Social value refers to the positive impact an organisation has on society beyond its financial results. It’s measured by the changes an organisation creates, like improving wellbeing or reducing social costs.

There are different definitions of social value:

• The UK Treasury focuses on the “wellbeing of the population.”
• Social Value UK say Social Value moves beyond using money as the main indicator of value, instead putting the emphasis on engaging people to understand the impact of decisions on their lives.
• Social Value International states that social value is about identifying the effects that people experience as a result of our actions or activities.
• Antz UK describes it as a mechanism to improve people’s lives and reduce costs to society.

Difference between Social Impact and Social Value:

Social Impact is the direct, measurable difference your organisation makes (e.g., reduced food insecurity from a food bank).

The Social Value Act (2012) requires public sector organisations in England to consider social value in some of their spending. Learn more about the legislation.

SROI measures social impact in financial terms, showing how much value a project creates for every pound spent. It uses “proxies” to estimate the financial value of social benefits like improved health or job creation.

Example: “For every £1 invested, £5 worth of positive outcomes are created.”

Tools to measure SROI include:

• Tech4 Society
• Loop
• Social Value Portal
• MeasureUp

• Helps tell your story and show the long-term impact you make.
• Strengthens funding and partnership bids.
• Opens up new opportunities like joining supply chains or securing contracts.
• Helps improve internal services through better measurement.

• Public Sector Contracts: Local authorities and NHS bodies value social value.
• Corporate Partnerships: Businesses want to collaborate with VCSEs to achieve social goals.
• Funding Applications: Social value helps make your impact clearer to funders.
• Local Business Connections: Bolton companies with council contracts may look for VCSE partners to give back to the community.

• Articulate what social value means to your organisation
• Decide why you are measuring and who the audience is – do you want to improve your services, be in a position to bid for public sector contracts or show funders your value?
• Reflect on your organisation’s aims and how you measure the impact for your beneficiaries
• Identify the specific changes your work makes to your beneficiary group long-term and to the local economy, environment and other people who benefit
• Create a Theory of Change to visualise the relationship between your inputs, activities, and outcomes
• Consider how to measure these identified changes e.g. surveys, case studies or involve stakeholders who can tell you the impact of your work on them and their beneficiaries.
• Collect the data over a period of time
• Review and evaluate, creating a report.