Measuring Real Value: A DIY guide to social return on investment Lisa Sanfilippo Q & A with Eilís Lawlor and Richard Murray

What is SROI? SROI: a practical research tool ‘Seeing’ value of Social Enterprise & any organisation more clearly Stakeholder engagement provides evidence base Based on Social Accounting principles Alternative to HMT-style Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Guide ‘Setting the standard’ Step by step Case studies- 2 social firms For you… organisations, evaluators, researchers, decision makers

The method: Understand & Plan Stakeholders Boundaries Impact Map/Indicators Plan Collect data- with people Project into the future Analyse Income & Expenditure Calculate SROI Report

Pack-IT For every £1 invested in Pack- IT, £1.90 of social value is created each year for society in terms of reduced welfare costs and increased local purchasing. Pack-IT generates a combined social return on investment of £71,600 – of which £33,700 is the value added after adjustments are made for grants and wage subsidies.

Millrace IT For every £1 invested in MillRace IT, £7.40 of social value is created -reduced health care costs, reduced benefits costs, as the long- term unemployed come off benefits.

Coming soon… Adventure Capital Fund Exploring loan repayment in ‘social value’ Making the value/benefits/ outcomes stronger part of the award-making process? - community space - child care - recycling/composting

Why do it? Managing outcomes/ improving Competing in the marketplace A good place to hang your hat Will not mask poor performance (benefit?) Staying mission driven/prevent mission drift Adaptability- project level, organisational level, policy level: in a more inclusive way Use with ‘types’ of SE or SE support?

The Kinks Comparisons among organisations? Potential for misreporting of SROI ratio The trouble with money- the search for values & proxies Toting up the value or ‘added value’ of social enterprises- attribution Evidence vs. assertion Robustness vs. useability The booster effect

Where next? Refining the process More and better values Drawing together and sharing knowledge New areas of social, environmental and economic impact Measuring What Matters Programme: informing public sector decision-making Invest to Save (HMT) procurement Social Investment… the obvious frontier

Co-parents Thanks to authors, co-editor –Jeremy Nicholls, Cat’s Pyjamas/ nef –Alibeth Somers, LSBU –Susan Mackenzie, Philanthropy UK –Eilís Lawlor (ed.)

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