Author: Clare Bentley

We are excited to announce the launch of the Social Value UK survey, aiming to capture valuable insights from those involved in social value activities and accounting, particularly in relation to the environment – and we want to hear from you!

About the Survey

This survey is part of the ‘Translating Environmental into Social Value’ Thought Leadership Group’s ongoing work. We aim to understand:

• Current Practices: What practice is already happening in relation to how our activities relating to the environment translate into social value?
• Challenges: What obstacles are practitioners facing in this field?
• Needs and Benefits: What support or resources would be most beneficial to practitioners?
• Aspirations: How do practitioners aspire to use social value to understand changes to the environment and people’s wellbeing?

Your Participation

The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete. Your input will provide crucial insights that will guide the recommendations of the group and shape future practices. We are committed to sharing the findings with you through Social Value UK’s membership and newsletter.

Thank You

On behalf of SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, Ridge & Partners, Social Value UK, and the dedicated participants in the Thought Leadership Group, we thank you for your time and valuable input.

More about the Thought Leadership Group

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Special Resolution Overwhelmingly Passed!

We are pleased to announce that following an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Wednesday 19th June 2024, Social Value UK members have overwhelmingly voted either by proxy or in attendance to pass following Special Resolution:

“That the name of the Company be changed from Social Value Network UK to ’The Institute for Social Value’ with immediate effect (subject to approval by Companies House).”

You can read more background and information here:

• Blog post
• EGM Announcement
• May newsletter

In terms of next steps, we have submitted an application to implement the above Special Resolution.

The process is complicated and the outcome is by no means guaranteed. There is the very real possibility that other organisations or groups of organisations may have submitted or be about to submit similar applications, which, if successful, would discount ours.

If you would like to assist with this process by sending in a letter of support that we can add to our application, please contact us at info@socialvalueuk.org or 0151 703 9229 to find out how you can go about doing this.

In the meantime, please see below for a message from the Co-Chair of the SVUK Board, Fran Boorman, that was shared at the start of the EGM. It neatly summarises the sentiments of all of those involved in getting us to this exciting phase of our journey of growth and increasing influence. We echo her sentiments – a huge ‘Thankyou’ to those of you who have supported and encouraged us along the way.

Dear Members

I send the deepest apologies for not being able to join you today for this important and exciting EGM. As many of you will know I am the co-chair of SVUK along with Penny Anderson. We have been working alongside Isabelle and the rest of the board in recent months bringing together Penny’s extensive experience as a practitioner alongside my experience of creating high growth organisations.

We are all here as members of SVUK because we believe in the importance of social value. We share the vision that the measurement and understanding of, as well as the response to the creation of social value is fundamental to creating a better world for all. I would like to thank each and every one of you for being such an important part of this community and helping us lead the way for so many others to follow. Some of you have been pioneers of these methods for decades and it is your hard work and tenacity that is seeing more and more people realise the importance of reporting and acting on social value data.

I found SVUK several years ago when my own business wanted to properly understand the impact we were making. When we started researching the world of social value, we were very confused. There were so many different organisations promising a range of tools and methods. I was attracted to SVUK because they appeared to be the only truly independent and non-commercial organisation. Whilst others in this space were evidently profiteering, SVUK appeared to be a community of genuine change makers, wanting to come together for the greater good. This secured my membership and loyalty.

In recent years I have watched more and more organisations come to the table wanting to decode and claim their part of the Social Value arena. On the one hand, this is hugely exciting as it shows the growing professional and public interest in our field. On the other hand, this well intended enthusiasm creates further confusion for those outside looking in at our space.

This crowding of our market has created the need for one organisation to step forward and take the lead. As the only truly independent organisation, I feel that it needs to be us who takes that charge. We bring together the most well-established practitioners in the field and Principles that create a gold standard.

Today presents a unique opportunity. Whilst we are simply applying for a resolution to update our name, this one simple act opens up the opportunity for us to come together in the future, harnessing the huge expertise of our membership base, and consider how we can lead the growing interest in our marketplace.

Our CEO, Isabelle has been working incredibly hard, uniting stakeholders from across the entire sector, from one end of the spectrum to the other, all keen for us to take the lead. I hope that today you choose not only in favour of voting for this motion but also to coming on the journey with us in the future as we identify how we can grow our movement.

Thank you so much,

Fran

This month, we held a meeting to discuss our members’ expectations of our Joint Member Network relationship with Social Value International (SVI). Unfortunately, no one turned up! 

However, we did receive a few feedback forms, and we appreciate those members who took the time to share their thoughts. Given the lack of interest in the live discussion, we will explore other ways to gather input. One option is to establish Working Groups to focus on this and other topics that are core to how we function, such as how members can benefit more out of their membership of SVUK. As a dynamic and member-focused organisation, it’s crucial that we continue consulting with our members on such topics. 

We plan to incorporate these discussions into our next Advisory Board meeting and will finalise our approach at our upcoming Board meetings. Your feedback is essential to us, and we are committed to finding effective ways to ensure your voices are heard. Stay tuned for further updates and opportunities to engage. 

Adam Richards, Sustainable development & Impact Management Specialist 

Hear from our new Social Value & SROI Practitioner Trainer, Adam Richards. Adam is one of the pioneers of the SROI methods and one of the originators of the Social Value & SROI training design with our partner, Social Value International. He is an Advanced Accredited Practitioner Level 4 – but we would argue that he is off the scales! Check him out!

“I’ve realised over the years why I do what I do. Growing up, like many people I saw the results of decision-making that focused exclusively on financial value. As a child I didn’t realise this, I was just aware of the consequences – effects on people being seemingly irrelevant and communities decimate, many of which have still not recovered.

I’ve been involved in social value/SROI education and training now for around 20 years and an SVI Accredited Trainer for almost ten of those. I’m still driven to support others to develop their practical skills to embed impact management because I’ve seen the results. I know people’s lives can be improved and organisations can create more value from their resources.

When I work with people and organisations in different parts of the world, I am regularly reminded that whilst we must respect the unique situation of people, we have an effective framework of internationally-applicable standards. The Principles of Social Value work – they can capture the stories of individuals and communities and translate these into a language that can support improved decision-making.

The Accredited training is an important part of this. People can learn what is required and get under the skin of the Principles to see how they can be applied to their situation. We already know what is valuable – and it’s not just financial returns. We know that effects on people’s lives and how our choices affect the environment are crucial. And we have the means to embed these within decision-making. Ultimately, to change how the world accounts for value, we need communities of transformational professionals who can embed the practice of impact management.”

Register here for the next up and coming SROI Practitioner Training course here to learn from our new VIP and ensure that you are on the right track towards good practice in social value accounting, so that you can change the world for the better in the right way!