Measuring Impact Through Social Return On Investment (SROI)

Social Return On Investment(SROI) SROI is a framework to structure thinking and understanding and provide away of representing value created by an organisation, policy or activity (its a story not a number)

Measuring Impact through SROI Involve stakeholders Understand what changes Value the things that matter Only include what is material Do not over-claim Be transparent Verify the result Impact maps examples /templates can be found at:

Benefits of SROI A consistent clear approach to understanding and reporting value-resulting in better organisations with better strategies better systems and clear lines of accountability More able to attract resources required to achieve the organisational mission

Stakeholder Involvement SROI gives a voice to stakeholders who are excluded from the market place Offers opportunities to express opinions on more equal terms SROI includes stakeholders' in decisions about allocating resources

SROI Ambitions Measuring soft and hard outcomes To develop consistency (while keeping flexibility) For use by organisations, commissioners and funders Challenges Methodological and contextual General and inherent to social impact measurements

Reality Check Is this really all my value? Has anyone else contributed to the achievement of these outcomes (Attribution) Attribution –what part of the outcome can be attributed to your activities and what part to others Deadweight –how much of the outcome would have happened any way

Selling Added Value SROI –Impact Map Impact mapping helps to tell the story of what you do Demonstrates the impact of the activity It measure the value of what you do Presents value in quantifiable and financial terms

The Process Develop a forecast of outcomes with indicators as a result of outputs Develop your impact map Revise the impact map after a year with actual data and report impact Impact from projects can support funding applications, influence commissioners of services, improve relationships with stakeholders and support partnership working

Impact Map stakeholderinputoutputoutcome Client (example) Support Workers Time and effort £0.00 Time and effort £ supported placements 188clients provided with a work placement or supported employment Increased confidence Improved coping skills for mental health issues Increased fitness Improved people skills Improved relationships with family and friends Increased workload Improved communication with clients Improved relationship with clients GovernmentNo input £ people moving into employment Reduced benefit cost Increased Income Tax

Impact Map In addition the impact map should include : Description of the activity Indicator Source Quantity Duration Financial Proxy Value Source Attribution% Displacement% Deadweight % Drop off % Impact Calculating the Social Return Explanation of terms and examples of mapping SROI can be found at: inal.pdf

Calculating Impact Financial proxy multiplied by the quantity of the outcome gives you a total value. From this total you deduct any percentages for deadweight or attribution. Repeat this for each outcome (to arrive at the impact for each) Add up the total (to arrive at the overall impact of the outcomes you have included)

Closing the gap A consortium led by Forth Sector and including: The Office of the Third Sector (0TS),The Scottish Office, New Economics Foundation (NEF),New Philanthropy Capital(NPC), Charity Evaluation Services (CES),Social Audit Network (SAN) have signed up to a project to develop, promote and support the use of a standard form for measuring social return on investment (SROI) is now near completion. Full report will be available at: ROI

Resources Forecast%20Forth%20Sector%20Final.pdf Forecast%20Forth%20Sector%20Final.pdf

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