youthnet sroi presentation

Social Return on Investment: a new impact model

2nd April 2009

Today’s presentations:

1. askTheSite – introducing the serviceClaire Easterman, Operations Director

2. Theory of Social Return on Investment Andrew Wilson, Corporate Citizenship

3. Applying Social Return on Investment to askTheSite Sarah McCoy, Research Manager

4. Speaker Panel Question & Answer With Martyn Lewis

Using technology to effectively reach young people

Dominic Waghorn, Digital Interactive Services Director

askTheSite - because there’s no such thing as a stupid questionClaire Easterman, Operations Director

“I've had a big family loss recently.

I just need some advice. Please???”

and I want the pain to go.

I just want him back

and I can’t stop crying.

My dad died, it’s really hit me,

Jenny, 22, askTheSite question

• 7.1 million 16-24 year olds in the UK (Labour Force survey 2005)

• Eight out of ten 16-24 year-olds regularly use the internet (ONS,2006)

• 16-24 year-olds turn to the internet for advice because it’s quick, anonymous, and available at any time (Brainjuicer 2007)

The facts:

Young people in the UK:

Each day 52 attempt suicide(MIND website)

1.2 million are not currently in any education, employment or training (Princes Trust)

4 in 10 have used illegal drugs (British Crime Survey)

3) Receive a text confirming their answer is ready. It can be retrieved from a secure area of TheSite.org

2) askTheSite sources an answer from one or more of its expert partners

1) Visit TheSite.org and ask a question

How askTheSite works

askTheSite: answering the personal questions and concerns of young

people4) With permission, the answer is published in an archive for everyone to access

“I am very impressed with the clarity of the

site”

“Being not very computer literate I think the site is

amazing and helpful and I am sure I will need it again in the future”

“i just seemed to come across it, but

thank god i did find it, u gave really good

advice, its like having a second best mate”

“It stopped me spending a lot of

money by not knowing the

situation”

“The site is very easy to use & the

received information very

much appreciated”

800 questions every month

“It was amazing! It was so easy to understand! And the best thing was

that it was so much better hearing advice

instead of hearing it from people involved in my

life. It was fantastic seeing it from a different

point of view.”

“The advice I received has saved my life. I felt like I didn’t want to live anymore, now I know

there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank

you so much”

“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of

my heart for your fantastic, professional and courteous reply. It has really helped me.”

“Thanks - very reassuring

advice that made me feel a lot

calmer.”

“What a fantastic site

this is”

What value does askTheSite provide to society?

The challenge of impact and measurement:

What is the long term impact of the advice and support?

Service is confidential and anonymous

Difficult to capture data from those in distress

An introduction to SROI

YouthNet Breakfast Seminar

2 April 2009

Andrew Wilson, Corporate Citizenship

11Social return on investment

The presentation

This presentation draws on a research inquiry undertaken by

Corporate Citizenship, funded by the Vodafone Foundation,

with extensive input from a reference group of charities

The aim is to provide a short, simple introduction to the key

principles of social return on investment (SROI) and to explore

the issues it can help address


What is SROI?

YouthNet calculated that every £1 invested in askTheSite created a positive social impact of £7.38

Thames Valley Partnership calculated that for every £1 invested in an Urban Dance project to engage pupils as risk of exclusion from school, there was a social return on investment of £3.94

Social Return on Investment enables monetary values to be assigned to the social benefits of specific projects, expressed in relation to the projects’ costs. For example:


Why do SROI?

It can be used to help attract attention and resources from potential

supporters, including government

It encourages an organisation to involve stakeholders in evaluating

impacts

It can provide data on which to make more informed choices about future

investments and activities

It can help spread best practice across organisations if charities are

willing to benchmark themselves against others

While many charities are able to communicate the benefits of their work, SROI can

provide a powerful tool for expressing their wider societal value in concrete,

monetary terms


SROI – The process

INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES IMPACTSMONETARY

VALUES SROI

PLANNING

REPORTING


SROI – Step 1


VALUES SROI

The costs of resources invested in the project

Inputs

Staff time

Overheads

Purchase of equipment


SROI – Step 2


VALUES SROI

The direct benefits resulting from the work of the charity

Outputs

Number of people trained

Number of people vaccinated

Number of children mentored


SROI – Step 3


VALUES SROI

The changes that result from the outputs

Outputs

Number of people trained

Number of people vaccinated

Number of children mentored

Outcomes

Number of people getting a job

Percentage reduction in mortality rates

Level of improvement in GSCE grades


SROI – Step 4


VALUES SROI

The additional benefit provided by a charity’s work – the outcomes less an

estimate of deadweight and attribution

Outcomes


Percentage reduction in mortality


Impact (minus deadweight & attribution)

How many people would have found work anyway?

What other measures have helped to reduced mortality?

How many mentored children would have gained those results anyway?


SROI – Step 5


VALUES SROI

Assigning a monetary value to the impacts identified

Impacts (minus deadweight & attribution)


Percentage reduction in mortality


Monetary value

Social security benefit saved

Cost of health expenditure saved

Increased earnings compared to school leavers with fewer qualifications


SROI – Step 6


VALUES SROI

Dividing the impact measures by the costs involved give the social return on the investment figure


What is needed to calculate SROI?

The data check list Data on the costs of inputs (e.g. staff wages, goods and services

purchased, premises, etc)

Data – or the ability to get data – on the number of outputs (e.g. training

courses completed, phone calls to advice lines, etc)

Data – or the ability to get data – on the number of successful outcomes

(people getting a job, obtaining housing, giving up an addiction, etc)

Data – or an informed assumption – on what would have happened in

the absence of the charity’s intervention

Information on the social value of the charity’s impacts (e.g. costs of

crime, truancy, health problems etc)


Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Helps communicate with funders

It provides a broader measure of

the services delivered

Encourages stakeholder

engagement in the evaluation

process

The model is a good benchmark

allowing organisations to compare

different ways of delivering

services

Weaknesses

Do funders understand SROI?

Not all projects are amenable to

SROI

Resource / capacity implications

Monitor the time spent on data

collection – don’t let the search for

the perfect metric get in the way of

a robust SROI

For further information

Corporate Citizenship - www.corporate-citizenship.com

Office of The Third Sector - www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/081120_sroi.aspx

The SROI Network - www.sroi-uk.org

European SROI Network - www.sroi-europe.org

http://www.corporate-citizenship.com/

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/081120_sroi.aspx

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/081120_sroi.aspx

http://www.sroi-uk.org/

http://www.sroi-europe.org/

Using technology to effectively reach young people

Dominic Waghorn, Digital Interactive Services Director

Applying Social Return on Investment to askTheSiteSarah McCoy, Research Manager

YouthNet’s objectives:

• Understand more about using SROI technique; the challenges and opportunities

• Explore the effectiveness of the askTheSite service

• Investigate how results can help attract further funding

• Develop toolkit that can be used on other areas of our work

Inputs: Costs associated with askTheSite:

• Overall cost of service

• This includes:

- YouthNet staff time

- Funding askTheSite partners

- Overheads (e.g. rent/office costs)

- Volunteers (training & working hours)

£221,714.40 for

six months

Outputs from askTheSite:

We can gather outputs over specific time period:

Monetarising outcomes:

Online Resources

askTheSite reporting tool

Identifying outcomes:

• Quantitative and qualitative research

• Analysis of question bank

Outcome Example of information which may lead to outcome

Reduced likelihood of teenage pregnancy Signposting to local GPs or Family Planning Clinics supplying the contraceptive pill

Increased self esteem Reassurance and empathy

Prevention of homelessness Information about tenancy rights

Prevention of STI contraction Signposting to local GUM clinic

Better exam results Revision techniques

Improved financial circumstances Explanation of financial terms

Reduced likelihood of mental health problems due to stress

Stress management skills

Example case studies:

General topic Case study Costs to society Benefits to society

Sexual health Pregnancy – Abortion - Cost of abortion - Saved cost of ante-natal medical care

- Saved cost of post-natal medical care

- Saved pregnancy and childcare benefits

Mental health Self harm - Cost of GP visit- Cost of medication

and counselling

- Saved cost to the NHS of treating self-harm injuries

Relationships Family problems - Cost of call to Youth2Youth or other

similar helpline

- Saved cost of rent- Saved cost of treating mental health

problems- Saved income support benefits

Drugs and alcohol

Health implications: Alcohol

- Cost of visit to the doctor

-Saved cost of alcohol rehabilitation- Saved costs of treating major health problems that may have developed

Benefits – Costs = NET benefits to society

Sexual health case study:

• David has a sexually transmitted infection (STI)

• David asks a question on askTheSite about his STI and receives a personal answer

• This information directs David to a GUM clinic where he gets the treatment he needs

• The cost to society for David to visit a GUM clinic to get treatment is £438.24

The total cost to society is £438.24



• David has an STI but does not ‘askTheSite’ or access the information and treatment

• Assumption that David passes his STI on to three people

• Cost treating the three people that David infects is £1,314.72 (3 x £438.24)

• The net benefit to society is the difference between cost of treatment these three people and the cost of treating David

NET benefit to society = £876.48(i.e. £1,314.72 - £438.24)

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Monetarised case studies:

Case study NET benefit to society

Sexual health £3,372.96

Mental health £4,529.82

Money £21,792.38

Relationships £8,848.07

Housing £3,167.81

Drugs and Alcohol £1,537.20

General health £818.50

Legal and rights £10,258.82

Putting it all together:

Total savings per question:

SROI evaluation:Value

Number of (within remit) questions answered between 1st July and 31st December 2007

2,870

Proportion of questions leading to positive outcome for young person

74%

Number or questions during period leading to positive outcome for young person

2,124

Benefit per question (assuming 100% attribution, 0% deadweight)

£6,696.26

Total benefit for period (assuming 100% attribution, 0% deadweight)

£14,222,856.24

Attribution 23%

Deadweight 50%

Total benefit £1,635,628.47

Total input £221,714

Overall, for every £1 invested in askTheSite, YouthNet created a social impact of £7.38

• Based on big assumptions so transparency is key

• Way of demonstrating the value of askTheSite in a language supporters understand

• Model has flexibility so can be adapted to other YouthNet services

Summary

Questions for the panel

Thank you

youthnet sroi presentation

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