The SROI Network

FRC Group

FRC group has been publishing quantitative and qualitative data and analysis of its social, environmental and economic impacts since 2001. FRC Group began to explore using social return on investment in partnership with Adam Richards of Liverpool John Moores University. To date, four areas of FRC Group activity have been the subjects of social return on investment analyses.
These have shown ratios of return between 1:1.52 and 1:2.19.

As a result of starting to use SROI in 2005, FRC Group has gained a greater understanding of the relationships between the different elements of its businesses and training programmes and how they produce the impacts against a triple- bottom line of economic, social and environmental dividends. FRC Group has plans to increase the role SROI plays in understanding and reporting on our impacts and also in the strategic planning process for existing businesses and new developing businesses and projects.

NOW Project

The NOW project in Northern Ireland provides high quality training and support to enable people with learning disabilities to get the job they want and keep it. NOW carry out an SROI analysis each year and, as a result they have changed how they report on all areas of their activity. NOW's SROI reporting is embedded within the organisation and helps senior management report the impact of their work on peoples lives to NOW's Board and external stakeholders. They have used this information in some instances to avert a funding crisis by presenting their story in a language understood by their funders. The organisation has a new confidence brought about by their ability to translate the difference they make to people's lives into pounds and pence. For this year, NOW identified that for every £1 invested in their projects, £3 would be derived in social return. This meant that the value created, less the cost of creating value was £824,990.

Fab Pad

For example, Fab Pad is a project run by Impact Arts. Fab Pad supports young homeless people to sustain new tenancies. Impact Arts believes that by engaging young people in making their new environment a home there will be less chance of them becoming homeless. The SROI evaluation carried out on Feb Pad revealed that for every £1 invested by the government in support, £8.38 of social return was derived in reduced health care costs, reduced welfare benefits expenditure and reduced costs of repeat homelessness. As a result of their SROI, they have gained follow-on funding support for the programme, developed a higher profile with their main partners and funders, and have begun applying SROI to other aspects of their business as a strategic management tool.

Fresh Pastures CIC

Fresh Pastures CIC takes an innovative approach to providing milk to schools. As well as providing children with milk at school, they recognise the value of the opportunity to educate young people on healthy living, good dietary planning, environmental issues, social inclusion, and equal opportunity disability awareness. In England, Fresh Pastures (CIC) have used an SROI approach to influence commissioning criteria to include environmental, education and employment issues and as a result have been selected under a framework agreement to deliver fresh milk to schools. In a commissioning related SROI impact mapping exercise, they identified that for every £1 of contract deliverable, 59p of social return would also be derived in environmental, education and employment benefits.

 Vassall Centre Trust (VCT), Bristol

VCT is a charity led by disabled people that is transforming a former military hospital into work space units that are fully accessible for people with all forms of impairment. The organisation's mission is to remove the barriers that disabled people face, in order to empower them and enable them to work on equal terms with non-disabled people. The Trust was a recipient of funding from the Adventure Capital Fund. As part of an evaluation pilot, a social return on investment (SROI) analysis was undertaken that looked at the range of benefits accruing to staff working for the Trust itself, the businesses renting the managed workspaces, as well as the clients making use of the specialist meeting and conference facilities. The analysis carried out in 2007 demonstrated that a significant social return was being achieved with the business model. As an advocacy tool, the report still represents a key piece of evidence that proves the organisation's social return credentials, and is frequently used for accessing further funding.

 The analysis shows that the organisation is creating value for its stakeholders; in particular in terms of the benefits that accrue to disabled people. These benefits are both for those who are directly able to take advantage of the building’s accessibility (employees and volunteers) as well as for those clients and service users who benefit indirectly from the way the tenant organisations are able to work because they are renting space in the building. The social value created over 20 years is projected to be £3,760,472. When this is divided by the amount invested, a social return of 1: 5.7 is generated. This means that over 20 years for each £1 invested, £5.70 of social value is created.   

North Tyneside Art Studio, Newcastle (2008)