Social Return on Investment offers a broad framework for measuring value beyond just financial benefits. It is a measure of change for individuals and their experiences by representing them as a monetary value. The result of this process of measurement is better inclusion of stakeholders and their needs, an heightened understanding of changes that have taken place, and increased value of factors that matter.
Maximise! Project
The Maximise! service is based in schools across Edinburgh and seeks to promote the financial resilience, health and wellbeing of families and to contribute to increasing the attainment of children and young people.
It helps individuals, particularly those experiencing health, social and economic inequality, to reach their potential in a way that enables them to meet their aspirations. Delivered by staff employed by Children 1st (Edinburgh Family Wellbeing Service) and Community Health and Advice Initiative (CHAI), parents and carers are able to gain wide-ranging support which includes money and welfare rights advice, family welfare support and access to employability services.
The benefits that are measured are those that are made possible by the investment of £426,500 by Edinburgh City Council Education Service ‘Care Experienced Attainment Fund’ and schools in Edinburgh. This is a stakeholder-informed process and the benefits have been identified, wherever possible, following consultation with those who were most directly affected.
The analysis was undertaken during 2019 and 2020 by the Improvement Service.
Download the report: Access to Welfare Advice in Schools
Co-Location of Advice Workers in Medical Practices
The IS, in partnership with NHS Lothian, Dundee City Council and Granton Information Centre, carried out a Social Return on Investment analysis on the co-location of advice workers in medical practices. It found that every £1 invested in the co-location of advice workers would generate around £39 in social and economic benefits.
The analysis identified, measured and valued a wide range of benefits by talking directly to the people most affected. These included:
- Service users said that they experienced improved health and wellbeing, felt less stigmatised, and had better and earlier access to services
- Medical practice staff are able to make better use of their time and focus on medical interventions
- Medical practices are able to deliver more cost-effective services
- Advisors state that they have improved productivity and the number of appeals and ongoing work is reduced
- Funders were able to target resources at priority groups.