Culture Works blog

Social Return on Investment is a bit of a new kid on the block and something I’ve been following for a while. Last year I undertook practitioner training with the SROI network and carried out a couple of SROI studies to see what it felt like in practice. I thought it might be useful to share some of what I’ve learned with the Culture Works audience so for a few weeks I plan to use our blog as a platform for discussion – if you’re interested in how SROI might be of use to you and your work, join me and add your comments or questions – I hope to get some other SROI’ers to join in as well.

Find out what we’ve learned so far and post comments in the SROI category here

There are two kinds of SROI: forecast and evaluative. In 2009 we carried out a forecast study for Tin Arts to establish a benchmark from which a new programme could be evaluated further down the line and to test out how useful SROI could be in planning and developing a new phase of work.

Here’s a view from the client…

Has our joint work given you a way of assessing the potential value to Tin Arts of SROI as a way of capturing value?

Definitely, I’ve got a pretty clear idea

If you are clear enough about its value, can you quantify it?

Very valuable

Was your role in contributing to the SROI what you anticipated in terms of your time and resources?

Yes, expectations were made clear at the start and the workload did not take more or less time than we were advised it would. Everything that was asked of TIN Arts was achievable and deadlines were clear and manageable.

If the SROI has been useful…..

Has it given you a benchmark from which future work can be evaluated?

Yes, and this will be particularly useful as we progress through our proposed changes. Many elements of these changes might affect the SROI, but we now have the tools to anticipate this and to plan accordingly, in order to maximise our SROI.

Has it impacted on how you will collect data for future evaluation (SROI or other)?

Yes, particularly with a new awareness of how certain stakeholders impact SROI and the project as a whole. In future I believe we will collect more data about their investment (e.g. other than financial).

Has it changed anything about how you will engage with stakeholders in the future?

As above.

What if anything has changed/will change as a result of the SROI?

It seems that this has enabled us to talk about the benefits of the project in financial terms, and not to be afraid to use this as a measure of our work. We will probably use the SROI figure in various situations to illustrate its worth and will also look to utilise some of the feedback that was gathered from various stakeholders.