Investing in culture and communities
The social return on investing in work-based learning at the Museum of East Anglian Life
Why SROI?
“SROI is a complex and revealing methodology
which avoids the imprecision of qualitative
and blandness of quantitative evaluation”
Tony Butler
SROI analysis
SROI engages people in rigorous analysis of impact and knock on effects
Our stakeholdersThe scope and the people affected by our project
The story of changeWhat we invest, what we do and changes that result
The evidenceHow we know things have changed and the results
Our impactValuing results and taking off what we can’t take credit for
Our social return on investmentCalculations
Verifying, reporting and improvingUsing what we’ve learnt
Work- based learning
8 week course for around 50 people a year who are long term unemployed
Our scope
The scope and the people affected by our project
Our WBL programme has significant effect on:• Participants• Their families in the widest sense• The state and community• Museum staff and volunteers
The story of change
What we invest, what we do and the changes that result
• We invest £31K of funding plus £3K of volunteering
• But further investment of cultural heritage is critical too
• Participants and families invest a great deal of emotional energy
“where else could you work on a
steam engine and build a kiln?”
partner agency
The story of change
What we invest, what we do and the changes that result
The story of change
What we invest, what we do and the changes that result
Participants saw improvements in:• Progression towards work• Confidence and hope for the
future• Relationships
• Happiness...
“we see the difference in the person - much
more work ready, bags more
confidence, have made friends”
partner agency
The story of change
What we invest, what we do and the changes that result
But we have wider influence too:• Families see improvements in
family relationships • The state and community see
savings in welfare payments More effective and efficient
local delivery• Museum staff and volunteers
improve their understanding of disadvantaged people
The story of change Key question:
How to value and encourage happiness and
emotional investment
We used the four stages of learning model
Unconscious undeveloped
Conscious undeveloped
Unconscious developed
Conscious developed
The evidence
How we know things have changed and the results we see
Amjed’s experience
8 years of isolation till
referred
100% attendance
Gaining qualifications, leading a team
A regular job with CMHT
The evidence
How we know things have changed and the results we see
The evidence
How we know things have changed and the results we see
Participants’ progress is not linear but has significant steps• When participants begin to care,
they initially take up more services and support
• The most significant part of progressing towards employment is getting a job
The evidence Key service need:
Approaches to progression delivered jointly with partners
The evidence
How we know things have changed and the results we see
37 progressed. As you would expect from work-based learning:• 90% progressed towards work –
average of 38%• 70% had more confidence and
hope for the future – average 35%
• 50% improved their relationships – average 30%
Say, one and a half steps of four
The evidence
How we know things have changed and the results we see
Other results showed:• 5 out of 7 families see
improvements with a 50% ‘score’• The state and community see
significant welfare savings, even taking into account the above
• Creating more efficient and effective local service delivery offers tremendous scope
• Museum staff and volunteers see improvements, but limited
Our impact
Taking off what we can’t take credit for and valuing results
• We researched what would have happened anyway (deadweight)
• We asked participants how much was down to MEAL (attribution)
• We used this evidence to attribute our impact
“finding placements has been hard – too
academic. The service at MEAL is so unique, it serves our clients well”
partner agency
Our impact
Taking off a proportion if we just transferred the problem
We estimate that almost all our outcomes are ‘new’ with almost no displacement effect
Progression towards work however does see some displacement.
Our impact
Valuing results
We valued our participants’ outcomes using these financial proxies• Value of work over benefit• Value of counselling and work
placement• Value of a social life and family
therapy
Our impact
Valuing results
We valued our wider outcomes using these financial proxies• Family relationships with family
therapy plus the cost of bringing up a child
• State and community through welfare payments and the value/cost of local networking
• Museum and volunteer learning through diversity awareness training
Our impact
Valuing results
Welfare savings
-£10,000
-£8,000
-£6,000
-£4,000
-£2,000
£0
£2,000
Our impact
Adjusted results
Outcome Adjusted results
Proxy value
Progression towards the world of work
38% x 37 = 14, adjusted to 9 after attribution
Increased yearly income from having a job over benefits £8,340
Increased confidence and hope for the future
35% x 37 = 13, adjusted to 7 after attribution
Value of counselling £649, + value of work experience £1,139
Development of positive relationships
30% of 37 = 11, adjusted to 5 after attribution
Cost of social life £1,359 + family counselling £333
Better family life 54% of 48 = 26, adjusted to 4 after deadweight and attribution
Cost of family counselling £333 + part cost of bringing up a child £4,805
Welfare payment savings 37 results, adjusted to 20 after attribution and displacement
Higher service take up then tax contributions at average £2,891 – nb real value
More effective and efficient local service delivery
92% of 4 = 4, with no adjustment
Local network membership £25 + admin savings of £439
Confidence in dealing with disadvantaged people
40% of 10 = 4, adjusted to 3 after deadweight
Cost of diversity awareness training at £85
Our impact Key opportunity:
Hidden value of family outcomes
Our impact
How long our impact lasts
Whilst the outcomes we achieved are long-lasting we expect other factors to soon take over from MEAL’s influence:
We consciously avoid dependency
Our SROI
Calculating our return
• Our true investment is £53K including museum costs
• Our first year of value is £180K with more value in subsequent years
For every £1 invested we gain over £4 of social value
Verifying, reporting and improving
Using what we’ve learnt
What we’ve learnt about SROI• Face to face feedback is
invaluable• Work it through, but don’t over-
work it• An independent partner ensures
rigour and persistence
Verifying, reporting and improving
Using what we’ve learnt
What we’ve learnt about WBL• Key question: How to value and
encourage happiness and emotional investment
• Key need: Joint local approaches to progression
• Key opportunity: Hidden value of family outcomes
• Key investment: In cultural heritage