Resources

There are a growing number of organisations, networks and resources for social entrepreneurs, and more generally, people interested in measuring social outputs, outcomes, impacts and SROI. The following list of web resources will lead you towards some of the key organisations and networks, policy papers, measurement tools and case studies.

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Organisations & Networks ¦ Measurement Tools

Publications ¦ Social Accounting and Audit

Organisations and Networks

Global Social Venture Competition [GSVC]

This is the main website for entrants and potential entrants to the competition. The GSVC is open to anyone with an idea for a social venture, or to expand an existing venture. Each team must have at least one current MBA student closely involved. The GSVC site also provides summaries of winning social venture business plans, which includes the SROI analysis as a part of each competitor's submission. Global Social Venture Competition

The New Economics Foundation [nef]

nef is an independent think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being. On this website, there are a variety of tools and think pieces on the way we understand and measure progress: finding ways to make the invisible value of things which are essential to quality of life visible and measurable. nef's approach to impact measurement focuses on engaging people and building capacity. nef

Roberts Enterprise Development Foundation [REDF]

REDF offers a portfolio of strong and healthy nonprofits running social enterprises, a highly-engaged approach to philanthropy, and an overarching dedication to helping to move individuals out of poverty. REDF was the first organisation to analyse its SROI, and there are numerous resources available on this website. REDF

Social Enterprise Coalition [SEC]

The Social Enterprise Coalition [SEC] is the UK trade body that brings together all types of social enterprise to promote the sector and to share knowledge. Social Enterprise Coalition

Social Enterprise Partnership (GB) Ltd. [SEP]

The Social Enterprise Partnership is a three-year collaboration that implements infrastructure and systems development, capacity building, and, research and development for the social enterprise sector in the UK. Social Enterprise Partnership (GB) Ltd.

Social Enterprise Unit [SEnU]

The Social Enterprise Unit, part of the Small Business Service, Department of Trade and Industry providing business support, advice and links for social enterprises. Social Enterprise Unit

SROI The Netherlands

This website (in Dutch) is sponsored by the major Dutch foundations like Startfoundation, VSB and Doen, and contains information about the SROI-methodology, the 5 pilots in the Netherlands, meetings (national and international), downloads, links and information about SROI-courses.

There is also a link to the book "Maatschappelijk Rendement Gemeten" by P. Scholten, a methodology-book on SROI. SROI The Netherlands

SVT Consulting

SVT is a consulting firm specialising in evaluation of environmental and social impacts in order to assist investors to assess potential risk and return. There are a variety of resources, including case studies and policy papers listed on this website. SVT Consulting

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Measurement Tools

The Community Fund

The Community Fund, a UK-based funding body, has produced the Your Project and its Outcomes guide to help you describe the outcomes you want your project to achieve. The definitions for input, output, outcome and impact are used similarly to the SROI Primer, and this paper provides further explanation of these terms: Your Project and its Outcomes ¦ The Community Fund

lm3, the Local Multiplier Tool

The Local Multiplier 3 [lm3] tool enables you, whether you are a community organisation, business leader, or government official, to measure how much your organisation or initiative impacts on the local economy. More importantly, lm3 helps you work out where you need to make changes to improve that impact. nef - Local Multiplier 3 ¦ nef - Plugging the Leaks

The Social Enterprise Partnership Quality & Impact Project

Led by nef, the Social Enterprise Partnership Quality & Impact Project aims to provide social enterprise with the knowledge, tools and resources they need to prove and improve their quality and impact. nef - Quality and Impact ¦ Social Enterprise Partnership

Prove It!

Prove It! is an evaluation toolkit that can help organisations to capture their impact on the quality of life of the communities they serve. It contains step-by-step instructions on how to conduct an evaluation, ready to print surveys, fun focus group guidelines and more. It was developed by nef in partnership with Barclays Sitesavers and Groundwork. This tool is particularly strong on helping organisations and enterprises to measure effects of their work on building social capital. Prove It!

Social Enterprise Coalition

The Social Enterprise Coalition provides a variety of links to information on measurement and management for social enterprises. Social Enterprise Coalition

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Publications

Blended Value

Blended Value offers a series of policy papers by Jed Emerson and collaborators, on the nature of returns, value creation, and the importance of measuring social, environmental and financial outcomes.

Blended Value Publications:

• The Investor's Toolkit by Jed Emerson, Timothy Freundlich, and Shari Berenbach.
• The Nature Of Returns: A Social Capital Markets Inquiry into Elements of Investment and the BVP by Jed Emerson

The Research Initiative on Social Entrepreneurship [RISE]

RISE is a research project at Columbia Business School whose mission is to study and disseminate knowledge about the markets, metrics and management of for-profit and non-profit social enterprise and social venturing. RISE

Double Bottom Line Project Report: Methods Catalog

The Double Bottom Line [DBL] is a relatively new concept for business leaders. The authors of this report think of DBL businesses as entrepreneurial ventures that strive to achieve measurable social and financial outcomes. This publication, the third in the Double Bottom Line Project Report series, documents an early effort to study the growing practice of entrepreneurs, nonprofits, foundations and investors who are working to improve ways to document and share the important mission-related outcomes of Double Bottom Line ventures. Double Bottom Line Project Report: Methods Catalog

Valuing What Matters

Capturing the value of social activities through a measurement technique called Social Return on Investment [SROI] has great potential to improve the way organisations work and how resources are allocated, as well as illustrating the value of social and environmental impacts. We have developed an approach to SROI that is guided by stakeholders and provides different levels for organisations to use depending on their starting point, capacity or resources. It is of use for organisational management and delivery in the social economy, public expenditure and investment, grant giving and financial investment, and, corporate responsibility. Valuing What Matters

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Social Accounting and Audit

Social Audit Network

For social economy organisations, including social enterprises, voluntary organisations, non-profits, and community organisations, that wish to measure, report on, and to be held accountable for their social, environmental, and economic performance and impact the Social Audit Network is a primary contact in the UK, but also works internationally. SAN provides a register of social auditors and has a directory of Social Accounts, which provides examples from various organisations, drawing chiefly upon UK examples. Social Accounting and Audit

AccountAbility

AccountAbility is an organisation specialising in social accounting and audit, though more focussed on corporate reporting and larger NGOs. AccountAbility provides guidance on the principle of 'materiality' - what is important to report on, and has developed AA1000, an assurance standard for social accounting, a quality standard for verifying/auditing social accounts.

There is also a consultation document on Materiality as it relates to Corporate Governance. AccountAbility

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