Позитивные изменения. Том 2, № 3 (2022). Positive changes. Volume 2, Issue 3 (2022)

A positive SROI greater than 1, such as 2:1, means that the positive outcomes of the social project are twice the value of the money invested in it. SROI less than one does not necessarily indicate that the project is not effective, perhaps the investment in it has not yet reached the point of return and requires further analysis. Finally, any negative SROI value indicates that the project is ineffective because its negative impact exceeds its positive impact.

There are two types of Social Return on Investment estimates:

• evaluative SROI, when the SROI coefficient is calculated retrospectively based on actual outcomes that have already been achieved;

• forecast SROI, when we try to predict how much social value will be created if our activities achieve the planned outcomes.

SROI is particularly useful in the planning phase. It gives an idea on how to maximize the impact of social investments and determine which metrics will need to be monitored and measured during the course of a project or activity.

The main task of SROI is to provide information enabling investors and social entrepreneurs to make management decisions and manage outcomes. For investors, the analysis provides an opportunity to see different scenarios for the development of the project, to adjust the impact or methods of operation of the project.

The Social Return on Investment approach can be used for large-scale projects as well as for small enterprises, it is versatile and can be adapted to specific tasks and resources. The most costly part of the analysis is the monetization and construction of the SROI model. This is usually the part that investors and donors are interested in. In many cases, it is enough to develop a theory of change, define the stakeholder circle and the outcomes received by the stakeholders. For startups and small businesses, the implementation of the first few steps of this analysis is sufficient. Such an analysis would require little effort and resources, and would be very useful in understanding the impact produced by the entrepreneurs’ activities.

The cost of SROI assessment work depends on the scale of the project, its coverage by stakeholders and by region, on the degree of immersion that the customer requires, and on the need to monetize the project and to calculate the SROI model. As with any research study, most of the resources are required to collect data, to conduct interviews, and to involve the participants themselves. The most time-consuming and costly projects are those related to evaluating infrastructure programs, grant competitions, and long-term comprehensive programs with a broad focus of impact.

Additional costs will be incurred if independent verification of assessment results is required.

The SROI application guide is published on the website of the founding organization of the Social Value International approach: https://www.socialvalueint.org/guide-to-sroi/.

SROI PRINCIPLES

SROI is an approach that allows for a variety of data collection and analysis methods as long as the same principles are followed.

Table 1. The SROI Principles and Their Implementation in the Evaluation of the Start Your Own Business Program

RESEARCH STAGES AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Let’s look at the implementation of the SROI principles and approach with a specific example. The evaluation was conducted for OMK, a company supporting social entrepreneurs in the cities where it operates. The Start Your Own Business program has been in place since 2016, and was launched sequentially in three localities: Chusovoy (Perm Krai) in 2016, Blagoveshchensk (Republic of Bashkortostan) in 2017 and Vyksa (Nizhny Novgorod Region) in 2018. The Start Your Own Business program’s social return on investment was evaluated in May-June 2021 and included several steps.

SELECTION OF THE OBJECT OF EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholder involvement is a fundamental principle of SROI. Stakeholders are defined as everyone who is affected by the program and who affects it. A fairly wide range of stakeholders is taken into account, including those who are not directly involved in the activities under the projects. This approach allows us to gather more information and to see processes more broadly and deeply. In practice, however, experts encounter various constraints related to data collection. Finding the optimal balance of resources and stakeholder coverage, i.e., depth of evaluation, is an important task for the evaluator.

In our example, it was decided to include the social entrepreneurs themselves, the employees for whom they created jobs during the program (data collection was conducted through the social entrepreneurs), and local communities (data collection was conducted through the Social Innovation Centers in the regions and local administrations) among the program stakeholders.