Hos

ted

by:

Fund

ed b

y:

Measuring impactSize of the sectorSocial Return on Investment (SROI)

Prof Stephen McKay Dr Domenico Moro

Size of the sector

1. WorkforceLink with NCVO (almanac) and Skills Third Sector

2. Volunteering3. Giving

Workforce – LFS

A concentrated sector• In 4 main industries:– Health, social work, education and real estate cover

93.5% of VCS employment• 68% female (45% for all workers)• Average 43.4 years old (40.8)• Average 30 hours a week (34)• 38% are graduates (26%)• 22% in unions (public sector 56%, private 14%)• 40% part-time (10%, unable to find a FT jobs)

Volunteering and giving[2008-09 (E+W) Last 4 weeks]

Informal help 62%; formal volunteering 41%; employment volunteering 5%

75% had given to charity, with average donation of £25 (median £10)

Measuring impact

Several different tools and approaches1. Social ‘Cost Benefit Analysis’2. SROI• SROI is an adjusted cost benefit analysis• Emphasises the role of stakeholders • Designed/developed for the Third Sector

Social Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)

• Form of economic analysis to compare costs and benefits, over time;

• Need to express costs and benefits in current monetary terms;– Tangible and intangible costs and benefit• Different methodologies used to measure intangible

costs and benefits

SROI vs CBA

• As with CBA, SROI combines in the form of a cash flow, the ratio of (discounted) costs and benefits over a certain period of time;

• In many SROI evaluations– Many costs are tangible;– Many “social” benefits are intangible (and are often

given high valuations, and hence a high overall return);• Do not represent any actual financial savings (which would be

closer to marginal rather than average costs)

Distinctive TSO features

• Inputs include volunteering– Valuing volunteering activity• SROI often uses a market value approach (minimum

wage, average wage)

• Outputs/Outcome– Quality of service provided– Empowerment of service users

Using and reporting SROI

• Temptation to use SROI for comparing organisations despite warnings– By organisations themselves – marketing strategy– By funders and commissioners

• Risk of how others interpret the findings– Over-emphasis on the ratio– Organisations feel exposed and vulnerable

• SROI process unaffordable for many, as increasingly ‘professionalised’