Evaluating social procurement: a theoretically informed and methodologically robust social return on investment (SROI) analysis of a construction training initiative developed to reduce the risk of youth homelessness in Wales

Abstract

Despite widespread claims about the benefits of social procurement, there is little robust evidence that emerging social procurement policies are achieving their intended outcomes. Addressing this gap in research, this paper presents a case study of a theoretically informed and methodologically robust evaluative social return on investment (SROI) analysis of a construction training initiative developed in Wales to reduce the risk of youth homelessness. Utilising Sen and Nussbaum's Capability Empowerment Approach, the results contribute to social procurement research by providing much needed empirical legitimacy to an under theorised field. Ensuring that new social procurement initiatives developed by the construction industry are theoretically and empirically sound is critical to ensure they are transparent, robust, testable, reliable and replicable in achieving the social outcomes they purport to deliver.

Keywords:

• Social procurement
• social value
• social impact
• social return on investment (SROI)
• employment
• young people
• homelessness
• corporate social responsibility

Data availability statement

The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.