If you’ve ever struggled to show the real difference your program makes, beyond numbers and outputs, you’re not alone. Many organisations know they’re creating meaningful change, but find it hard to capture and communicate that value in a way that decision-makers will understand and act on.
This is due to the “hard to measure” nature of some outcomes. How do you quantify someone’s increased confidence? Or put a value on improved social connections?
These types of outcomes are known as social value, and they can be measured in a structured, credible way using social impact measurement.
What is social impact measurement?
At its core, social impact measurement is about understanding and measuring social value.
Social value is the value people experience through changes in their lives. It’s the difference a program, project or service makes, not just in outputs (like how many people attended) but in real-life outcomes.
These changes might include:
- Improved confidence.
- Better wellbeing.
- Stronger social connections.
- Increased independence.
- A sense of safety.
These changes are often invisible and hard to measure. You can’t always see them in grant reports or the usual metrics.
This leads us to the problem: when funding bodies or program managers make decisions, this “invisible” value often gets left out, even though it’s incredibly important to the people experiencing it.
This is where social impact measurement comes in. It helps us make the invisible visible, as we gather evidence about the changes people experience and bring that into decision-making. We ask stakeholders:
- Did this work add value?
- Who experienced that value?
- What kind of change actually happened? Which changes were the most important?
When done well, social impact measurement shifts the conversation. It moves us beyond counting activities to understanding what truly matters.
Where does Social Return on Investment (SROI) fit in?
You may have heard of Social Return on Investment or SROI. SROI takes social value measurement a step further by putting a dollar value on outcomes that are otherwise hard to quantify. This allows those outcomes to be included in decision-making processes where the common language is money.
However, it’s important to be clear about this: SROI is not just about money – it’s about value.
Money is simply a tool, a common unit that helps communicate value in a way that decision-makers understand.
The goal isn’t to reduce human experiences to dollars. The goal is to ensure that important outcomes, like improved wellbeing or reduced social isolation, are taken seriously alongside financial costs and returns.
Ultimately, we want decision-makers to take a broader view of value, one that includes:
- people’s wellbeing;
- social equity; and
- environmental sustainability.
So why do we measure social value? We do it to:
- Give a voice to people who experience change because of our work.
- Ensure those voices influence decisions.
- Consider the full impact of our work on people and the environment.
Involving stakeholders
Your stakeholders are central to the process of social impact measurement.
This is about understanding change, so the people who experience that change need to be at the centre.
Stakeholders can be anyone who:
- is affected by your work; or
- affects your work.
This might include program participants, families, staff, funders, community members, delivery partners, even the environment, as it experiences change from our actions.
A key principle here is that it’s not only about what we think, it’s also about what our stakeholders think.
Too often, organisations define their own outcomes without really asking the people they work with. Social impact measurement flips this around by taking the time to:
- Identify different stakeholder groups.
- Understand that each group may experience different changes.
- Gather their perspectives in a structured way.
This is similar to stakeholder analysis, but it goes deeper. The insights we gather from our stakeholders directly inform how we measure and calculate social value.
A closer look at Social Return on Investment (SROI)
SROI is one way of calculating social value. It’s based on a complex and robust methodology that draws on established approaches such as accounting, cost–benefit analysis and sustainability reporting.
SROI involves multiple stages that include:
- Defining outcomes.
- Gathering evidence and insights about change.
- Assigning financial values to outcomes.
- Accounting for what would have happened anyway.
- Calculating overall value.
A critical part of SROI is demonstrating that your program contributed to the outcomes. You need to show that:
- The changes happened because of your program; or
- The changes would not have happened (or were unlikely to happen) without it.
This blog is intended as an overview rather than a step-by-step guide to SROI. In practice, carrying out SROI requires careful design, rigorous data collection, and being transparent about assumptions.
How do we put a dollar value on outcomes?
In SROI, we often use financial proxies to represent the value of outcomes. These proxies don’t capture everything, but they help translate value into a form that can be compared and understood.
Here are a few common approaches:
1. Cost of alternatives
What would it cost for someone to achieve the same outcome elsewhere?
For example, if a program improves mental wellbeing, what would equivalent support cost through private services?
2. Savings created
Does the program reduce costs for individuals, services or government? For instance:
- Reduced demand on the public health system.
- Reduced demand on crisis services.
- Savings on transport or childcare.
3. Income generated in the community
Does the program stimulate economic activity? This might include:
- Increased employment.
- Higher local spending.
- Benefits to local businesses.
It’s important to stress again: Financial proxies are only one part of the picture.
SROI is not just about assigning numbers – it’s about building a well-evidenced story of change.
Where to from here?
Social impact measurement isn’t just a reporting exercise. Done well, it helps organisations to:
- Make better decisions, including where to focus resources for the most impact.
- Improve programs and add more value for people.
- Demonstrate real impact and strengthen funding applications.
- Stay accountable to the people they work with.
Most importantly, it helps to ensure that the voices of stakeholders are heard in decision-making.
If you’re thinking about measuring your impact, the key is to start with the right approach. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, but it does need to be meaningful and well designed.
If you’d like to better understand your impact, demonstrate your value, or explore SROI, get in touch to start a conversation – we’d love to hear about your work and help you make its impact visible.
You may also be interested in getting started with an impact measurement framework.
Like this blog? Subscribe here to be notified about articles like this one.
