Social Value UK

Tag: social value practitioner

  • Patricia Polvora Achieves Level 3 Advanced Practitioner Status

    Patricia Polvora Achieves Level 3 Advanced Practitioner Status

    Social Value UK are proud to announce that Patricia Polvora has achieved Level 3 Advanced Practitioner status.

    Patricia is and SROI Consultant and Co-funder of The Social Consulting Agency.

    The Social Consulting Agency is an impact managing and measurement agency that generates impact. The agency employees women with disabilities and young women from social economic vulnerable environment to support the reduction of unemployment in Spain and generate well-being.

    Ahead of this announcement, we spoke to Patricia about her experience with the assessment process…

    Why have you decided to undertake the Social Value International Professional Pathway?

    I want to make sure that the Spanish-speaking part of the world is not left out of the benefits of having access to stakeholder-informed date through and accredited process such as the one Social Value International offers through the SROI Methodology. Right now in Spain we are less than 8 persons accredited level 1 and I’m the second level 3 advanced practitioner. Thus, my plan is to continue our path with training as it cannot be accessed if you don’t speak English. I aim to be able to deliver training in Spanish to Spanish-speaking impact managers, and by doing so, expanding the community.

    What did you learn and find useful from this assessment process?

    I believe any assessment is an opportunity to learn. Being assessed is just another way of getting access to experts in the subject that feedbacks in a constructive way on the work you have accomplished, so that it can be improved. It’s a journey towards excellence and better practice.

    Now that you are a Level 3 Advanced Practitioner what do you plan to do next to develop your practice? How do you plan to use your practitioner skills? 

    I am currently taking the course to become a trainer and I am already involved in several SROI projects in Spain on Government level in order to “show by example” the value of working with stakeholder informed methodology and social value.

    Are there any other specific projects you are doing at the moment that are related to SROI and social value?

    I am currently developing an SROI report for a state-funded project driven by an NGO but financed by the Ministry of Social Welfare in Spain. The program is running intervention on 560 children all over Spain that are in risk of being institutionalized, something Spanish Government wants to avoid. I will provide stakeholder-informed data during the two years the program lasts and develop a report to be used in policy making strategic decisions in 2025. In parallel, I am also developing two SROI reports for Red Cross with the same purpose and financed by the same ministry, but this time related to avoiding institutionalisation of the elderly.

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    You have now joined a community of practice around the globe. What does this mean to you and why do you want to participate and contribute to the development of the methodology and overall social value movement?

    It means: Best practice, Knowledge sharing, Friends, Support

    Contribute: experience, errors, mistakes, friendship, report sharing, training

  • NEW Level 3 Advanced Practitioner: Jesusa I. Rebete

    NEW Level 3 Advanced Practitioner: Jesusa I. Rebete

    Social Value UK and Social Value International are proud to announce that Jesusa I. Rebete has achieved Level 3 Advanced Practitioner status.

    Jesusa is the Senior Manager for Program Governance at the Ayala Foundation

    As the social development arm of the Ayala group of companies, Ayala Foundation envisions communities where people are creative, productive, self-reliant, and proud to be Filipino. Ayala Foundation is committed to community development, working closely with communities in identifying compelling developmental needs and providing suitable solutions with measurable outcomes. It implements programs under the following themes: Education, Sustainable Livelihood, and Love of Country. Ayala Foundation welcomes partnerships to help improve lives of people in communities.

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    Why have you decided to undertake the Social Value International Professional Pathway?

    Different organisations and businesses in the Philippines, particularly Ayala Foundation and the rest of the Ayala group of companies, are doing so much to improve the lives of people they serve. While most organizations do very well in monitoring the progress of projects and businesses, sometimes the challenge is in measuring how much they have contributed to the changes in the lives of people.

    With the guidance of Ayala Foundation, I pursued the Social Value International Practitioner Pathway to help organisations measure the social value that they create. This will help them make better management decisions, with particular focus on producing higher outcomes for our partners.

    What did you learn and find useful from this assessment process?

    This assessment process has helped sharpen my practice on SROI measurement. The assurance process has made Social Value Principles and measurement methods clearer, its nuances more well delineated, making it easier to apply to an SROI analysis. I now appreciate sensitivity analysis better, especially in applying it several ways in a particular assessment.

    My assessor was very helpful in reviewing the best practices that were applied in SROI measurement, and in pointing out the areas where I needed to articulate more findings that were not included in an earlier draft of the report.

    Now that you are a Level 3 Advanced Practitioner what do you plan to do next to develop your practice? How do you plan to use your practitioner skills? 

    The Ayala Foundation team handling SROI would like to continue trailblazing in the field, both inside and outside the organization. This means conducting more SROI measurements for our programs, and more actively pursuing partnerships with the Ayala group and other non-profit organizations on accounting for the social values that they create with their stakeholders.

    Together with the rest of Ayala Foundation, we will work towards organizing a social value associate network in the Philippines to spearhead changing the way organizations account for value in our part of the globe.

    Are there any other specific projects you are doing at the moment that are related to SROI and social value?

    I am currently measuring the SROI of two Ayala Foundation programs—the CENTEX Training Institute and the ornamental plants and vegetable farming project under our sustainable livelihood programs in Calauan, Laguna.

    CENTEX Training Institute is a program that specifically targets primary school teachers from the public school system, providing training, books, gadgets, internet assistance, and parent-engagement support. Meanwhile, ornamental and vegetable farming project works with a group of farmers based in the municipality of Calauan, Laguna (about two hours away from Metro Manila), providing technology and management support, as well as market connection, including to the Ayala value chain.

    You have now joined a community of practice around the globe. What does this mean to you and why do you want to participate and contribute to the development of the methodology and overall social value movement?

    This is a great opportunity for me to share my knowledge and skills on social value measurement and management for individuals and organizations around the globe. Despite the enormous work being done by different organisations to improve the global situation, gaps remain huge. While there are many factors that contribute to global poverty and environmental issues, one way to maximize the impact of current initiatives is to account for social values created, so we can manage them better and make an even greater impact in the lives of people.

    The current global standards are big on measuring output and short-term outcomes of businesses and organisations. Many focus on measuring the value of output—there remains that challenge of measuring outcomes, looking deeper at the impact and changes created in people’s lives. SROI and the social value movement can fill this gap in the current global practices by developing impact level metrics and measures. Together with Ayala Foundation, I am hoping to work with the global social value movement on this.

    “I am proud to be a Level 3 Advanced Practitioner with Social Value International. It’s a great leap from being Level 1 Practitioner last year. It means that Ayala Foundation is aligned with the international standard on social value measurement. The Level 3 Advanced Practitioner status will help me and the foundation trailblaze social value measurement in the Philippines.”

    Jesusa I. Rebete, DPA – Senior Manager for Program Governance at The Ayala Foundation