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Social Return on Investment (SROI) po

Calgary – Sustainability for Breakfast Network

Stephanie RobertsonSiMPACT Strategy Group January 28, 2011

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Introductions

Other Specialties:

Performance measurement & evaluation of CI portfolios;

Social Return on Investment (SROI);

Management systems to support CI and enhance CSR commitments;

Capacity & skill development.

CI Portfolio Performance Measurement via Benchmarking

Performance Measurement of Priority Projects

Leadership in Reporting & Communications

Network of Professionals

Achieving the Highest Standard in

Community Investment.

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A Growing Community

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History of SROI

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www.redf.org www.thesroinetwork.org

1993 2010

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What is the purpose of an SROI?

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• To assign a commonly understood value (financial proxy) to outcomes that are at-risk of being misunderstood, under-valued or overlooked altogether.

• To forecast the potential value of a policy, organization or project, in order ensure that maximum value is achieved.

• To evaluate whether maximum value has been achieved, and if not, why not.

• To achieve ‘best value’ through procurement.

• To enhance communications.

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Steps to an SROI

1. Describe situation without your policy, organization or project

2. Summarize the theory of change

3. List and describe changes aspired for targeted stakeholders and their stakeholders, including investors

4. Estimate the cost of the current situation, across applicable timeframes

5. Calculate SROI

6. Tell your value story, reporting on all sources of value

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Social Value is created in many different ways

• Community cohesion• Confidence that leads to a new, positive action• Skills that lead to a new job, better job, paying taxes, etc…• Quality of life improvements• Increased assessment of life satisfactions (happiness,

friendships, feelings of being supported, sense of security)• Environmental improvements …• Other, many more examples …

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1. Cost reallocation

2. Changes in taxes paid

3. Cost savings - reducing scope of problem or cost of service delivery

4. Future cost avoidance

5. Increased individual or household income

6. Value of improved quality of life

How to 'monetize' Social Value

Direct (the target stakeholder)

or

Indirect (stakeholders who change as a result of the target stakeholder’s changes)

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Immediate Annual Multi-year• Responding to

crisis• Situation could

reoccur even immediately

• Investments changes circumstances but change can’t be guaranteed beyond fiscal year

• Investments that change circumstances for a period of time, if not a lifetime….

• Distress Centre

• In-school Mentoring

• Acquiring a skill that leads to a new, long term job

• Enabling a spouse to eliminate violence in his/her family…

Change across Timeframes

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Distress Centre – inputs to impacts

Inputs Outputs Outcomes Impacts

$875,000 89,903 crisis calls received total number

26,971 calls from frequent callers with complex needs 8,091 crisis

calls de-escalated and referred

8,091 callers in extreme distress

Difficult to be certain

Difficult to be certain

Sure that volunteers made a difference

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Distress Centre’s SROI Calculation

Impact 8,091 clients

Yr 1 only notes

Police calls avoided $ 2,766,620$342 per police call

avoided

EMS call-outs avoided $ 276,678$342 per call,

accompany police 10% of time, 809 avoided

Emergency room visits avoided

$943,510$231 per visit, 50% of

all calls result in ER admittance

Hospital admissions avoided

$46,710$1038/day, 45-day

average

2007 call outs $ (-411, 480) 207 calls not de-

escalated

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Distress Centre’s SROI Calculation

Social Value Created / Annual Investment = SROI : 1

SROI Calculation Yr 1 Only

Social value created $4,501,732

Annual investment $875,000

SROI Ratio 4.14 : 1

Current Environment

• Reduced Funding Opportunities• Donor potential eroding……..• New definition of services placed on a

Community Impact FrameworkCommunity Impact is the mobilization of

collective action to create measurable, cumulative lasting change that improves lives and builds resilient communities. 

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SROI is … a Story Not a Number

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www.calgary.ca/sroi

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Calgary Case Studies

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SROI Canada Network

• Advancing knowledge of tools to express social value creation, across all sectors.

• Establishing a national authority for the advancement of the SROI methodology in Canada, including:– SROI training, including preparation for practitioner accreditation– SROI practitioner accreditation– Canadian standards of SROI practice– A financial proxy data base of national, provincial and local

financial proxies– Third party assurance of the quality of SROI reports‐

• Representing SROI Canada within SROI International.‐

• www.sroi-canda.ca • Linkedin.com/sroi canada

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Challenges• New & emerging methodology• Not enough experienced practitioners• Risk of over-claiming significant!!!!!!!!• Tendency to focus on the ratio, rather than

the whole story (which misses the point completely!)

• Need a common understanding / standard of practice

• Dismissed as cost/benefit analysis • Other• Other• Other

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Contact Details

Stephanie RobertsonPresident, SiMPACT Strategy Group403-444-5683stephanie@simpactstrategies.com

www.lbg-canada.cawww.simpactstrategies.com

SROI LEARNINGS

Why we went this route

• Rationale for outcomes was driven ,at first, by the sectarian name and concern that the community would develop misconceptions about the agency. ( Service vs. Proselytizing)

• Board directive to have in place demonstrable outcomes in two years . (1997)

Outcomes require work & maintenance

• No existing budget for infrastructure & a very dysfunctional relationship with data!• Develop & commit to an IT strategy • Find $150,000 to resource it. (.4%)• Engage a research consultant ( someone who

knows what they are doing).• Support a culture where the primary purpose for

outcomes is to improve service and try new and innovative approaches

• Positive results for clients and staff morale• Keep the investors happy

Barriers

• Fear of change….. New Murphy’s law might read“ agents of change will always balk at

change affecting themselves”

• Resistance“We know what we are doing so don’t interfere”“We know our clients best”

“So we are going to dumb it down to money”

We have a divine right to your money because our cause is noble and oh yes no questions asked other than “did you spend the money honestly?”

What if it’s not working ?

Current Environment

• Reduced Funding Opportunities• Donor potential eroding……..• New definition of services placed on a

Community Impact FrameworkCommunity Impact is the mobilization of

collective action to create measurable, cumulative lasting change that improves lives and builds resilient communities. 

Post Recession Donor Wariness

• One hypothesis is that donors will continue to contribute but want the stewardship of their dollar to be more secure and more effective.

What impact over the long term will my dollar create?

• No different than our own expectation of RRSP portfolios

The big external question that is not going away

SO WHAT?…..Why Should I give you my hard earned money?

Shared Definition of Impact

• There is a more shared understanding that is evolving

• There are at least three player groups• Corporate, Foundations & individual

donors• Public sector .. United Way, Government• Non Profit- that’s us (although I believe we

have to change the name)

Corporate & Donor Groups

Driven by CSR, sustainability and Governance agendas

Public Sector

Driven to demonstrate effectiveness in operating & investing in the public interest

All are seeking to provide evidence

of value created against investment

Socially driven-Public Good organizations

Driven to demonstrate the value of their work

Cross Sector Interest

Service Outcomes

• Demonstrable Outcomes are Essential

• Don’t confuse them with “widgets”

• Can you communicate them in a language that is not “professional code” ?

What did we learn…..so far?

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

~ Albert Einstein

• Scope and complexity of our work

• Importance of a succinct “theory of change”

• Clearer more focused relationships with partners

• We do create value that is beyond warm fuzziness!

Depression Program Social Return on

Investment Robbie Babins-Wagner, MSW, PhD (C) RSW

robbie.wagner@calgarycounselling.comwww.calgarycounselling.com

8.2% of Canadians suffer from depression at any point in timeo Estimate: 85,517 Calgarians

With a workforce of 759,000 people in Calgary: o Estimate 62,200 workers in this city.

Our clientso Between 3 – 83, most between 18-50o 58% femaleo 42% male o Range from the working poor to

unemployed to corporate executiveso Single, married, teens and parents

Theory of Change Individuals struggling with the effects of

depression, who receive counselling at CCC in a timely manner, generally demonstrate positive changes.

They become more hopeful, more productive, better able to function at home, work or school.

Social Value Added Depression reduces the ability to focus on day to day

activities in all settings

The CCC depression program helps participants develop the ability to manage their depression and function in their daily lives

This results in people being able to function as effective and contributing members of society which benefits the community as a whole

People with depression receiving counselling at CCC: o Lessen reliance on public services (such as

crisis services), family doctor, emergency rooms, social services, and other potential costly services

An important benefit of counselling is decreased absenteeism and increased at work productivity.

Indicators

Lost productivity: 16-36 days per year

Medication costs Family Doctor cost Walk-in clinic cost

One year SROI $1.86 to $1Three year SROI $7.85 to $1

“I had always dreamed of starting my own business, but I did not know where to begin—then I found Momentum.”

- ABCs of Small Business

Sustainability Value We are committed to helping our

participants achieve sustainable livelihoods through the development of personal, social and financial assets. As an organization, we gauge our sustainable success holistically from the perspectives of fiscal, environmental and social impact.