Growing social capital – an SROI calculation of the impact of VCS activities funded by grant aid in Kirklees

1. Growing social capital – an SROI calculation of the impact of VCS activities funded by grant aid in Kirklees Trudi Wright November 2012

2. Background • Kirklees hosted an 18 month project exploring how community capacity building activities (CCB) can support service transformation and market development with the introduction of personal budgets • Significance of social capital and CCB in helping people achieve improved outcomes in health and wellbeing – and that it is more cost efficient • Still need to improve how we evidence the impact / outcome of investment in the VCS • National interest (DH and TLAP) in evaluating outcomes and implications for the prevention agenda

3. Problems with measurement • Financial measurement: limited measurement of value • We allocate resources only to the things we can measure • Stakeholders are left out of the equation • So the challenge is to find an alternative that measures in a wider, more meaningful way • Social Return on Investment = Value of benefits Investment

4. How can SROI help us? • An adjusted form of cost-benefit-analysis to help us understand value for money (looks forward or back) • Outcomes based evaluation: Measures things that matter – not just those that are easy to count • Values things that can’t be ‘traded’ (self-esteem, independence, trust and belonging) • Helps bring social and environmental value onto the balance sheet – the ‘triple bottom line’ • USP is that it looks at changes, benefits and outcomes from the perspective of the beneficiaries – not just the funder / commissioner

5. Stages of SROI • Engage stakeholders to identify outcomes • Data collection: • Numbers to match the words and change that’s created (the outcomes) • Deadweight, attribution, displacement • Benefit period and drop off • Model and calculate • Valuation of non-traded outcomes • Report • 7 guiding principles to ensure a robust and consistent outcome – but there are still dubious SROI reports ‘out there’ – be cautious!

6. 3 x Kirklees case studies • Different activities – same scale organisations • 3 wouldn’t evidence a hypothesis, but would highlight common features and emerging patterns • Stakeholder engagement to build an impact map and ‘theory of change’ • Rich tapestry of outcomes captured through focus groups and interviews • Common characteristics emerging across the 3 different organisations • Similarities in outcomes to go forward in SROI • Emerging importance of social capital in contributing to people’s wellbeing

9. Evidencing the outcomes - what contributes to wellbeing?

11. European Social Survey

12. Conclusions and lessons learned • Data collection stage then financial modelling • SROI ratios: • TNC £1:£1.99 • DDC £1:£1.94 • Meltham S&CG £1:£2.75 • Many interim and longer term outcomes are ‘under the radar’ or not routinely captured by traditional monitoring or evaluation (by organisations and funders) • Notwithstanding the ‘financial valuing’work there are many benefits from looking to improve how we gather this wealth of outcomes information • …..and how it helps inform future investment decisions • SROI isn’t the solution for all – but the more we do it – the more powerful it will prove

13. Benefits for commissioners / funders • More insight into the impact of social capital activities helps shift investment into preventative services • Reducing people’s dependency on high cost / high value services • People more independent and inter-dependent when they build their own social networks, i.e. less reliance on the state • Helps identify the financial value of the wider outcomes generated by this type of work (for others, not just service users) • There’s a good business case: it’s VFM • Importance of co-production and an asset based approach to developing health and wellbeing outcomes in each organisation’s Theory of Change

14. Benefits for VCO’s and groups • By understanding the wider value they’re generating from their services / activities, it builds a strong business case for securing future investment • If more can ‘tell their story’ and evidence / articulate their own Theory of Change, they might: • Develop new services or income streams that grow social capital • Build an outcomes based business model • Put in place more systematic ways of gathering this evidence with their vols and service users

15. Where are we now in Kirklees? • Recent budget pressures along with the new legislation has pushed this back up the agenda • We need to evaluate SV and balance against other VFM considerations • As supply reduces, price (or the value of goods and services) increases • i.e. when there’s less money available to fund public services, the more important it is to capture and measure the full value of our investments • So we need to move beyond a narrow definition of VFM or cost benefit analysis • Without taking SV into account in the way we buy and appraise services we are costing up much of this ‘added value’ at zero • We now need to turn the talking into action

16. Progress along a number of fronts • Building on the SROI work to inform a shared ABCD approach to measuring outcomes across the council • Recognised NAWB framework as a very useful way to explain the wider impact of a range of different services, i.e. the social value of our investments • Many tools and techniques of SROI apply to SV • So we’re encouraging services to develop their own ‘theory of change’ and Impact Maps to inform annual service planning • Where SV is directly relevant or proportionate to their service, SV to be incorporated in procurement • Developing tools to compare and contrast different submissions

17. SROI in practice “A first step could be for charities to specify and measure their desired outcomes (which deliver value to society, rather than just outputs)… This will require our best creative thinking and force us to really look at what we set out to achieve and what we actually achieve. We will have to build new skills and ask ourselves new questions but the rewards will be enormous.” • Measuring Social Value; the gap between policy and practice, Demos 2010

18. For more information • Trudi Wright, Project Manager, Kirklees Council trudi.wright@kirklees.gov.uk (07980 911 654) • www.nef-consulting.co.uk/sroi • www.thesroinetwork.org