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Social Return on Investment of an Innovative Employment Option for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

Common Ground Co-operative (CGC) provides training, administrative, and job coach support to five social enterprises for which persons with developmental disabilities are the non-share-capital partners. This study examines the use of social return on investment (SROI) as a means of determining the value of program impacts related to quality-of-life changes for enterprise partners and their families. The process of conducting this SROI analysis is described and analyzed in terms of its utility in employment services for persons with developmental disabilities.

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... Finally, three studies (Owen et al., 2015;Shaw, 2018;Vieta et al., 2015) employed a methodology known as SROI to identify the financial benefits of operating WISE. ...
... This approach seeks to identify the overall savings achieved through a program by identifying the costs of program delivery and comparing those to the monetized social benefits that are accrued (Cordes, 2017). As Owen et al. (2015) noted, the analysis focuses on '…programs' direct economic returns such as revenues; socioeconomic returns such as savings on public costs; and social returns such as increases in independence and self-esteem' (p. 213). ...
... Each study countered this by using 'worst case' or conservative estimations. Owen et al. (2015) noted that the lack of longitudinal data meant that items such as income changes and the long-term cost of supports could not be fully assessed. Vieta et al. (2015) concluded that the qualitative features of the SROI model are more crucial in understanding the business's operations. ...
Article
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Social enterprise is emerging as a promising means of creating flexible employment transitions for people with intellectual disabilities. It has been adopted as an option largely in response to the extended periods of work adjustment and ongoing supportive work environments typical for this population, as well as challenges in identifying suitable and satisfying job matches in the conventional labour market. Creation of meaningful and sustainable employment in social enterprises resides at the intersection of social programming and business management, such that developers must attend to employee needs from a human resource and skills development perspective, while equally attending to sound business management practices. This scoping review aimed to identify best practices for evaluating emerging work integration social enterprises using established program evaluation methods as a means of guiding and monitoring practice. Sixteen studies met study selection criteria, and while not directly addressing the issue of evaluation quality, revealed a number of principles and practices for consideration by evaluators. Implications for evaluation practice are highlighted.
... With the trend toward devolution of institutions has come an increasing focus on community living and support for broad community participation by persons with IDD [1]. This is reflected in the increasing range of employment options beyond sheltered workshops to include social purpose enterprises [16,19], micro-enterprises [6,20,21], supported employment, and customized employment [22] as well as other jobs all with supports based on the needs of the individual matched with employer needs [10••]. Relatively newer employment options include social entrepreneurship that can provide employment for a collective of people with the objective of creating a profitmaking and thriving business while having a social benefit impact [17, 18, 19, 23••]. ...
... An example of supported entrepreneurship (a type of social purpose enterprise) is Common Ground Co-operative in Toronto, Canada. This is a non-profit co-operative that provides training, job coach, and administrative supports for persons with developmental disabilities who are non-share capital partners in its associated social enterprises that include a commercial kitchen, coffee shops, and a toy cleaning business [16,17]. With the support of job coaches, partners determine and carry out the day-to-day operation of these enterprises. ...
... Conflict of Interest The authors (Readhead [7,8,16,17] and Owen [7,[15][16][17]) cited published articles that were co-authored by us (separately or together). References [15][16][17] were based on grant (government and university) funded research with humans. ...
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Purpose of Review The purpose of this article is to examine the preparation of youths and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) for employment and the personal and organizational factors that support their participation in the workforce. Recent Findings Despite evidence of the positive impacts of employment, high rates of unemployment and underemployment persist. However, the variety of employment options is increasing to include social purpose enterprise, customized employment, integrated work, competitive employment, and military membership. Central to employment success is the fit between the individual, the workplace environment, and its commitment to inclusion with the availability of broader community support. Summary Effective partnerships between employers and community/educational professionals can establish a support system that paves a constructive pathway to employment beginning in high school and leading to post-secondary education and work-related training, such as apprenticeships. Future research and practice should focus on a whole-of-government approach with broad self-advocate and community collaboration to promote and provide incentives for inclusive and diverse workplaces.
... While a variety of postsecondary opportunities do exist for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities to receive vocational training and education and to be employed, there is no guarantee that these opportunities will lead to an increase in quality of life and benefits to the individual. This study builds on the findings of previous studies (Bishop, 2013;Owen, Li, et al., 2015;Readhead, 2012) and explored the impact on job skill development and quality of life for individuals participating in the training program for a social enterprise. Six students with a developmental disability from the training program were interviewed three times across the course of their training and entry to the partnership. ...
... The purpose of the current study was to build on previous research conducted with Common Ground Co-operative (CGC). Previous contributions include research examining the perspectives of Partners and staff (Bishop, 2013;Readhead, 2012); a case study describing CGC and its impact ; and an evaluation using the social return on investment model (Owen, Li, et al., 2015). The current study evaluated the impact of the Foundations training program on trainees' and apprentices' job skill development and quality of life. ...
... As mentioned below under instrumentation, these measures did not have the sensitivity to detect changes between participants or interview periods. Furthermore, as previously noted, further information is needed regarding the pivotal point between the results described in previous studies (e.g., Owen, Li, et al., 2015;) and the results of the current study. That is, how long after being voted in as a Partner do Partners start to exhibit a notable change in quality of life indicators? ...
Thesis
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Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are usually excluded from vocational training and education, and employment opportunities. While a variety of postsecondary opportunities do exist for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities to receive vocational training and education and to be employed, there is no guarantee that these opportunities will lead to an increase in quality of life and benefits to the individual. This study builds on the findings of previous studies (Bishop, 2013; Owen, Li, et al., 2015; Owen, Readhead, et al., 2015; Readhead, 2012) and explored the impact on job skill development and quality of life for individuals participating in the training program for a social enterprise. Six students with a developmental disability from the training program were interviewed three times across the course of their training and entry to the partnership. They were divided into two cohorts based on when they started the program.), and a semi-structured interview were administered to the participants. The scores and the narratives provided as part of the interview were analyzed for changes. Scores on both measures did not reveal a trend indicating a change in quality of life or job skill development; however, analysis of the narratives indicated changes in both quality of life and job skills. Furthermore, participants described changes in self-determination and the limitations of participating in work. These findings are discussed in terms of previous research completed with Common Ground Cooperative , the limitations of the selected instruments and procedures; and considerations for future research regarding the impact of social enterprises on quality of life. iii Acknowledgements
... In the education sector and, in particular, organizations dedicated to training young people with intellectual disabilities, impact studies are rare [13]. From a public service's sustainability point of view, this approach is interesting as these entities receive a relevant percentage of public finance, and they produce a significant impact on crucial aspects related to vulnerable groups integration and equality of opportunities. ...
... The purpose of our study was to use the SROI (social return on investment) methodology to demonstrate, with basis in scientific evidence, the utility of measuring social impact, both for public funding evaluation and for the internal management of social entities. SROI monetizes the impacts that are not considered in the financial reports or in the evaluations of the programs of the social entities [13,15,16]. First, the information obtained throughout the application of this methodology will provide better scientific evidence to public administrations to evaluate the changes and impacts that their activities produce, in order to prioritize the resources they assign [1]. ...
... All these difficulties have generated both reluctance and enthusiasm with respect to some of the methodologies for measuring social value that have emerged recently [21] and that replace the traditional cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis tools used so far [28]. Owen et al. [13] focused their criticism on the fact that these evaluations have been carried out in terms of economic viability and not of social impact. ...
Article
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The measurement of impacts has been considered one of the best methodologies to evaluate the level of achievement of social entities’ objectives as well as of their contribution to resolving social problems. Those methodologies can guide public policies and subsidies granting, as they help to identify the organizations producing a higher social value, and the effects of their projects. Our research focused on the effectiveness and the efficiency of social entities, measured through their capacity to generate impacts on their stakeholders. The research was realized through the analysis of a case study: the special education center for disabled youths, CEE-SA, in Spain. The social return on investment (SROI) methodology has allowed us to monetarize the social value created for stakeholders through the activity carried out by CEE-SA, and it provides information about the whole value creation process that is generated, for which the analysis and follow-up through the indicators offers a contribution to its management system. This case study can serve as a reference in assessing the management processes of similar entities and can also highlight SROI usefulness for public administrations as an assessment tool for subsidies granted on social criteria. The originality of this research relies on the new SROI methodology provided for the assessment of public financing decisions, especially in a field that remains as under-researched as special education schools.
... Generally, most of the stakeholder groups who participated in PSE programmes for adults with ID had positive views regarding their experience, regardless of their position on the programme (for example staff or students). With two exceptions (Jahoda, Markova, & Cattermole, 1988;Li, 1998), studies focusing on the experiences of students with ID found that they were happy and had positive experiences of participation in PSE (Andrews & Rose, 2010;Black & Roberts, 2009;Folk et al., 2012;Fullana et al., 2016;Jahoda et al., 1998;Li, 1998;O'Brien et al., 2009;Owen et al., 2015;Plotner & May, 2017;Prendergast et al., 2017;Price et al., 2017;Ryan, Nauheimer, George, & Dague, 2017;Spassiani et al., 2017). Moreover, studies reported that students with ID felt they gained many benefits when they enrolled in PSE programmes. ...
... Some of these benefits related to personal development, such as making new friends and improving personal skills, especially their level of self-determination (Black & Roberts, 2009;Folk et al., 2012;O'Brien et al., 2009;Prendergast et al., 2017;Price et al., 2017;Spassiani et al., 2017). Other benefits were related to the resources in the programmes, such as projectors and computers, which made their course easier to understand (Fullana et al., 2016;Owen et al., 2015). ...
... With regard to personal skills, they saw the improvement of their children during the programme, especially with regard to independence skills. Concerning social aspects, parents with a child in an inclusive programme were happy about the social relationships formed with other students without disabilities (Causton-Theoharis, Ashby, & DeClouette, 2009;Owen et al., 2015). However, most of those who participated in the programme studied by Jahoda, Markova, and Cattermole (1988) had the opposite views and experiences. ...
Article
Post-secondary education (PSE) is an important option in the educational and employment paths of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, PSE for young adults with ID is not in wide use across the world. Different issues might affect the geographical spread of PSE programmes. Some of these are related to the attitudes, expectations and/or funding for those programmes. In this systematic review, the PSE experiences of different stakeholder groups (young adults with ID, their parents, PSE staff and students without a disability) were examined by reviewing findings across 22 studies that investigated PSE for students with ID. This examination encompassed attitudes and motivation to engage with PSE, as well as stakeholders’ perceived barriers and facilitators in accessing and remaining in the three PSE models (separate, inclusive and mixed). Students with ID and their parents were the stakeholder groups least represented in the available evidence. Findings suggested that most stakeholder groups reported positive experiences of PSE derived mostly from gains in social skills and independence. Several barriers to accessing PSE were reported by each group, namely physical and academic barriers by students with ID, an understanding of the PSE system by their parents, and the lack of training by PSE staff. Evidence from the present review seems to indicate that inclusive PSE models were associated with a more positive experience across stakeholder groups.
... Another beneficial outcome of hiring people with disabilities involved an inclusive and diverse workplace culture, as reported in 14 studies [1,5,8,18,40,46,50,55,58,64,65,70,74,75]. For example, Buciuinene and Kazlauskaite [18] found that providing (dis)ability awareness training for coworkers of employees with disabilities created a more inclusive workplace culture, which can strengthen a company's overall workforce [1]. ...
... Kalef et al. [64] found that hiring people with disabilities in a telecommunications company helped to create an inclusive workplace culture and to improve co-worker partnerships [65]. Owen et al. [74] noted that having people with developmental disabilities in the workforce facilitated the enhancement of social inclusion and workplace wellbeing. Similarly, Scott et al. [46] found that the presence of employees with autism encouraged the development of a more inclusive workplace culture. ...
... Secondary outcomes included benefits for people with disabilities themselves such as improved quality of life [61], enhanced self-confidence [18,73,74,76], a source of earnings or income [77,78], an expanded social network [78], and a sense of a community [78]. ...
Article
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Purpose: We reviewed literature on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. Increasing attention is being paid to the role of people with disabilities in the workplace. Although most research focuses on employers’ concerns, many companies are now beginning to share their successes. However, there is no synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. Methods Our team conducted a systematic review, completing comprehensive searches of seven databases from 1997 to May 2017. We selected articles for inclusion that were peer-reviewed publications, had a sample involving people with disabilities, conducted an empirical study with at least one outcome focusing on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities, and focused on competitive employment. Two reviewers independently applied the inclusion criteria, extracted the data, and rated the study quality. Results Of the 6176 studies identified in our search, 39 articles met our inclusion criteria. Findings show that benefits of hiring people with disabilities included improvements in profitability (e.g., profits and cost-effectiveness, turnover and retention, reliability and punctuality, employee loyalty, company image), competitive advantage (e.g., diverse customers, customer loyalty and satisfaction, innovation, productivity, work ethic, safety), inclusive work culture, and ability awareness. Secondary benefits for people with disabilities included improved quality of life and income, enhanced self-confidence, expanded social network, and a sense of community. Conclusions There are several benefits to hiring people with disabilities. Further research is needed to explore how benefits may vary by type of disability, industry, and job type.
... This includes 'soft outcomes' (Millar & Hall, 2012) such as self-esteem, confidence, wellbeing, participation, improved family relationships and cultural aspects as well as discrimination and social inclusion (Arvidson, Battye & Salisbury, 2014). SROI analysis is a recent and evolving development (Classens, 2015;Krlev, Munscher & Mulbert, 2013;Social Ventures Australia, 2012) and is comprised of two types of analysis: forecast analysis and evaluative analysis (Banke- Thomas, Madaj & van den Broek, 2015;Krlev, Munscher & Mulbert, 2013;Owen et al., 2015). Forecast analysis resembles formative evaluation and is used during the planning stages of a program to assess planned outcomes that may be created if activities meet their intended outcomes (Gibson, Jones, Travers & Hunter, 2011;Millar & Hall, 2012;Nicholls, Lawlor, Neitzert & Goodspeed, 2009). ...
... SROI analysis has much in common with theorybased evaluation. SROI analysis, like theory-based evaluation, uses theory of change in order to tell the story of what programs do and how change is created across the continuum of elements starting from inputs and outputs through to outcomes (Bamanyaki & Holvoet, 2016;Classens, 2015;Mook, Maiorano, Ryan, Armstrong & Quarter, 2015;Owen et al., 2015). Resemblance between the two approaches is demonstrated in the way they visually illustrate how value was created (Classens, 2015;Mook et al., 2015) using a graphical one page representation, which is also known in SROI as an impact map. ...
... The weaknesses of SROI relates to the subjectivity of the monetisation processes and decisions due to the use of financial proxies (Gibbon & Dey, 2011;King, 2014;Owen et al., 2015;Watson, Evans, Karvonen & Whitley, 2016), the difficulty of making comparisons, and focus on the financial data may lead to other social change processes such as the organisation's mission and objectives of the stakeholders being overlooked (Krlev, Munscher & Mulbert, 2013). Additional pitfalls include potential for bias and over or under claiming, tendency ...
Article
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Social return on investment (SROI) is an approach built on cost benefit analysis and is used in the evaluation of projects with social benefits, as an alternative to cost benefit analysis and theory-based evaluation. This paper provides an analysis of SROI as an evaluation tool compared to theory-based evaluation, based on an evaluation of a community based mental health rehabilitation program in regional South Australia. The paper describes the process of constructing a SROI impact map and identifies the issues at each stage. Establishing the resources used, the activities and the outputs appears relatively straightforward. Arriving at an agreed theory of change is much more contested, even when using a high level of involvement of the service beneficiaries. The single greatest difficulty is to find the indicators and the financial proxies to value the outcomes. Outcomes such as improved wellbeing are difficult to value. It is particularly difficult to establish the level of outcomes immediately after or during an intervention. The paper concludes with an analysis of landscapes where SROI is unlikely to fit.
... No consensus has been reached on the definition of the financial proxies used to monetize the above-mentioned outcomes. The studies' durations have been set between six months and two years for the majority of them [25][26][27]29,[31][32][33][34], but information about the deadweight, attribution, displacement, drop-off, and discount rate has not always been available or detailed. ...
... • Sports interventions have ranged between 2:1 and 5:1 [23,25,30]; • Healthcare interventions have ranged between 3:1 and 13:1 [24,28,29,33]; • Disability interventions have ranged between 1:1 and 15:1 [27,34]. ...
Article
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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.
... The firm becomes the primary focus when we concentrate on the role of the family as a benefactor (e.g., directing social missions toward broad beneficiaries). While firms with broad social missions may still engage in activities aimed at enhancing local or community welfare (e.g., Owen et al., 2015), a significant characteristic of the literature that considers family as a benefactor is that it frequently examines beneficiaries more generally. The mechanisms underlying these social missions often focus on supporting or partnering with outside firms, such as charities (Bacq & Eddleston, 2018), socially conscious suppliers (e.g., fair-trade networks; Berglund & Schwartz, 2013), or impact investment firms (Roundy, 2019). ...
... Considering the shared significance of transgenerational family identity in both social enterprise and family business scholarship, research targeting family dynamics underlying the evolution of a social mission has the potential to benefit a variety of audiences. The findings of our review provide insights that highlight areas still needing clarity; perhaps when next-generation family owners become more passive, they prefer more corporatized methods of social value creation (Owen et al., 2015), perhaps the relatively modest growth rates of social ventures make them less desirable to potential successors (Truong & Barraket, 2018), or perhaps the generational wealth created within enterprising families creates intergenerational shifts in family values, goals, and resource allocation procedures (Dawson & Parada, 2019). Clearly, the shifting values of firm owners over time is an important topic considering the long-term, often transgenerational, vision of both social enterprise and family business, and research sensitive to these dynamics would benefit both fields significantly. ...
Article
Although family businesses and social enterprises are typically examined as distinct organizational forms, research in both domains recognizes the significant influence of family on organizational goals. Our cross-disciplinary review of 104 articles, published in 50 journals between 1996 and 2020, capitalizes on this family connection and synthesizes the varied ways family influence has been examined in extant literature. Our review considers the role of the family in shaping social missions and directing social value while also emphasizing the importance of community stakeholders. Our findings provide a foundation for understanding the dynamic role of family influence across domains and enhancing interdisciplinary learning.
... Its effectiveness is gauged through the thematic analysis of literature available in research databases. The SROI technique is a hybrid method involving accounting and reporting and analyzes the social impact of a venture through the involvement of stakeholders and establishes a threshold in financial terms (Owen et al., 2015). There is substantial evidence to show that a valid measurement tool to be used across the board for impact measurement in social entrepreneurial ventures is absent. ...
... Please provide the volume and page range for Owen et al., 2015. ...
... Research indicates that involvement in services provided by the voluntary sector can result in improved self-esteem, sense of belonging, confidence, wellbeing, empowerment, social support, increased employability, decreased anti-social behaviour and reduced stress (e.g. Collins, 2006;Dillenburger et al., 2008;Owen, et al., 2015;Tan, 2009). Participation in these services can represent value for money for government departments as one study found that involvement in a social enterprise saved the State $1.77 for every $1 invested (see Owen et al., 2015). ...
... Collins, 2006;Dillenburger et al., 2008;Owen, et al., 2015;Tan, 2009). Participation in these services can represent value for money for government departments as one study found that involvement in a social enterprise saved the State $1.77 for every $1 invested (see Owen et al., 2015). However, many of the claims regarding the benefits of the voluntary sector as service providers are based on small scale qualitative studies. ...
Research
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Frequently, the voluntary sector can be involved in providing services and support to families and children with complex needs, which generally seek to complement existing statutory provision and avoid service duplication. Increasingly, the voluntary sector is being used to deliver these services due to their particular expertise and ability to engage service users (e.g. Acheson, 2001; Appleton, 2005; Bell, 2007; Buchbinder & Shoob, 2013; Collins, 2006). However, these services are being provided against a background of contracting State welfare service provision and neoliberal polices emphasising the role of the free market in providing more efficient and economical services (Alcock, 2012; Henriksen et al., 2015; Hogg & Barnes, 2011). These developments have created new opportunities for the voluntary sector to expand their role in providing social welfare services, increased government interactions with the voluntary sector and strengthened the ability of the voluntary sector to influence social welfare policy and service provision (Hogg & Barnes, 2011). Yet, despite the dominance of the voluntary sector in this area, there is a lack of robust research into the role of the voluntary sector in meeting the needs of families and children with complex needs and how this compares with available social work services (see Dickinson et al. 2012; Rees et al. 2012). This project sought to address this gap in our knowledge by answering the following four questions: 1. What are the main issues with the commissioning, governance and delivery of services by the voluntary sector? 2. What is currently known about how services provided by the voluntary sector can influence family outcomes and does this differ depending on the model of delivery and/or governance used? 3. Does the voluntary sector supplement, hinder or substitute statutory social work services? 4. Are there gaps in our knowledge, policies and/or data collection which may need to be addressed in order to develop an effective, efficient and economical model of service provision in this area?
... The SROI methodology has become one of the most widely used tools to measure and manage the social impact of projects and actions developed by SSE organisations globally (Farr and Cressey, 2019). Rooted in the theory of change and traditional cost-benefit analysis, the SROI technique is a hybrid method comprising accounting (Owen et al., 2015) and active involvement of stakeholders (Pathak and Dattani, 2014). Indeed, its purpose is to examine, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the social value generation process (Hernández-Marín and Solórzano-García, 2021;Solórzano-García et al., 2015). ...
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.
... Cimera and Burgess (2011) presented an analysis of workers with autism spectrum disorder, and they indicated that these individuals working in their community generated more monetary benefits than monetary costs, with an excellent average benefit-cost ratio. Owen et al. (2015) found that people with developmental disabilities presented a greater social return on investment in training and development. Some authors claimed that PwD (different types of disability not specified in the studies) gather a series of attributes such as loyalty, gratitude, higher motivation, engagement with the organization, higher productivity, high job satisfaction leading to lower turnover rates, absenteeism, as well as a greater willingness to experiment (Aichner, 2021;Hernandez et al., 2008;Kalargyrou, 2014). ...
Article
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Despite the existence of laws on reserve quotas for people with disabilities (PwD), this group continues to experience high unemployment rates and social exclusion. This research has aimed to empirically analyze the influence of the hiring of PwD on the performance and reputation of the firm. We have carried out a quantitative study of European companies to highlight the value and benefits that these workers can bring, and thus overcome prejudices and stereotypes of employers that consider them problematic or unproductive. Our longitudinal research demonstrates that the hiring of PwD contributes positively to the performance and reputation of the firm, helping companies obtain competitive advantages and acting as a brand for the firm. This study gives rise to theoretical, managerial, practical, and political implications.
... Other papers discussed barriers and enablers of impact evaluation (Barraket and Yousefpour 2013; Liston-Heyes and Liu 2021), focusing on social entrepreneurs' attitudes (Grieco 2018). Others, as part of a special issue, analysed specific methods such as SROI, highlighting how the tool was used and the related challenges (Classens 2015;Millar and Hall 2013;Moody, Littlepage, and Paydar 2015;Mook, Chan, and Kershaw 2015;Owen et al. 2015;Vieta, Schatz, and Kasparian 2015;Walk et al. 2015). ...
... Il a été utilisé dans divers cas depuis son élaboration. Il peut servir à l'analyse de programmes communautaires (Crisan et Dan, 2016;Gadais et Bardocz-Bencsik, 2022), à l'évaluation d'OSBL et d'organismes caritatifs (Daigo et Sakuno, 2021), et à celle d'initiatives d'économie sociale et d'entreprises sociales (Utomo et Pangeran, 2020;Owen et al., 2015). Ces exemples montrent que le modèle logique est à la fois reproductible et malléable, qu'il est mobilisable dans une variété de contextes et qu'il peut servir à analyser des projets simples ou complexes. ...
Article
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Les organisations à finalité sociale, qu’elles soient issues du communautaire ou de l’économie sociale, font face à un nombre grandissant de bailleurs de fonds demandant l’adoption de critères de productivité issus du privé. Elles doivent présenter des comptes rendus faisant l’analyse de leurs impacts sociaux. Parallèlement, elles sont confrontées à un environnement économique et social marqué par des crises. Des enjeux tels que les changements climatiques, les inégalités de richesse, et le racisme systémique deviennent de plus en plus importants au sein de leur communauté. Les organisations, sensibles à ces problématiques, veulent les comprendre et y faire face. Cependant, les outils permettant l’analyse des crises systémiques se distinguent des modèles d’évaluation d’impact. Vu l’importance de ces deux perspectives, nous souhaitons imaginer un cadre d’analyse combinant la modélisation de l’efficience sociale et la modélisation macrosociale. Pour ce faire, nous mobilisons la notion d’effet social développée récemment par Philippe Dufort, que nous appliquons dans le cadre d’un modèle logique de l’impact social.
... En tal sentido, los estudios de SROI revisados han considerado el peso muerto y la atribución en la cuantificación de todos los impactos generados. Este proceso de "depuración" implica un alto grado de subjetividad de los analistas (Owen, Li, Whittingham, Hope, Bishop, Readhead y Mook, 2015;Solórzano-García, Navío-Marco y Ruiz-Gómez, 2019), especialmente en los aspectos intangibles relacionados con la calidad de vida. Los estudios comparan los impactos medidos con grupos de control derivados de la literatura o con ayuda de un pre-test retrospectivo, pidiendo a los encuestados que hagan una evaluación comparativa de la situación antes y después de trabajar en el CEE. ...
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.
... Disabled employees can think from the perspective of different customer groups and make the company's customer base more diversified [14,18,36]. In addition, the company's inclusion of disabled groups can make employees feel social altruism and personal satisfaction [16], creating a more inclusive workplace culture and thereby strengthening a company's overall workforce [5,18,20,37,38]. ...
Article
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Disabled persons are the largest minority group in the world and an important part of the labor market. However, few studies use empirical methods to investigate the economic consequences of including disabled employees from the perspective of the demand side. Based on the background of China’s employment quota system for the disabled, and using a sample of Chinese Listed Companies from 2016 to 2020, this paper empirically tests the influence of including disabled employees on firm performance. The results show that there is a U-shaped relationship between the inclusion of disabled employees and firm performance. Firm size and social donation have a negative incentive effect, while average employee compensation has a positive incentive effect on the relationship between disabled employees and firm performance. The above results provide empirical evidence for companies to arrange a diversified labor force, and also provide a new perspective for policymakers to adjust policies to promote the employment of the disabled.
... There has also been significant growth in academic interest in social dimensions of impact measurement for cooperatives, including CSR reporting, sustainability reporting, social accounting and social impact reporting (for example Brown & Wing Wong, 2012;Rixon, 2013b;Bollas-Araya et al., 2014;Brown et al., 2015;Owen et al., 2015;Seguí-Mas et al., 2015;Bollas-Araya et al., 2016;Duguid & Balkan, 2016;Stocki & Hough, 2016;Tuominin et al., 2017 andDuguid, 2017). Academic interest in various forms of social reporting for credit unions is less evident, not least because so few credit unions, albeit with some very notable exceptions, engage in formalised and systematic nonfinancial or social reporting. ...
Article
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In a context of almost no formalised or systematic social impact reporting by credit unions in Ireland, the aim of this paper is to explore how credit unions in Ireland conceptualise social impact, as manifested by the views of 23 credit union managers and 11 other key informants. The extent to which Irish credit unions currently report on social activities and impact is also examined through a thematic analysis of credit union annual reports and websites. The paper also aims to examine the barriers to engagement in social impact measurement and reporting and the supports needed by credit unions to engage. The research finds that there is scope for greater understanding of the concept of social impact, how it can be measured and the importance of reporting it to stakeholders. Despite a strong appetite for social impact measurement and reporting, it is not currently prioritised and credit unions are reticent about taking the first steps for reasons of time, resources, capacity, knowledge, and mindset. Many credit unions already report on activities with a social impact, but do not report on the outcomes or impact. Supports for a standardised approach to social impact measurement would be welcomed by the credit unions. The value in social impact measurement and reporting is seen mainly in helping credit unions to demonstrate the credit union difference.
... The greatest difficulties in assessing the effects of accessibility relate to the nonmonetary effects, especially the indirect ones that apply to the community. To measure these effects, some new techniques have been developed, including the Social Return on Investment (SROI) [56] which is an indicator that aims to measure the economic effects of a socially relevant investment [57], [58], [59], [60]. ...
Chapter
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Certainly, the issue of accessibility has, in addition to a well-known social value, obvious economic repercussions. However, these are not easily measurable, as they can be investigated only on the basis of indicators that are mainly qualitative and indirect. That said, this paper will highlight some aspects that can be considered a first approach, identifying the variables and key players in the economic field. The approach, according to the principles of Universal Design, already identifies economic implications related to the design of spaces, objects, and services. The socio-economic relevance has also been underlined within Sen’s economic theories based on the capability approach and is generally referable to the theme of corporate social responsibility. In recent years, all this has been finding a universalistic synthesis in the enunciation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis is conducted according to an interdisciplinary qualitative approach from two main perspectives: the company and the public administration. The study highlights how accessibility—understood according to a broad meaning that considers material and immaterial factors—assumes significant economic value with different specificities, depending on the reference actor (company/public administration). In particular, it is evident that for the company, the issue of accessibility (both with regard to products and services and organizational profiles) is taking on an increasingly important dimension with reference to marketing and ratings. The present work defines with clear evidence the main areas in which the economic value of accessibility appears, although a more in-depth study is needed to define metrics useful for quantifying the phenomenon. The study can be useful in various public and private sectors that involve policy-makers, designers, managers, and companies that produce goods and services.
... Estos problemas han generado tanto rechazo como entusiasmo con respecto a algunas de las metodologías para la medición de valor social (Arvidson y Lyon, 2014), pero, sin embargo, han ido reemplazando en los últimos años a los análisis tradicionales de coste-efectividad y de coste-beneficio (Banke- Thomas et al., 2015). Owen et al. (2015) señalan que ello se debe a que los métodos tradicionales centraban la evaluación en el análisis de la viabilidad económica y no en el impacto social. ...
Article
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La demanda creciente de la sociedad por actuar para conseguir la reducción de las desigualdades ha dado lugar a una diversificación en los modos de ejecución de las políticas sociales, dado el interés de las entidades privadas por contribuir a su consecución. Para avanzar en ello es clave el papel de las entidades no lucrativas, haciéndose patente la necesidad de analizar y comunicar el proceso de creación de valor para legitimar su actuación.Esta investigación presenta la aplicación del SROI, metodología de análisis del impacto social, para analizar, cuantificar y monetizar los cambios generados por la Fundación Secretariado Gitano a través de su programa ROMI, en un sector de la población que se encuentra discriminado en formación y con dificultades de acceso a la empleabilidad: el colectivo gitano de la ciudad de Córdoba.Los resultados del estudio de caso permiten visualizar y cuantificar los impactos que se generan en procesos de creación de valor de este tipo, proporcionando una información que facilita supervisar la implementación de la estrategia de la organización, así como conocer si se está respondiendo a las necesidades de los stakeholders. De igual modo, la metodología puede servir de referente para otras organizaciones que promuevan actividades similares.
... However, in this brief period, the methodology has been widely applied to an extensive range of fields of study. Main studies have pursued the quantification of social value added by health policies (Banke-Thomas et al., 2015;Dyakova et al., 2017;Knepil et al., 2017) and programs Kumar & Banke-Thomas, 2016;Walker et al., 2017), sport activities and facilities (Davies et al., 2016;King, 2014), and mainly social programs and policies, including those from employment interventions (Owen et al., 2015) to social capital initiatives (Arvidson et al., 2014;Vieta et al., 2015). Today, the Social Value Initiative has identified more than 800 studies using the SROI methodology in an equally wide range of contexts and levels. ...
Article
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This article contributes to the debate on the social and economic impacts generated by tourism activities using a methodology that is still insufficiently explored in the field of tourism and the impacts that this causes: social return on investment (SROI). Using the analysis of a case as a guiding thread, this article shows how the application of this methodology allows one to know in depth the social value that an emblematic palace (one of the main tourist attractions of a city in the south of Spain that was designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] World Heritage Site) brings, the changes experienced by the interest groups that interact with it, and the theory of change that promotes the very existence of the palace. Its results and conclusions can also inform policies and strategies of these other actors related to the intervention.
... For instance, the value of an NPO offering unemployed workers a job-training course should be similar to the price that workers must pay for participating in a similar course as a proxy for social value (Scholten, Nicholls, Olsen, & Galimidi, 2016). The cost of paying for professional counseling could serve as a proxy for heightened emotional well-being (Owen et al., 2015). ...
Article
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Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and social enterprises are increasingly under pressure to justify their use of resources and report their impact on society. Frameworks that monetize social value such as social return on investment (SROI) have emerged as a response. The existing literature highlights many benefits and technical challenges of SROI, but largely ignores strategic and organizational learning aspects. This paper explores the use of SROI in an NPO conducting cultural heritage preservation. By analyzing the challenges managers face in agreeing on a reliable (“correct”) computation of SROI and in assessing the validity and relevance (“appropriateness”) of SROI, we seek to understand the challenges and boundaries of SROI. Challenges with a reliable computation of SROI are identifying stakeholders, the choice of proxies, the time horizons, and deadweight factors. Challenges with an appropriate SROI calculation are comparability, subjectivity, legitimacy, and resource utility. We argue that SROI calculations might not be reliable or appropriate in organizations with fuzzy purposes, broad value creation goals, broad target groups, very individual or subjective proxies, strongly lagged outcomes, complex or unobservable causality, and with lack of legitimacy among stakeholders. Organizations should not trustingly adopt SROI without being aware of these limitations.
... A legnagyobb kihívást munkaerő-piaci integráció szempontjából az értelmi fogyatékkal élő személyek tapasztalják az erőteljes stigmatizáció miatt. A különböző társadalmi vállalkozásoknak pozitív hatása van a befogadásra (Teasdale, 2010;Meltzer, Kayess & Bates, 2018), amint azt a hatások operacionalizálására javasolt dimenziók is sugallják (Owen et al., 2015): (1) függetlenség növeléseszemélyes fejlesztés révén nő az egyén önbizalma, kezdeményezőkészsége, (2) társas részvétel -kapcsolatok létesítése és fenntartása, személyes jogok tudatosítása, valamint (3) jóllét -érzelmi (büszkeség, öröm), fizikai és materiális. ...
Article
A társadalmi vállalkozások célcsoportjai és a diverzitáskategóriák között jelentős átfedés van, hiszen a társadalmi vállalkozások gyakran olyan célcsoportok érdekében működnek, amelyek egyébként a diverzitásmenedzsment fókuszába is tartoznak: például nők, etnikai kisebbségek, fogyatékkal élő személyek. Ugyanakkor a magyarországi társadalmi vállalkozások szerepéről e célcsoportok helyzetének javításában, a társadalmi befogadás erősítésében kevés információval rendelkezünk. Ebben a cikkben ezért azt vizsgálják meg a szerzők, hogy a nőkre, romákra és fogyatékkal élőkre való fókuszálás milyen speciális kérdéseket vet fel, hogyan jelennek meg a társadalmi vállalkozások működésében és tevékenységeiben e célcsoportok a nemzetközi szakirodalomban. Miután – kitérve a nemzetközi és magyar kontextusra – bemutatják az egyes diverzitáskategóriákat és adnak egy bevezetést a társadalmi vállalkozásokról, szisztematikus nemzetközi szakirodalmi áttekintést végeznek. A cél az, hogy az egyes diverzitáskategóriák helyzetét megvizsgálják a társadalmi vállalkozásokban. Következtetésük szerint bár a társadalmi vállalkozások expliciten és vállaltan tevékenykednek egyes társadalmi csoportok érdekében, az elérhető szakirodalomból e célok elérésének megvalósulásáról, a szervezetek mindennapi működési gyakorlatairól és tevékenységeiről, valamint a célcsoportokra tett hatásról kevés információt lehet kapni. Szükség lenne további kutatásokra, amelyek egy-egy szervezetnek vagy szervezetek egy-egy csoportjának átfogóbb és mélyebb vizsgálatát adják. ---- The target groups of social enterprises and diversity categories largely overlap, as social enterprises work for bettering the situation of social groups similar to the ones that diversity management aims to help, such as women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. At the same time, we know very little about how social enterprises improve the circumstances of these social groups and how they strengthen social inclusion. Therefore, in this article the authors investigate what special issues are raised by focusing on women, the Roma people, and people with disabilities, and how these specific groups appear in the operation and activities of social enterprises in international literature. After the authors briefly present the diversity categories and introduce the concept of social enterprise both in the international and Hungarian context, they present a systematic literature review. Their aim is to investigate the situation of the given diversity categories in social enterprises. The authors’ conclusion is that although social enterprises work explicitly and openly in the interest of certain social groups, we know little about the everyday operation practices and activities of social enterprises, the extent they reach their aims and the impact they have on their target groups based on the literature available. Therefore, further empirical research is necessary to provide more in-depth investigation about organizations or groups of organizations.
... Typical forms of activity and employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities include segregated day programs and sheltered workshops, and supported employment (SE) in competitive settings with typical wages and ongoing individualized support services (Owen et al., 2015). In view of the impact of employment on health and well-being, internationally policy concerning people with intellectual disabilities has been directed towards improving the employment opportunities of people with intellectual disabilities (Blamires, 2015;Siperstein, Heyman, & Stokes, 2014), with policy favouring community-based employment (Beyer, Brown, Akandi, & Rapley, 2010). ...
Article
Background There is strong evidence indicating that paid employment is generally good for the physical and mental health of the general population. This systematic review considers the association between employment and the health of people with intellectual disabilities. Methods Studies published from 1990 to 2018 were identified via electronic literature databases, email requests and cross‐citations. Identified studies were reviewed narratively. Results Twelve studies were identified. Studies were generally consistent in reporting an association between being in paid employment and better physical or mental health status. Conclusions This review supports the view that the well‐established association between employment and better health is similar for adults with and without intellectual disabilities. However, evidence establishing causality is lacking and further research to determine specific health benefits attributable to employment for people with intellectual disabilities and the causal pathways that operate is required.
... SROI analyses of specific organisations, programmes or projects, like the ones that appeared in a special issue of the journal Nonprofit Management & Leadership in 2015 (e.g. Mook et al. 2015;Owen et al. 2015;Walk et al. 2015). At the NPO & SE Competence Center of Vienna University of Economics and Business, a total of twenty SROI analyses were performed over the period from 2010 to 2017. ...
Chapter
Although SROI analyses have attracted great attention and found broad application in recent years, above all by NPOs and social enterprises (Arvidson et al. in Voluntary Sector Review 4:3–18, 2013; Cooney and Lynch-Cerullo in Nonprofit Policy Forum 5:367–393, 2014), hardly any scientific debates about the method have taken place on a broader level.
... The above supplier development process displays the circularity of the supplier development programs which are coupled with funding and manufacturing. This is also shows the uniqueness of the model as applied to co-operatives which are commonly challenged with attracting high skilled labour and paying premium salaries but rather reliant on the labour provided by unskilled or semi-skilled worker-members of the co-operative (Owen, Li, Whittingham, Hope, Bishop, Readhead & Mook, 2015). In the findings of this research a reflection on the above process is provided and areas of improvement are suggested. ...
Conference Paper
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This research paper focuses on sewing manufacturing cooperatives and the role of supplier development funding on their performance. This paper presents a model of supplier development used by a South African government department which has contracted over 83 sewing manufacturing cooperatives to provide school uniform packs annually for identified schools in a province. The model proves to be valuable to the knowledge area on funding of manufacturing enterprises with an aim of developing them into reliable suppliers of quality goods. The results of this study show that the model of funding applied in developing the sewing cooperatives as suppliers has enabled them to acquire new manufacturing equipment, fund their business plans and as a result they regard themselves as successful. The practical implications indicated on this paper include improving funding models directed to small business manufacturers to reduce the failure rate of small manufacturing businesses.
... Thus Ebrahim and Rangan ( 2010 ) suggest that the Goodwill measurement scheme would depend upon the theory of change it uses to promote change in the community. For example, if its theory of change is concerned only with the delivery of employment and employment-specific services, then "integrated results" composed of aggregate outcomes should be measured (Owen et al. 2015 ). However, if its theory is complex, promoting long-term change within entire communities, then "ecosystem results" and long-term metrics about their communities would be appropriate . ...
Article
Distributed social enterprises with national or international footprints face unique management challenges. To cast a lens on these challenges, we analyze the case of the US-based social enterprise Goodwill Industries, a century-old, hybrid nonprofit organization with annual business-related revenue of more than $5.5 billion. The economic benefits that accrue from this business are used to support a social mission that has continued to evolve for more than 100 years. We explore how Goodwill is organized and how its management works to continually balance economic and social objectives to facilitate long-term success.
Article
Purpose The study aims to explore the complexities and challenges of measuring social impact, with a particular emphasis on the practical application of the social return on investment (SROI) methodology. By investigating social enterprises in Georgia, the study seeks to understand how social value is quantified and the implications of such measurements for policy and practice. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed-methods approach, centered on the SROI methodology, to measure the social impact of 11 social enterprises in the Republic of Georgia. It incorporates qualitative interviews and quantitative financial analysis, engaging stakeholders from enterprises, beneficiaries and local authorities. The methodology adapts SROI to the Georgian context, addressing challenges such as data scarcity and cultural sensitivity. Findings Findings reveal significant challenges in social impact measurement, including the complexity of quantifying diverse impacts, lack of standardized methodologies and resource constraints. The application of SROI in Georgia demonstrates its flexibility and the critical role of stakeholder engagement, yet underscores the need for context-specific adaptations and rigorous data collection. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by its geographic focus on Georgia, which may affect the generalizability of findings. In addition, the reliance on stakeholder-reported data introduces potential biases. These limitations highlight the necessity for broader, cross-cultural studies and methodological advancements in social impact measurement. Practical implications The study offers practical insights for organizations implementing SROI, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement, cultural sensitivity and adapting methodologies to local contexts. It suggests strategies for overcoming data limitations and enhancing the credibility of social impact assessments. Social implications The research underscores the transformative potential of social enterprises in addressing societal challenges. By quantifying social impact, organizations can better articulate their contributions to societal well-being, informing policy decisions and fostering a culture that values social over mere economic returns. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on social impact measurement by detailing the application of SROI in a novel context – Georgia. It addresses a significant gap in understanding how social impact can be measured in transitional economies and offers valuable insights into the methodological and practical challenges involved.
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.
Article
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Many people with disabilities still face difficulties and obstacles trying to secure employment. Organizations are doing more and more to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities (PWD), because it is in their best interests, due to factors such as a dearth of skilled workers, a lack of trained workers, a rise in the prevalence of disability among their labor groups, as well as in the laws and public attitudes supporting workplace fairness and diversity. This article used a qualitative methodology and conducted a thorough evaluation of the existing literature using a variety of different databases such as Science Direct, Springer, Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Elsevier, which were used to identify various research articles related to the employment of PWD. We looked at research on the advantages of hiring people with disabilities, as well as HR management procedures with reference to recruiting persons with disabilities, and also investigated the methodology this literature used. Our findings demonstrate that the advantages of employing disabled individuals are many. To better understand how advantages may differ by disability type, industry, and work type, more research is required.
Chapter
Members of the disabled workforce are extremely large in number, as the population of people with disabilities approaches 1.3 billion and makes up over 16% of the global population and 26% of the US population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in Disability impacts all of us infographic, 2023; WHO in https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health, n.d.). Approximately, 1 in 4 US citizens has at least one identifiable disability (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in Disability impacts all of us infographic, 2023). However, disabled workers are not represented in similar proportions in the US labor force specifically. The purpose of this handbook chapter is to describe the disabled workforce in the US, barriers that prevent disabled workers from attaining meaningful, gainful employment in the US, and the benefits of hiring members of the disabled workforce (for both disabled and nondisabled employees). Moreover, this chapter will identify opportunities to overcome systemic barriers that prevent disabled workers from entering the US workforce and data that demonstrates which US states provide the most overall assistance for workers with disabilities, including promoting independence and productivity. Authors will conclude with a discussion of which additional barriers warrant scholarly attention and how an analysis of the disabled workforce in the US has global ramifications.KeywordsDisabilityWorkforceInclusionEqualityDiversityInnovation
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FN’s verdensmål er tæt forbundet med forbedringer i samfundets trivsel og omhandler for eksempel sundhed og uddannelse, reduktion af ulighed og social velfærd. For at kunne opfylde disse mål er det af stigende relevans for private virksomheder, offentligeinstitutioner og non-profit-organisationer at kunne afrapportere deres sociale værdi for at legitimere, reflektere over og kommunikere deres initiativer i forhold til samfundets velfærd. Denne artikel uddyber specifikt begreberne social værdi og mulighederne for rapportering af denne og opsummerer erfaringer fra organisationer, som har benyttet sig af rapportering af social værdi. Der sættes fokus på muligheder og udfordringer vedrørende forskellige metoder til måling og afrapportering af social værdi og håndteringen af forskellige interessenter. Artiklen diskuterer desuden indvirkninger på politisk beslutningstagning i forbindelse med rapportering af social værdi.
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The present study has tried to examine the impact of idiosyncratic risk and liquidity on stock market synchronicity and their short run and log run dynamics using uniformly arranged balanced dataset as per accounting years from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018 on 83 companies out of 100 companies representing the index, NIFTY 100. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique has been used for examining this model. The result of the study shows that though both liquidity and idiosyncratic risk have a significant short-run relationship with stock price synchronicity, in the long run liquidity and idiosyncratic risk have a significantly stable positive and negative relationship respectively with synchronicity. Highlighting the fact that as firm-specific opacity decreases synchronicity also decreases and liquidity which is a product of information has a strong influence on synchronicity in the long run.
Article
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The present study has tried to examine the impact of idiosyncratic risk and liquidity on stock market synchronicity and their short run and log run dynamics using uniformly arranged balanced dataset as per accounting years from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018 on 83 companies out of 100 companies representing the index, NIFTY 100. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique has been used for examining this model. The result of the study shows that though both liquidity and idiosyncratic risk have significant short-run relationship with stock price synchronicity, but in the long run liquidity and idiosyncratic risk have a significantly stable positive and negative relationship respectively with synchronicity. Highlighting the fact that as firm-specific opacity decreases synchronicity also decreases and liquidity which is a product of information has a strong influence on synchronicity in the long run.
Article
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Purpose of Review To explore transition to employment and social enterprise (SE) models for people labeled with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), assess the benefits and drawbacks of SEs, and discuss the potential implications for realizing the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in international contexts. Recent Findings Although the UNCRPD promotes employment as a human right, people labeled with IDD continue to experience barriers to labor market participation. Sheltered workshops and supported employment are common paths to employment. SEs are alternatives that are driven by a mission or cause that benefits the community. Summary SEs can address issues of unemployment and social exclusion of people with IDD. Drawbacks include limited transition to paid positions, lack of public awareness of their purpose, and unclear implementation guidelines. SEs can help in contexts where disability services are less developed, provide opportunities to challenge negative perceptions of disability, and promote inclusion and access to employment for people labeled with IDD.
Article
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Purpose Social return on investment (SROI) has received increasing attention, both academically and professionally, since it was initially developed by the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund in the USA in the mid-1990s. Based on a systematic review of the literature that highlights the potential and limitations related to the academic and professional development of the SROI model, the purpose of this study is to systematize the academic debate and contribute to the future research agenda of blended value accounting. Design/methodology/approach Relying on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses approach, this study endeavors to provide reliable academic insights into the factors driving the usage of the SROI model and its further development. Findings A systematic literature review produced a final data set of 284 studies. The results reveal that despite the procedural accuracy characterizing the description of the model, bias-driven methodological implications, availability of resources and sector specificities can influence the type of approach taken by scholars and practitioners. Research limitations/implications To dispel the conceptual and practical haze, this study discusses the results found, especially regarding the potential solutions offered to overcome the SROI limitations presented, as well as offers suggestions for future research. Originality/value This study aims to fill a gap in the literature and enhance a conceptual debate on the future of accounting when it concerns a blended value proposition.
Chapter
This chapter highlights key challenges of impact assessment and argues for a unifying framework of impact assessment in impact investing. Given the current absence of a common language for what impact is, and the diversity in methodological approaches and methods for how impact may be assessed, a unifying framework would facilitate comparisons of performance of impact investment funds. Philanthropic organisations, foundations, investors and fund managers could benefit from such a unifying framework to assess, compare and aggregate impact across all investee firms, portfolios, and firm types in a spectrum of Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs) and over time. Furthermore, a unifying framework could provide contemporaneous assessment of a SPO’s double or multiple bottom lines, as well as evaluate and manage intended and unintended outcomes of an intervention. These are essential for managerial decision making, business model pivoting or impact scaling. We advocate social impact as that which derives from an impact value chain where we distinguish outputs from outcomes and impacts. We further propose that the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)’s characterisation of impact investing can provide a unifying framework for impact assessment along this impact value chain.
Article
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The aim of this paper is to examine how disability organizations account for the emotional value they create for their stakeholders. Based on a review of the literature on emotional value measurement in third sector organizations working in the disability sector, we investigate to what extent emotional value is considered in their social accounting process and what type of value variables, indicators and proxies are used. The results reveal that the analysis of some quality of life domains provides appropriate evidence to represent the emotional value generated by these organizations but that there is a great dispersion in applied instruments and methodologies. The study improves the knowledge and understanding of existing approaches to capture the emotional component of social value creation and contributes to its standardization. Our analysis has implications for the management of disability organizations that can use social accounting to evaluate their performance and improve their effectiveness and efficiency, showing a more complete picture of the social value generated. Likewise, it can be an instrument to make the contribution and social benefits of these organizations visible in all their breadth, improving transparency and legitimacy.
Article
Purpose This paper aims to contribute a new way to carry out outcome mapping (OM) for corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects based on three elements: the lifecycle of the CSR project, its stakeholders and sustainability outcomes. To develop this new OM, CSR projects in the mining industry are analyzed to discover their economic, environment and societal impacts. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study approach is used. Data were collected through direct observations and documents, and complementary attitudinal feedback was also obtained from interviews with community, government and industry leaders. Findings Mapping the CSR project lifecycle, stakeholders and sustainability outcomes simultaneously generate a better approximation of the real impact of the projects that are analyzed. Each stage of the lifecycle reveals new sustainability outcomes for each stakeholder. Originality/value This paper provides a new approach to OM and therefore provides a new way to assess CSR projects.
Chapter
This chapter addresses the knowledge gap between bringing sustainable energy solutions to people and finding out whether the social changes observed (if any) among those people can be directly attributed to the solutions that were introduced. The importance of adequate impact evaluation cannot be overstated. For funders and implementers of development programmes, effective evaluation of both intended and unintended outcomes of an intervention is critical for managerial decision making, cost adjustments, business model pivoting and impact scaling. Similarly, technology developers would be eager to know if the solutions they bring to end users really create the impact intended. We highlight the need to understand social impact evaluation as more than a mid- or post-intervention assessment exercise; instead, impact evaluation should be incorporated alongside the initial outcomes planning and monitoring of an intervention. This ensures the robustness and validity of outcomes and impact evaluation later. This chapter will explain the key concepts of impact evaluation, and then discuss how evaluation can be done by providing overviews to commonly used evaluation methods.
Chapter
Electricity produced through solar home systems (SHS) represents attractive energy supply solutions for the unelectrified population in the Global South, particularly in its remote areas. Together with the respective range of appliances, SHSs represent an unattended and untapped infrastructure. We re-define the different categories of unelectrified and electrified population in the Global South, while describing the applications and usage characteristics of SHSs and the national grid. We introduce the notion of servicing the national grid through swarm electrification, defining the future of utilities through a combination of bottom-up interconnected individual solutions and top-down concentrated energy supply.
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Youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) have an increasing range of post-secondary training, education and employment options when they transition out of high school. This article describes pathways that youth who are interested in employment may take and the supports and processes necessary to help them to move toward their goal. Innovative approaches to skills training for transitional aged youth (TAY) and emerging models of employment and entrepreneurship are described. Unemployment and underemployment of youth and barriers to employment are reviewed. The central role of early individualized planning, experiential learning opportunities, ongoing coordinated mentorship, advocacy and support are discussed.
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Purpose This paper systematically reviews the past four years of research on human resource management (HRM) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to better understand: (1) recent theoretical and empirical developments and where scholarship in the field is headed (i.e. trends); (2) what topics and findings are especially important to understanding how the thought and practice of nonprofit HRM differs from that in public and for-profit organizations (i.e. insights); and (3) what gaps exist in current knowledge and scholarship and some real-world, practice-driven developments in people management that illuminate promising future research directions (i.e. opportunities). Design/methodology/approach Sixty-seven peer-reviewed journal articles covering the period 2015–2018 were identified using a university library database search, as well as by-hand searches through every issue of 22 nonprofit and 36 human resources-related journals during the four-year period. Findings The findings highlight strong continued interest by scholars in a wide range of nonprofit HRM issues, coverage of these issues by a worldwide network of researchers who bring global perspectives and contexts to the study of nonprofit HRM, and rich theoretical and methodological diversity. Yet, compared with the universe of possible human resource topics and several leading-edge developments in organizations and societies that might affect the way people are managed in nonprofits, the paper uncovers gaps in the most recent knowledge base. Originality/value The paper creates a compilation of the most recent nonprofit human resource research to be used as a tool for scholars, students, and practitioners for many years to come.
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BACKGROUND: Enhancing the employment of people with disabilities can help support healthy and productive work. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to understand employer accommodation practices with youth with disabilities (i.e., as they currently exist and what employers need help with) and how they create an inclusive environment. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted involving in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 18 employers who hire young people with disabilities. Thematic analysis explored issues related to disclosure, accommodations, and inclusion. RESULTS: Most employers encouraged youth with disabilities to disclose their condition and emphasized the importance of building trust and rapport. Employers described how and when to provide accommodations, types of accommodations (i.e., formal, informal, physical, and social), and how they addressed unmet needs. Employers’ strategies for creating an inclusive workplace culture included: diversity training, addressing stigma and discrimination, open communication, mentoring and advocacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight that most employers hiring youth with disabilities have strategies for encouraging them to disclose their condition and request accommodations, which can help to inform employers who do not hire people with disabilities or have effective strategies in place to support them.
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In 2011, we published an article in SEAJ [Gibbon, J., and C. Dey. 2011. “Developments in Social Impact Measurement in the Third Sector: Scaling Up or Dumbing Down?” Social and Environmental Accountability Journal 31 (1): 63–72] that explored various issues surrounding the measurement of social impact in Third Sector Organisations. In the little over five years since it was published, we have been surprised to discover that our article has emerged as one of SEAJ’s most cited (and downloaded) publications. This prompted us to take a closer look at where our paper was being cited and obtain further insight as to why and how the paper has been used across a variety of fields, within both theoretical and empirical studies, by both academics and practitioners. Relevant to both researchers and practitioners, our review provides a useful snapshot that brings together a broad literature to explore how and where social impact measurement for social enterprise and values-based organisations is developing.
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Abstract Most research exploring employers’ views of hiring workers with disabilities focuses on adults while little is known about employers’ experiences of working with disabled youth. The purpose of this study was to explore employers’ views of supervising an adolescent with a disability as a part of an employment training program. Employers (n=33) who supervised an adolescent with a disability who was enrolled in an employment-training program at a children’s rehabilitation hospital were surveyed. Although some employers had initial concerns about accommodations and workload they reported an overall positive experience working with these youth, which helped improve their perceptions about people with disabilities in the workplace. Most employers reported positive perceptions from their experience supervising a youth with a disability in the context of this employment training program. Introduction Employers’ perceptions of people with disabilities play a key role in whether they are hired and how they are treated in the workplace (Morgan et al. 2005). Evidence on employers’ experiences of working with people with disabilities is mixed. Some studies report positive attitudes toward people with a disability (Graffam et al. 2002; Hernandez et al. 2000; Kregal and Unger 1993; Levy et al. 1992) and numerous benefits of having them on staff (Gilbride et al. 2003; Hunt and Hunt 2004; McFarlin et al. 1991; Morgan et al. 2005). Others report concerns over the cost (Kaye et al. 2011; Siperstein et al. 2006; Unger 2002), safety and potential litigation (Berry 1995; Kaye et al. 2011; Unger 2002), the appropriateness of a job (Hernandez et al. 2000), and amount of supervision and training. Negative attitudes towards people with disabilities can also limit their employment opportunities (Berry 1995; Kaye et al. 2011; Lindsay 2011; Unger 2002). Although much attention has focused on employment of adults with disabilities, little is known about employers’ experiences in working with youth. Method A descriptive qualitative methodology was used to examine employers’ perspectives of working with adolescents with disabilities while drawing on brief questionnaires. The sample was drawn from an employment training program run through a children’s rehabilitation hospital in Ontario, Canada. Ethical consent was obtained from the hospital’s research ethics board. Youth aged 16-19 with a diagnosed disability participated in a 12-month employment training program. The objective of the employment training program is to enable youth with disabilities to explore career interests and develop life skills through work experience placements, skill building workshops; individual assessment, counseling, coaching; and peer mentor meetings (see Lindsay et al. 2012 for a full description of the program). Supports (e.g., equipment, job coaches) are provided to youth and employers as needed. Participants are paid an honorarium at the end of the program and workplace insurance is provided. Community-based employers who participated in this program (see Table 1) were chosen based on youth’s interests and abilities. All employers who supervised a youth with a disability from this program over a three-year period (n=45) were sent a questionnaire (see Table 2) as part of the follow-up evaluation. Thirty-three questionnaires were completed for a response rate of 73%. We analyzed the descriptive statistics of the first four questions of the survey. To analyze the four open-ended questions, we used a qualitative analysis approach whereby two members of the research team read through each of the responses several times to develop a list of common themes (Green and Thorogood 2004). A constant comparison method was used with continual adjustment throughout the research process. Analytical decisions made during the analysis were documented in an audit trail. Results Employers provided placements for youth with disabilities in a number of different settings (see Table 1). Most employers felt well prepared before the youth arrived (see Table 2). All of the employers felt they received enough support from the employment training program staff during the youth’s placement. Most employers commented that supervising a youth with a disability did not take up much additional time. The majority of employers said they would participate in the youth training program again. Accommodations Nine employers had initial concerns about accommodating youth with a disability, especially with respect to the time and effort it took to integrate the youth into work settings. The primary concerns for employers often centered on physical accommodations to enable youth to move around the office space in their wheelchair or walker. Minor accommodations were often made to the workspaces including switching office chairs, adjusting the desk height, modifying work schedules and breaks. Some of the employers needed to make the workplace more accessible: “We realized we weren’t as accessible as we thought we were” (#8). Employers were often willing to make accommodations. For example, “We are now working toward making our building more accessible to a larger community” (#22). Another employer similarly claimed, “It made me think about the accessibility of our centre (i.e., door way sizes, equipment storage)” (#25). Workload content and quantity Matching youth with a suitable amount of work was a gradual process for many employers. Some felt the workload could have been tailored more appropriately or broken down: “Learning the scope of work that was suitable for the participant and thinking about tasks as a series of steps” (#20). Meanwhile, working with a youth with a disability taught employers that “people learn at their own pace and style. It taught me to be more patient” (#26). Experiences and attitudes Most employers recalled a pleasant experience working with youth with disabilities and commented on their positive attitude. For example, “His friendly, positive attitude is a particular area of strength and impressed all his co-workers” (#1). Other employers commented on their customers’ response to the disabled youth in the workplace. Several employers described the opportunity to improve their mentoring skills and share knowledge with the youth. Indeed, one employer commented how they developed “more sensitivity and awareness of just how easy it is to incorporate them in the workplace” (#25). For many of the employers this was their first experience working with a person with a disability. Several employers reported experiencing a shift in their perceptions about people with disabilities: “It re-organized our department’s way of thinking. I feel much more comfortable interacting with someone with a disability, feeling less awkward or unsure of what to do” (#5). The opportunity to work with youth with disabilities often helped employers to realize their abilities and contributions to their work environment. “It was good for my team. It helps them get exposure to people with disabilities” (#3). Other employers described that employing a youth with a disability was good for their staff because “She was able to bring some more diversity to the group and sparked discussion among the children regarding different abilities” (#7). In some cases, these shifting perceptions sparked a new understanding of accessibility and highlighted areas for improvement. Even employers who had prior experience working with a disabled youth said they had not realized their full potential until they saw their skills in action. Some employers conveyed being positively surprised by the skill level of these youth. The underestimation of their skills may have been a result of employers’ stereotyping them or recognizing they may not have as many skill building opportunities compared to their peers. I underestimated her ability to work in a real business environment with adults and real tasks. She was respectful and professional throughout (#29). One of the employers had an opportunity to see the youth had roles beyond their disability. Such encounters helped to shape positive attitudes towards youth with disabilities, as described by the employers in our study. An employer said, “[He] seemed to see there are real opportunities to put his skills and life experiences to work in productive ways” (#22). Discussion and Conclusion Our findings show that within the context of this employment training program most employers felt well prepared for supervising a young employee with disabilities. Some employers had initial concerns about employing a youth with a disability especially with regards to physical accommodations and work content and quality. This is consistent with past research showing that employers often have concerns about hiring a person with a disability citing factors such as appropriateness of a job, supervision and accommodations (Morgan et al. 2005; Siperstein et al. 2006). Most employers reported more favorable attitudes about people with disabilities. Past research also shows that employers who have hired an employee with a disability are likely to be more positive about hiring a worker with a disability in the future (Gilbride et al. 2003; Siperstein et al. 2006). This emphasizes the importance of employers having an opportunity to work with a person with a disability because it can help to break down negative stereotypes (Kaye et al. 2011). Indeed, paid employment is an important opportunity for youth to build skills and to feel valued (Lindsay et al. 2012). This study is limited in that the findings are suggestive rather than generalizable due to the small sample. Further, the negative aspects of working with youth with disabilities may also be under-reported because the employers involved in our employment program may have been more positive about people with disabilities to begin with. Nevertheless, our findings are consistent with past research. There are several directions for future research. First, more research is needed on how employer experiences of working with youth with disabilities may vary by type of organization (e.g., private, public, charity), the size of the organization and the type of job performed. It would be useful to understand the concerns employers may have about hiring youth with disabilities and the factors leading an employer to offer employment opportunities for disabled youth. Clinical implications Our findings have implications for rehabilitation and life skills teams in designing more effective programs and services. First, structured programs with short-term support for employers particularly around accommodations and type of work may increase the availability of training opportunities for young people with disabilities. Second, an examination of employers' perceptions may also generate information to guide educational efforts directed at reducing fears, strengthening services provided by rehabilitation and employment programs, and establishing mechanisms for communication between educators, service providers and business professionals. Outside the context of structured youth employment programs, families, school staff and rehabilitation service providers can assist the youth they support to understand what concerns employers may have about hiring a person with a disability as a student, volunteer or employee. By raising potential concerns frankly and addressing them, employers may be reassured and more open to hiring. Acknowledgements Funding for this employment training program is made possible by annual donor funding by Capital One. Funding for the data analysis of this paper was provided by a Bloorview Research Institute start-up grant. References Berry, J., Meyer, J. (1995). Employing people with disabilities: Impact of attitude and situation, Rehabilitation Psychology, 40(3), 211-222. Gilbride, D., Stensrud, R., Vandergoot, D. (2003). Identification of the characteristics of work environments and employers open to hiring and accommodating people with disabilities, Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 46(3), 130-137. Graffam, J., Shinkfield, A., Smith, K., Polzin, U. (2002). Factors that influence employer decisions in hiring and retaining an employee with a disability, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 17, 175-181. Green, J, Thorogood, N. (2004). Qualitative Methods for Health Research, Sage Publications, London. Hernandez, B., Keys, C., Balcazar, F. (2000). Employer attitudes toward workers with disabilities and their ADA employment rights: A literature review, Journal of Rehabilitation, 4-16. Hunt, C., Hunt, B. (2004). Changing the attitudes towards people with disabilities: Experimenting with an educational intervention, Journal of Management Issues, 16(2), 166-180. Kaye, S., Jans, L., Jones, E. (2011). Why don’t employers hire and retain workers with disabilities?, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 21(4), 526-536. Kregel, J., Unger, D. (1993). Employer perceptions of the work potential of individuals with disabilities: An illustration from supported employment, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 3(4), 17. Levy, J., Jessop, D., Rimmerman, A., Levy, P. (1992). Attitudes of Fortune 500 corporate executives toward the employability of persons with severe disabilities: A national study, American Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 30(2), 67-75. Lindsay, S. (2011). Discrimination and other barriers to employment for adolescents with disabilities, Disability & Rehabilitation, 33(15-16), 1340-1350. Lindsay, S., Adams, T., Mcdougall, C., Sanford, R. (2012). Skill development in an employment training program for adolescents with disabilities, Disability & Rehabilitation, 34(3), 228-237. McFarlin, D., Song, J., Sonntag, M. (1991). Integrating the disabled into the work force: A survey of fortune 500 company attitudes and practices, Employment Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4(2), 107-123 Morgan, R., Alexander, M. (2005). The employer’s perception: Employment of individuals with developmental disabilities, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23, 39-49. Siperstein, G., Romano, N., Mohler, A., Parker, R. (2006). A national survey of consumer attitudes towards companies that hire people with disabilities, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 24, 3-9. Unger, D. (2002). Employers’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities in the workforce: myths or realities?, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 17(1), 1-15.
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The concept of quality of life (QOL) is increasingly being used in the field of intellectual disabilities as a conceptual and measurement framework for program planning and evaluation. This article describes the development of a QOL conceptual and measurement framework, and summarizes how this framework is currently being used both nationally and internationally to assess and report personal QOL-related outcomes, to guide quality improvement strategies, and to evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies. Implications of such use are discussed, including those related to understanding mental models, developing internal data systems, supporting organization change, and building on current public policies. The article concludes with reference to the evolving nature of the QOL concept and the impact of this on model development and transdisciplinary research.
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