Social Return on Investment

There are many things which we value, as societies and individuals, which cannot be easily captured in economic terms. And yet, most decision making in the private, public and third sectors are based solely on costs and price.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an analytic tool for measuring and accounting for a much broader concept of value. It incorporates social, environmental and economic costs and benefits into decision making, providing a fuller picture of how value is created or destroyed.

SROI is able to assign a monetary figure to social and environmental value which is created. For example, nef research on the value created by a training programme for ex-offenders revealed that for every £1 invested, £10.50 of social value was created.

By bringing social and environmental value into decision making, SROI seeks to:

• Reduce inequality
• Prevent environmental degradation
• Improve well-being