinant des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives, fait état des pratiques d’évaluation des organismes communautaires au Québec. Nos résultats montrent que l’évaluation comme processus réflexif fait partie de l’ADN des organismes communautaires. Ils corroborent deux éléments soulignés dans la littérature sur le sujet : la confusion encore présente entre la reddition de comptes et l’évaluation, et le rôle fondamental des ressources. Nos résultats font ressortir également un élément essentiel à la compréhension des pratiques d’évaluation propres aux organismes communautaires : la cohabitation des pratiques réflexives, dites parfois « informelles », qui sont intégrées au fonctionnement quotidien des organismes, avec des pratiques d’évaluation systématisées. Ces dernières ont un caractère plus complexe, se focalisent sur quelques objectifs ou thèmes précis, nécessitent une expertise et des capacités en évaluation et demandent des ressources financières importantes.
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In this study, the calculation of the value of Social Return on Investment (SROI) was carried out as a form of evaluation of the CSR program of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional Refinery Unit RU VII Kasim, Sorong. The problems encountered in Indonesia are that many CSR programs fail to be shown by the SROI score not reaching a score of 1. The method used is a mix method by combining qualitative and quantitative. Determination of samples by purposive sampling and data collection through field observation, in-depth interviews, and document studies. As a result, PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional Refinery Unit VII Kasim has an SROI value of 2.5 so the CSR program implemented has more impact than the budget given, it also shows that the CSR program has been carried out well and has a big impact on the surrounding community. The acquisition of a high SROI score shows that the company's CSR programs have been successful and have a greater impact than the costs incurred on CSR programs and activities.
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In Japan, where the working population is declining, there is a growing expectation that the potential working population will play an active role, and in this context, administrative measures such as the promotion of women's activities have been implemented. However, there is no end to the number of women who leave the workforce after life events such as childbirth or child rearing. For example, in Fukuoka Prefecture (population 5.1 million) alone, where we are based, it is estimated that there are 43,300 potential female workers. Many of these women have have been employed in the past, but have left the workforce due to childbirth, family care, or other reasons, and still wish to work. However, although this group has potential employment needs, they have not yet engaged in specific job-hunting activities, and thus are on the periphery of the labor market, without access to the current active labor market. There are many promising potential employees there, and support for their career redevelopment and participation in the labor market is required. On the other hand, few studies have been conducted in Japanese prefectures to systematically estimate social value, i.e., to determine the scope of impact on society and the stakeholders. This is an obstacle to the formulation of policies for women's advancement and the establishment of related social projects. This paper is aware of this problem and, based on the support for women seeking to re-enter society (career redevelopment) that the authors are implementing, selects seven prefectures in Kyushu, which is also a wide economic zone, as a support area and estimates the social value to companies and families in these areas by using SROI. As a result, it was derived that if 3,586 individuals were reemployed, the SROI ratio (1:X) X would be 76.1 in the first year of reintegration assistance activities and X would be 313.3 in the fourth year.
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This study aimed at developing a scale to measure Social Added Value (SAV) according to the perspective of community members, building on the relational framework and complementing the work of Mannarini et al. (Voluntas: Int J Voluntary Nonprofit Organ 29(6):1315–1329, 2018). The study was conducted on 720 Italian citizens who were not directly involved in Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NPVOs) as active members to examine the statistical validity and psychometric properties of the SAV scale. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that good and satisfactory fit indexes were obtained by a third-order factor model saturated by two second-order variables (contribution to community and quality of external relationships) and eight first-order variables (services and tasks, vision, social responsibility, control mutuality, communality relationship, trust, commitment, capacity to build community connections). Additional analyses revealed that both perceived NPVOs target values and sense of belonging to the community were positively associated with SAV. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
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The current trend in the transition of the economy from a linear to a circular model implies, among other things, a reorientation of target indicators from cost criteria in favour of social and environmental significance. The sustainable development of the economy requires the complex interaction of all market players, the awareness of consumers and producers, investments from the state, as well as the attraction of private capital. Socially significant investments in ESG projects have a number of distinctive features, which makes it impossible to assess their effectiveness by the usual criteria for investment analysis. Methods for assessing the social return on investment today certainly exist and are being developed, but their perception, interpretation and, in particular, areas of practical application remain insufficiently accessible. This article is devoted to the analysis of the SROI indicator, as a generally accepted criterion for measuring the social return on investment, as well as the peculiarities of using this indicator for Russian investors. The purpose of the study is to analyse the existing methods for evaluating the effectiveness of investments in ESG projects, taking into account the specifics of the Russian economy in the current realities. Research objectives: To identify the main known methods in the field of evaluating investments in ESG projects; To identify the main problems when using international methods in the practice of assessing socially significant investments in the Russian market; Suggest ways to solve the identified problems.
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The Cash for Work (CfW) program or known as Padat Karya Tunai (PKT) is an innovation by the central government and village governments to provide productive activities to reduce poverty and to implement sustainable development. The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance effectiveness of the irrigation water utilization improvement program (P3-TGAI) from the perspective of social, economic, and environmental impacts based on the SROI method. This research is qualitative research with a case study approach. Evaluation will be carried out from 2021 to 2022. The validity test of the data using triangulation and member checking. The research site is located in Tirtomulyo Village, Kretek District, Bantul Regency. The results of the research show that the irrigation water utilization improvement program (P3-TGAI) has proven to have created broader social values, not limited to purely technical aspects. The calculation of the SROI ratio shows that every IDR 1 invested generates IDR 1.66 of social value. Thus, the program can be said to be effective so that it can be further implemented.
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Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting. In this systematic review, we document 32 ROI studies across nine countries that address either school-based guidance or one of three congruent fields: widening participation in education, behaviour in schools and adult career guidance. We find the corpus highly heterogenous in methods and quality, leading to problems in comparability. We argue for a pragmatic approach to improving consistency and the importance of policymakers’ capacity for critically reading ROI studies.
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Climate change, deforestation and ecological degradation. Social inequality, poverty, and food insecurity. The problems that confront humanity and our planet are growing, and solutions are complex. No longer are we under the illusion that economic growth, by itself, will solve these problems. Organizations across the world are mobilizing to tackle these social and ecological problems, and with this, our understanding of ‘impact’ and ‘value’ is transforming. This edited collection of chapters from across the world analyses the evolving concept of ‘social value’ and the approaches to identify, measure and report on social value. In addition to deepening our understanding of social value, we examine the concept of Social Return on Investment (SROI) – a common framework that improves the measurement and accounting of social value, and integrates social, environmental and economic aspects into evaluation (Nicholls et al. 2012). In particular, we explore social value and SROI in the context of gender, climate change, environmental stewardship, forest governance and Indigenous peoples, and learn from diverse voices from across the globe. The ambition of this work is to bring insight to theory and practice: illuminating the lessons, and the challenges and opportunities from social value and its evaluation, and with an overall goal of catalyzing and strengthening programs in practice to advance these important issues.
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Intentionality and measurable impact are the key characteristics that allow the differentiation of impact investing from conventional forms of investment. Over the past decade, impact measurement has become a common method for evaluating the financial and social return generated by impact investments, and it is relevant for all impact stakeholders, such as impact investors and intermediaries, investees and social enterprises, public administrations and governments. This study was performed to provide an empirical analysis of some practices useful for improving the consistency, effectiveness and applicability of impact measurement. Using a qualitative approach based on a case study analysis, the paper investigates two measurement tools: Social Return on Investment (SROI) and balanced scorecard (BSC). The analysis performed uses various perspectives and concepts, and based on the evidence found, it opens interesting future research directions into the impact measurement field. The findings of this study add to the existing body of knowledge with “insights” for bridging the gap between theory and practice.
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http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTHDOFFICE/Resources/5485726-1295455628620/Impact_Evaluation_in_Practice.pdf
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As third sector organisations grow in scale and scope, little is known about how they measure their social value and report their achievements. This paper draws on theoretical and empirical material to understand these processes. Decisions over whether to measure, what to measure and how to measure are shown to be shaped by the objectives of the leadership, power relationships within organisations and, more importantly, with the stakeholders outside the organisation. Impact measurement can be seen as both a bureaucratic form of regulation that allows others to control an organisation through performance management or as a form of marketing for organisations with entrepreneurial skills. The lack of consistent approaches and the range of assumptions that need to be made in any social impact measurement process provides social entrepreneurs with 'room to manoeuvre' and a source of power to influence others. For many organisations, measurement of impact can therefore be a way of entrepreneurially creating opportunities.
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This paper analyzes how professional values and practices influence the character of nonprofit organizations, with data from a random sample of 501 (c)(3) operating charities in the San Francisco Bay Area collected between 2003 and 2004. Expanded professionalism in the nonprofit world involves not only paid, full-time careers and credentialed expertise but also the integration of professional ideals into the everyday world of charitable work. We develop key indicators of professionalism and measure organizational rationalization as expressed in the use of strategic planning, independent financial audits, quantitative program evaluation, and consultants. As hypothesized, charities operated by paid personnel and full-time management show higher levels of rationalization. While traditional professionals (doctors, lawyers, and the clergy) do not differ significantly from executives with no credentialed background in eschewing business-like practices, managerial professionals champion such efforts actively, as do semi-professionals, albeit more modestly. Management training is also an important spur to rationalization. We assess what is gained and lost and the tension that can arise when nonprofits become professionalized and adopt more methodical, bureaucratic procedures.
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This article considers the methodological challenge of quantifying the social value generated through social enterprise activity. It argues that in the context of increasing enthusiasm for social enterprise as a mechanism for delivering social services and for tackling social exclusion, it is increasingly necessary to be able to value social impacts. Further it will be necessary to be able to assess the potential creation of social value from different investments in social enterprise. Specifically, this article considers methodology of social return on investment (SROI). SROI has become increasingly promoted in both policy and practice in the United States and the United Kingdom. This article considers the development of this methodology and draws on lessons from international development to highlight the limitations of the current use of SROI.
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This paper outlines the merits of two approaches to social impact measurement that are currently the subject of debate within the third sector: social accounting and audit (SAA) and social return on investment (SROI). Although there are significant similarities between the methods, a number of important differences remain. In particular, while SAA involves a more ‘conventional’ mix of narrative and quantitative disclosures, SROI outcomes are more explicitly quantitative and reductive. This is most evident in the production of the ‘SROI ratio’, which calculates a monetised ‘return’ on a notional £1 of investment. In the UK, with available resources becoming increasingly scarce, the third sector is facing demands for increased accountability as well as being encouraged to ‘scale up’ in preparation for assuming greater responsibility for public service delivery. In this context, it is easy to see why the simplicity and clarity of SROI is attractive to policy-makers, fundraisers and investors, who are keen to quantify and express social value creation and thus make comparative assessments of social value. However, this apparent simplicity also risks reducing the measurement of social impact to a potentially meaningless or even misleading headline figure and should therefore be treated with caution. This is especially so where exact measures are unobtainable, and approximations, or so-called ‘financial proxies’, are used. The use of such proxies is highly subjective, especially when dealing with ‘softer’ outcomes. There is nothing to prevent SROI being used within an SAA framework: indeed, a greater emphasis on quantitative data could improve many social accounts. Nevertheless, we conclude that current efforts to promote SROI adoption, to the likely detriment of SAA, may ultimately promote a one-dimensional funder- and investor-driven approach to social impact measurement in the third sector.
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The central questions of this article are when, how and what do governmental agencies learn from evaluations. A structural constructivist theoretical framework is developed and applied to two case studies, both of which take a report by the Dutch Court of Audit (CoA) as a starting point. A reconstruction is made of the intra- and interorganizational processes through which the impacts of these evaluations were socially constructed. It appears that an evaluation has hardly any direct effect that can be unequivocally ascribed to it. Rather, evaluations seem to support or counteract debates, tendencies and options already present (or 'under construction') in the interaction among the actors involved. Using a structural constructivist theoretical framework we identify mechanisms and conditions that enhance forms of learning processes.This article concludes with some hypotheses about the genesis of evaluation impact.
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Drawing on data from an in-depth case study of an embryonic social enterprise, this paper explores how social enterprises can utilise the multiple identities of social enterprise to access start-up funding. The social entrepreneur exhibited multiple organisational faces to external stakeholders in order to acquire resources. However, resource holders were not passive recipients of these managed impressions. Each had a strategic interest in the social enterprise being presented in a particular way and exerted coercive pressure on the social enterprise to conform to these co-constructed impressions. Utilising organisational impression management helped the social enterprise resist these coercive pressures.
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The scaling of social entrepreneurial impact is an important issue in the field of social entrepreneurship. While researchers have focused relatively little theoretical and empirical attention on scaling, a recently proposed set of drivers of scaling - incorporated into what has been labeled the SCALERS model - may provide guidance for new theoretical and empirical work on scaling of social impact. In this study, prior work on the drivers of scaling is extended by adding to the theoretical foundations upon which the SCALERS model is developed and by providing an initial empirical test of the SCALERS model. Initial empirical support is found for the SCALERS model of scaling social entrepreneurial impact.
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Purpose Responding to recent pleas both to critically analyze and to conceptually advance social entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the political “unconscious” operates in the narration of social entrepreneurship and how it poses a limit to alternative forms of thinking and talking. Design/methodology/approach To move the field beyond a predominantly monological way of narrating, various genres of narrating social entrepreneurship are identified, critically discussed and illustrated against the backdrop of development aid. Findings The paper identifies and distinguishes between a grand narrative that incorporates a messianistic script of harmonious social change, counter‐narratives that render visible the intertextual relations that interpellate the grand narration of social entrepreneurship and little narratives that probe novel territories by investigating the paradoxes and ambivalences of the social. Practical implications The paper suggests a minor understanding and non‐heroic practice of social entrepreneurship guided by the idea of “messianism without a messiah.” Originality/value The paper suggests critical reflexivity as a way to analyze and multiply the circulating narrations of social entrepreneurship.
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Expectations about the contribution that volunteering can make are at a new high. This book aims to meet this interest by bringing together in one volume what is known about the phenomenon of volunteering; the principles and practice of involving volunteers, and the enduring challenges for volunteering in today's world. © Colin Rochester, Angela Ellis Paine and Steven Howlett 2010. All rights reserved.
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This is the seventh edition of a much- referred-to classic text on programme evaluation. As the authors point out, when the book was first published in the l970s, evaluation of social programmes was not well-established - a situation which is very different now with evaluation research embedded throughout all types of public and non-public organisations and on a global basis. This makes the new edition a little less revolutionary, although a lot more useful.
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Discusses its use in decision making and its role as a tool for regulatory reform, focusing on situations in which it has been used, to what extent it has improved regulatory decisions, its promise, and its limitations.-R.House
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While attention to volunteer involvement in the delivery of public services continues to escalate, little systematic research has documented the advantages and the disadvantages of the approach. Based on a comprehensive inventory of possible benefits and liabilities, this study investigates the experience of Georgia local governments with service volunteers. The study also examines the expectations of governments that do not enlist volunteers regarding this method.
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The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
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This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the emergent reporting practices used by social entrepreneurs in terms of their institutional settings and strategic objectives. These reporting practices not only account for financial performance but also disclose more nuanced and contingent social and environmental impacts and outcomes. Furthermore, they act as symbolic objects expressing the market orientation of many socially entrepreneurial organizations in that they aim to provide more complete and transparent disclosure of a variety of performance impacts. Conceptually, this paper draws upon approaches developed within the sociology of accounting as institutional practice and uses three theoretical interpretations to conceptualize the function and effects of reporting, disclosure, and audit in social entrepreneurship: positivist; critical theorist; and interpretative. A discussion of five case studies leads to the development of a new theoretical construct – ‘Blended Value Accounting’ – that constitutes a spectrum of disclosure logics used by social entrepreneurs to access resources and realize organizational mission objectives with key stakeholders. Conclusions consider some further questions around socially entrepreneurial reporting practices and strategies and suggest some new lines of research going forward.
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In the UK, the Big Society programme seeks to encourage philanthropic giving. However, I argue that there is a tension between the Big Society's emphasis on citizen empowerment and the nature of emerging philanthropic relationships. Drawing upon a framework developed by Susan Ostrander (200773. Ostrander , S. A. 2007. The Growth of Donor Control: Revisiting the Social Relations of Philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(2): 356–72. [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®]View all references), this article maps and analyses three types of philanthropic relationships in the UK: (1) donor-intermediary; (2) donor exclusive; and (3) donor oversight. Analysing these philanthropic relationships is salient as it draws attention to the role of philanthropy in the reshaping of the relationship between state, market and civil society in the context of the Big Society.
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The idea of theory-based evaluation (TBE) is plausible and cogent, and it promises to bring greater explanatory power to evaluation. However, problems beset its use, including inadequate theories about pathways to desired outcomes in many program areas, confusion between theories of implementation and theories of programmatic action, difficulties in eliciting or constructing usable theories, measurement error, complexities in analysis, and others. This article explores the problems, describes the nature of potential benefits, and suggests that the benefits are significant enough to warrant continued effort to overcome the obstacles and advance the feasibility of TBE.
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Purpose – To evaluate the potential of social return on investment (SROI) and investment ready tools (IRT) in enabling social enterprises to address the credibility gap associated with their ability to build capacity and to adopt a more commercial/entrepreneurial approach to their activities. Design/methodology/approach – The differences that exist between social and financial returns in social enterprises are discussed. Reports the results of interviews conducted with key informants from the social investment industry in Scotland and England to explore their personal understanding or experience of SROI, the tools they use at present to assess social enterprise sustainability and capacity for growth and potential for investment, their likes and dislikes of SROI, and how they see SROI moving forward in a Scottish and/or UK context. Findings – The results indicated that, should social enterprises find a way to overcome the resource implications of implementing SROI, this would enable them to become the preferred investment vehicle for new sources of social finance. Originality/value – Presents the findings from an MBA dissertation entitled “Is Measuring Social Return on Investment (SROI) a tool that can be used to raise the profile of social enterprises and help attract investment?” (Flockhart 2004) and includes preliminary findings from a pilot programme conducted by CEiS Ltd on the introduction of an Investment Ready Tool (IRT) for social enterprise.
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L'A. eclaire le debat entre economistes et philosophes concernant la promotion publique des biens futurs, en distinguant l'evaluation economique des biens offerts par une economie de marche, de la methode pure d'evaluation qui concerne le bien-etre des personnes et generations futures dependantes des mesures gouvernementales actuelles
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Although many managers today run their businesses without sufficient information on the impact of their actions on the environment, and many guidelines have been proposed since the early 1990s, there is no framework to quantify the value of a company's impact on people and the environment. An analysis is offered of the patterns that emerge from 88 social pro forma statements developed by Global Social Venture Competition entrepreneurs from 2000 to 2002.The patterns were developed from business plans by start-up companies from a wide range of industries. To address implementation issues influencing the credibility and standardization of social impact analyses, the Standard for Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis was developed as a way to measure these methods and their implementation.To illustrate the SROI calculation, the version used by the GSVC is employed. The SROI analysis includes four steps: (1) the collection of ongoing social performance data; (2) the prioritization of data important enough to track; (3) the incorporation of data into management decision-making and reporting; and (4) the valuation (to understand what amount of social value is created or destroyed, and where resources should be allocated). The SROI analysis helps managers and investors accomplish three critical tasks: plan, manage, and assess. To determine the true value of SROI, companies must create SROI analyses based on actual performance. The findings indicate that the process of calculating an SROI, actual or projected, may help companies identify opportunities to create social value and increase financial value. Also, the price of a projected SROI similar to those illustrated in this study ranges from zero to a few thousand dollars, and some benefits may stem from analysis of projected SROI even without ongoing tracking efforts. The quality and consistency of the SROI analyses is important for their value to companies, investors, and the public. (CBS)
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The public sector has increasingly adopted the methods and values of the market to guide policy creation and management. Several public administration scholars in the United States have pointed out the problems with this, especially in relation to the impact on democracy and citizenship. Similarly, nonprofit organizations are adopting the approaches and values of the private market, which may harm democracy and citizenship because of its impact on nonprofit organizations' ability to create and maintain a strong civil society. This article reviews the major marketization trends occurring within the nonprofit sector—commercial revenue generation, contract competition, the influence of new and emerging donors, and social entrepreneurship—and surveys research on their potential impact on nonprofit organizations' contributions to civil society. The article ends with a discussion of the significance of marketization in the nonprofit sector for public administration scholars and public managers.
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In rich countries, environmental problems are seen as problems of prosperity. In poor countries, they are seen as problems of poverty. This is because the environmental problems in poor countries—such as lack of clean drinking water or decent sanitation—are problems that affect them here and now, whereas in rich countries the environmental problems that people worry about most—largely as a result of current prosperity and economic growth—are those that seem likely to harm mainly posterity and hence violate our obligations to future generations. But what exactly are our obligations to future generations? Are they determined by some sort of ethical system, such as the ‘rights’ of future generations, or justice between generations, or intergenerational equity, or sustainable development? The first part of this book is addressed to these questions. It is argued that while ethical ‘systems’ do not provide much help, we still have moral obligations to take account of the interests that future generations will have. But an appraisal of these interests in the light of probable future developments suggests that, while environmental problems have to be taken seriously, our main obligation to future generations is to bequeath to them a more decent society in which there is greater respect for basic human rights than is the case today throughout most of the world. Furthermore, it cannot serve the interests of justice if the burden of protecting the environment for the benefit of posterity is born mainly by poorer people today. More resources devoted to the environment means fewer are devoted competing claims for, say, health care or education or housing, not to mention plain private consumption. And in poor countries millions of people suffer from acute lack of sanitation, clean drinking water, shelter, and basic infrastructures to prevent or cure widespread disease. Neither generations nor nations are homogeneous entities. The later chapters of this book, therefore, are addressed to the ethical aspects of the way that resources ought to be shared out between environmental protection and competing uses in all countries, and how the burden of dealing with global environmental problems ought to be shared out between rich and poor nations.
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This paper presents findings from an evaluation of transport to employment (T2E) in rural Highland Scotland. T2E is a centrally co-ordinated shared transport service which provides access to workplace, training and childcare where no alternative transport is available. The paper assesses the social as well as economic impacts on the local community through social return on investment (SROI) analysis. Measurable social benefits were found to outweigh the investment by 3:1 suggesting the concept to be a viable solution in a climate where public transport options are limited and typically restricted by low density and dispersed populations and challenging conditions for delivery.
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In 2005, the British parliament passed legislation to make available the first new legal form of incorporation in over a century: the Community Interest Company (CIC). This initiative represented an important element within a larger set of public policy measures that aimed to create a more enabling environment for the accelerated growth of social entrepreneurship and, specifically, social enterprises. In an exploratory study, this paper presents an analysis of the regulatory space within which the reporting and disclosure practices for CICs were negotiated. Three elements within the regulatory space are identified as having explanatory value: regulatory boundaries that set and limit the terms of negotiation around regulatory practice; the key actors that engage in a process of negotiation around the establishment of actual practice; the range of debate and conflicting ideas that inform regulatory negotiation and legitimating consensus. The analysis suggests that a normative logic of light touch regulation was of particular importance within the wider UK policy context from within which CICs emerged and that the CIC Regulator acts as a mediator of disclosure information across multiple user constituencies. Empirically, this paper draws upon a sample of 80 published CIC annual reports to consider two aspects of CIC reporting: the quantity of information provided and the type of data presented. These data demonstrate the limitations and challenges of current CIC regulatory disclosure practices for key users of reporting information, particularly in terms of perceptions of organizational legitimacy. Conclusions are drawn concerning these limitations, particularly in terms of their implications for public policy.
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Its emphasis on performance measurement affords rare insights into some innovative techniques. Moreover, institutional and other theories are deployed to explore the reasons for innovation.... The book should be a prized resource for postgraduate students who seek a deeper understanding of social enterprise measurement and management practices. It covers extremely and topical issues, while the case studies offer a perspective on the complexities of real social enterprises
Social Return on Investment: Report for WRVS
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The Department for Work and Pensions Social Cost-Benefit Analysis framework London: DWP Working Paper 86
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