A guide to Social Return on Investment

Every day our actions and activities create and destroy value; they change the world around us. Although the value we create goes far beyond what can be captured in financial terms, this is, for the most part, the only type of value that is measured and accounted for. As a result, things that can be bought and sold take on a greater significance and many important things get left out. Decisions made like this may not be as good as they could be as they are based on incomplete information about full impacts.

A major step towards helping organisations and institutions demonstrate their social, economic and environmental impact has taken place with the launch of a new guide to Social Return on Investment (SROI), backed by the Cabinet Office. This is especially timely when organisations are seeking to make every pound go as far as possible.

This guide offers a framework for measuring and accounting for a much broader concept of value; it seeks to reduce inequality and environmental degradation and improve wellbeing by incorporating social, environmental and economic costs and benefits.