Return to social return
It is almost two years (February 2008) since this magazine first reported that the Office of the Third Sector...
...was scoping the interest and usage of Social Return on Investment (SROI) and asking for copies of evaluation reports using this methodology.
SROI analysis is a process of understanding, measuring and reporting on the social, environmental and economic value that is being created by an organisation. The approach is developed from cost/benefit analysis, social accounting and social auditing, which captures social value by translating social objectives into financial and non financial measures.
The Office of the Third Sector (OTS)’s Measuring Social Value project was commissioned in 2008 and is being run by a consortium led by Jeremy Nicholls of the SROI Network with New Philanthropy Capital, the New Economics Foundation, Charities Evaluation Services and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations as members.
The project is building on current work around impact measurement and aims to:
- standardise the approach to using Social Return on Investment (SROI);
- increase the accessibility and affordability of SROI for third sector organisations, social investors and commissioners;
- develop a network of practitioners who will raise awareness of SROI and social reporting;
- enable third sector organisations to prove the social value they create;
- support government, social investors and commissioners of public services to make more intelligent investment or purchasing decisions; and increase the evidence base of the impact of the third sector.
The project is running alongside a complementary project funded by the Scottish government’s Third Sector Division (TSD). The Scottish government’s project has, in particular, responsibility for the development of a SROI portal and of new training materials for practitioners.
The deliverables of the project focus on:
- developing agreed principles and an accessible methodology to standardise SROI (completed February 2009);
- producing revised guidance on SROI in England (published May 2009);
- producing three shorter guides, tailored to commissioners, social investors and an introduction to SROI (published September 2009);
- disseminating revised guidance on SROI in England (ongoing);
- encouraging usage of SROI by government, social investors, commissioners and third sector organisations (ongoing);
- developing a network of practitioners to raise awareness of SROI (ongoing); and
- rolling out training on SROI for practitioners in England (using the Scottish Government’s training course – started October 2009;.
- Supporting the development of a portal site for information on SROI (lead by the Scottish Government’s project – to be launched in the new year); and
- working with public service commissioners to research and develop further uses of SROI (ongoing).
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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