Social Value UK

Topic: Poverty, deprivation and low income

  • Measuring Impact of Food Rescue in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Social Return on Investment

    Measuring Impact of Food Rescue in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Social Return on Investment

    “Over the past decade, food rescue organisations have emerged across Aotearoa New Zealand, responding to two key issues – food insecurity and food waste. Food rescue organisations rescue surplus, good, nutritious food destined for landfills and redistribute it to people in need. Food insecurity and food waste have been longstanding issues in Aotearoa. However, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the entire food system, exacerbating these issues. In 2020, the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance (AFRA) was established through funding provided by the NZ Ministry of Social Development’s Food Secure Communities programme. AFRA is a national body encompassing 23 of Aotearoa New Zealand’s major food rescue organisations. Food rescue in Aotearoa New Zealand, predates AFRA, with the first food rescue organisations starting in 2008. However, AFRA was set up in response to issues regarding Covid-19 and ongoing concerns about food insecurity and to provide cohesion and coordination of the sector through capacity building, best practice, collaboration, and advocacy, for an effective food rescue sector.

    This Social Return on Investment (SROI) report aims to understand, measure, and value the impact of food rescue in Aotearoa New Zealand. AFRA commissioned the report. It focuses on three case study organisations representing the key food rescue models operating in Aotearoa New Zealand:

    • Satisfy Food Rescue (SFR) Christchurch – Community Hub (collects, stores, sorts rescued food. Food is picked up by or delivered to recipient organisations)
    • Just Zilch (JZ) Palmerston North – Free Store (collects, stores, and distributes rescued food directly to food recipients via a ‘retail store’ setting where food recipients select food free of charge)
    • Good Neighbour (GN) Tauranga – Mixed model (community hub and additional components, e.g., community kitchen, community gardens).

    SROI is a framework that aims to understand, measure, and value the impact of an organisation’s activities on various stakeholders. It uses qualitative and quantitative data to tell the story of how change is being created and experienced. Monetary values represent outcomes enabling a ratio of benefits to investment to be calculated, specifying the amount of social, environmental, and economic value created for every $1 invested. The evaluation period for the analysis was the 2020/2021 financial year. This SROI is a forecast analysis, providing a benchmark SROI ratio for future evaluation of food rescue in Aotearoa, New Zealand. It is also the first SROI study to measure and value the impact of multiple food rescue organisations in Aotearoa, New Zealand.”

  • Turkish Grameen Microfinance Program SROI Analysis

    Turkish Grameen Microfinance Program SROI Analysis

    Turkish Grameen Microfinance Program (TGMP) has been established with technical knowledge transferred by the Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the initial capital was provided by a member of the parliament of the 22nd term, Professor Aziz Akgül. Due to the efforts of Professor Aziz Akgül, a donation-based financing model was developed to alleviate poverty which does not require any collateral and is totally based on trust for financially challenged women who are ready to engage in income-generating activities.

    This report includes the social impact measurement of the TGMP covering one year period, 2020, of its operations. The SROI (Social Return on Investment) analysis was used as a framework based on seven
    principles of the SROI that are reflected in the whole report. In accordance with these principles, all information about TGMP’s social impact measurement is stated with transparency.

  • Together Building A Better Tomorrow For Our Community – A Social Return On Investment Study Of NBCU

    Together Building A Better Tomorrow For Our Community – A Social Return On Investment Study Of NBCU

    Naomh Breandáin Credit Union (NBCU) Limited is a community credit union in Loughrea, County Galway. It is a financial cooperative owned and controlled by its members. NBCU was set up in 1966; a time when Ireland was experiencing a deep recession and unemployment was high. Most local people were unable to gain credit from banks and many of them were forced into using moneylenders charging unacceptably high rates of interest. It was intended that by providing affordable credit facilities to these people, their standard of living would be improved and the local community would be enriched. The credit union today has more than 14,000 members and assets of €64 million 2, but its mission remains unchanged.

    This is a SROI evaluation of NBCU, covering the period 1 October 2020 – 30 September 2021, which is its most recent full financial year. This study describes and measures all the notable changes brought about by the organisation over that period, and values these using monetary equivalents wherever possible.

  • People Helping People Social Return on Investment Study of Newington Credit Union Limited

    People Helping People Social Return on Investment Study of Newington Credit Union Limited

    Newington Credit Union Limited (NCU) is a non-sectarian, not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative established by local people in North Belfast in 1967. It aims to provide effective, efficient and quality services that ensure the financial wellbeing of its members.

    This is a SROI evaluation of NCU, covering the period 1 October 2020 – 30 September 2021, which is its most recent full financial year. This study describes and measures all the notable changes brought about by the organisation over that period, and values these using monetary equivalents wherever possible.

  • Social Return on Investment Evaluation Recycling Lives Charity

    Social Return on Investment Evaluation Recycling Lives Charity

    Recycling Lives Charity & Social Enterprise is an organisation based in Preston and serving the North West of England. It delivers three specific programmes of offender support and food redistribution.

    The Recycling Lives offender rehabilitation programme works with ex-offenders both in prison and in the community. By supporting men and women to improve their skills, confidence, and resilience and secure good jobs, it significantly reduces reoffending rates. The residential programme supports men experiencing homelessness. Offering personalised support, access to training and work placements and safe, stable accommodation, it supports men to regain their independence, moving into work and a home of their own. The food redistribution programme aims to tackle food poverty while preventing food waste. Working in partnership with FareShare it takes surplus stock from food retailers and redistributes this to communities, feeding people in need.

  • Rural Transportation and Social Inclusion SROI Evaluation Report

    Rural Transportation and Social Inclusion SROI Evaluation Report

    “The Vision Project, United Daily News Group uses special reports to disclose needs of society that were neglected in the past, and draws the government and society’s attention to rural transportation and social inclusion issues. It also integrates resources from various parties and sectors and demonstrates the power of media. The Vision Project further utilized the SROI methodology to analyze the impact of the special reports and workshop on rural transportation and social inclusion, and evaluated its contribution to policy implementation and local impact. The Vision Project examined the actual benefits of the project on improving rural transportation and social inclusion, and continued to adjust the direction of the Project, in order to maximize the social value of media.

    This study evaluates the benefits and impacts created by a series of reports on rural transportation and social inclusion as well as the “Flipped rural transportation workshop” organized by the Vision Project, United Daily News Group between May 27, 2018 and December 31, 2020.”

  • Social Return on Investment (SROI) Report on the Love Breakfast Project

    Social Return on Investment (SROI) Report on the Love Breakfast Project

    “The Eastern Charity Foundation is an organization that works with remote regions and tribal schools to support diverse supplies such as students’ breakfasts, clubs’ expenditures, and indigenous students’ cross-cultural communication. The Love Breakfast Project has been launched by the foundation since 2007 for the enhancement of students’ health and learning by funding the disadvantaged students’ breakfasts in remote regions. Each year it subsidizes 25 to 45 schools, and has offered 340 subsidies by 2019.

    The report aims to conduct the social impact quantitative assessment and monetization of the Love Breakfast Project. Considering the request of duration, economic effect and sample representativeness in SROI, the report selects four schools in the project whose patterns are closest to the majority of schools and gives each stakeholder, the students, parents and school authorities for example, a value in correspondent with respective outcomes. During the evaluation, the SROI has involved as many stakeholders as possible to get the feedbacks and ensure that the outcome analysis and data collection effectively report the impact they have received. The object of SROI consists of the project management from 30th August, 2018 to 28th June, 2019.”

  • Tzu Chi Foundation – Analysis Report of “Banqiao Jing Si Hall” Social Return on Investment (SROI)

    Tzu Chi Foundation – Analysis Report of “Banqiao Jing Si Hall” Social Return on Investment (SROI)

    The Tzu Chi Foundation (hereinafter referred to as Tzu Chi) was founded in 1966 by Master Cheng Yen in Hualien. The Tzu Chi Foundation is a Buddhist charity foundation and it focuses on humanitarianism with global presence. It upholds the Buddha’s belief of “unconditional compassion and universal sympathy” and gradually develops the “Four endeavors, eight footprints” of charity, medical care, education, humanities, international disaster relief, bone marrow donation, community volunteers, and environmental protection. This project uses the activities of “Banqiao Jing Si Hall” in 2018 as the scope of evaluation and conduct classification and calculation based on the six major aspects: “Poverty Relief and Provide Aid in the Education of Young Students,” “Compassion for Humanity and Disaster Relief,” “Welfare Services and Physical and Mental Health Care,” “Community Care and Putting Localization into Practice,” “Provide Guidance to Volunteers for Cultivation and Empowerment” and “Promotion of Values and Pass on the Philosophy.

  • Social Return on Investment of Shae Thot’s Livelihoods Work

    Social Return on Investment of Shae Thot’s Livelihoods Work

    Pact Myanmar in collaboration with Cesvi conducted a Social Return on Investment study of the Shae Thot project’s livelihoods activities from August 2015 – March 2016. This report presents the methods and findings of this assessment for the purpose of assurance.

    The project team engaged all stakeholders that we expected to have material outcomes due to the project, considering both those who might be both positively and negatively affected. We then conducted a series of focus groups and surveys with these stakeholders to map the outcomes they saw in their lives, estimate the number of stakeholders for whom the outcomes happened, value the outcomes, and consider how much of the outcome can be attributed to project activities. After processing the data, we narrowed the analysis to only the five stakeholders whose outcomes had a material impact on the final results. The values calculated per stakeholder are listed in the table below, with WORTH (women’s savings and empowerment group) members’ families netting the highest value.

  • Foundations Furniture Social Value Report

    Foundations Furniture Social Value Report

    Foundations Furniture have undertaken an evaluation of their current service in order to understand and forecast their impact to the wider community. The total cost needed to deliver the current service is £114,865, which supports 677 low-income individuals to furnish their homes and 14 volunteers to develop employment skills and confidence, per annum. This income consists of commercial sales, grant funding and delivery costs.

    For every £1 invested into Foundations Furniture the social return on investment is £3.20.

  • The Application of Social Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Evaluation of Progresa

    The Application of Social Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Evaluation of Progresa

    The application of social cost benefit analysis November 2000“In August 1997 the Mexican government introduced a key component of its overall development and poverty alleviation strategy, the PROGRESA program, in the most marginal rural areas of the country. The expansion of the program across localities took place in phases. By the final phase11 of the program in early 2000, the program included nearly 2.6 million families in 72,345 localities in all 31 states. This constitutes around 40% of all rural families and one ninth of all families in Mexico. The total annual budget of the program in 1999 was around $777 million, equivalent to just under 20% of the Federal poverty alleviation budget or 0.2% of GDP.

    The program gives cash transfers to mothers in households classified as “poor”, these transfers being conditional on child attendance at school and regular visits by family members to health clinics for preventative check-ups. Households with young children also receive food supplements to improve their nutritional status. Although the program is essentially a demand-side intervention, an important dimension of the program involves the explicit recognition that, for such an intervention to be effective at achieving its ultimate objectives, co-ordination with the supply side is essential. To this end, the education and health ministries are expected to plan to allocate resources to areas where substantial demand increases are experienced in order to avoid deteriorating quality on the supply-side that may frustrate the achievement of program objectives.

    In this report we are concerned with the application of a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) to PROGRESA. The application of SCBA to the evaluation of the program requires one to identify both the impacts and the costs of bringing about these impacts, and then to compare both of these to determine the overall welfare impact of the program and how effectively the program achieves these welfare impacts relative to alternative policy instruments. When monetary values can be attached to these impacts they are referred to as “program benefits” and the application of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) then involves determining whether benefits exceed costs and by how much. In the absence of a monetary valuation of impacts, one is restricted to the use of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), which identifies the cost of bringing about a given impact.”