Introduction to Social Impact Assessment

Andy Brady and Elaine McCorristonLord Ashcroft International Business School

Anglia Ruskin University

ROAD MAP

• What is SIA?

• Why should you undertake it?

• What should you measure?

• How to measure it

• One way to do it

• Reporting impact

Social Impact Assessment

A process that seeks to measure organisations’ delivery of identified social, environmental and economic outputs, outcomes and impacts

BIG OILWe are NOT bothered about

impact!

We are!

Social accounting

SOCIAL ENTERPRISECO-OPERATIVE

CHARITYVOLUNTARY ORGANISATION

COMMUNITY GROUP

SOCIALIMPACT

ASSESSMENTIm

prove

Prove

PROVE AND IMPROVE

An organisation that is able to establish and explain its impact will have a strong foundation both for communicating its work, and also managing it to achieve the greatest possible impact

(Principles of Good Impact Reporting)

PROVING

The Co-operative Bank estimated 30% of its profits were as a result of its ethical stance

Who is interested in your social impact?

• Customers

• Funders

• Stakeholders

(www.cooperatives-uk.coop)

IMPROVING

Management were able to get a complete picture of how and to what extent the programs were delivering social impact and learn what they could change to increase their impact.

•Clarifies objectives

• Sees where improvements are needed

• Gains 360 input from stakeholders

(www.thesroinetwork.org)

WHICH ONE?

At least 25 different methods!

• Achieving Better Community Development (ABCD)• Co-operativesUK Key Social and Co-operative Performance

Indicators (KSCPIs)• Development Trusts Association (DTA) Healthcheck• Eco-mapping• LM3 – Local Multiplier 3• Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations

(PQASSO)• Prove It!• Social Enterprise Balanced Scorecard• Social Firm Performance Dashboard• Social Return on Investment (SROI)

(‘Proving and Improving: a quality and impact toolkit for social enterprise’, www.proveandimprove.org )

RELATED PROCESSES/TOOLS

• SROI is a form of social accounting which aims to analyse the impact of a policy, project or activity for the range of stakeholders involved in it

• Gives a value to impacts with no market value

• There are currently two types of SROI: evaluative and forecast

Social Return on Investment

Undertaken 4 SROIs - evaluative•Families in Focus, Essex •Catch 22•Shoreditch Trust’s Blue Marble Training•Hertfordshire Community Meal’s Meals on Wheels Service

SROI Experience

Establish a realistic scope or analysis•Be clear about what is to be included

– Range of activities– Time period– Audience

•Realistic about resources available– Who will do the work?– How much stakeholder contact do you already

have?

Lessons learnt (1)

Good stakeholder engagement is crucial•Be clear about who your stakeholders are

– Document why or why not they are relevant– Are you in touch with who your stakeholders

are?•Establish a stakeholder engagement plan

– Capture views on what change outcomes has happened for them

– Quantify the outcomes

Lessons learnt (2)

Financial proxies• Look at ones used before• Research• Ask stakeholders - revealed preference• Cost saving /value created.• Value is subjective• Do not over claim impact• Deadweight/ attribution/ displacement/ drop

off

Lessons learnt (3)

– Be clear about the story of change is for your stakeholders

– Record everything that you do.– Record why every decision has been made– Be conservative with your figures– Allow lots of time (or get help)– Reference well– Join the SROI network

www.sroinetwork.org

Lessons learnt

• Clarity• Accessibility• Transparency• Accountability• Verifiability• Proportionality

REPORTING YOUR IMPACT

1 Principles of how to report

• Clear purpose• Defined aims• Coherent activities• Demonstrated results• Evidence• Lessons learned

REPORTING YOUR IMPACT

2 Principles of what to report

Contact details

3rd Sector FuturesAnglia Ruskin University

0845 196 68883rdsectorfutures@anglia.ac.uk

www.3rdsectorfutures.co.uk