Social Return on Investment (SROI) and Performance Measurement

Abstract

Social enterprises are being promoted as responsive and innovative way to deliver public services. As part of this promotion, these organizations are being required to demonstrate the social and economic value they generate. Social return on investment (SROI) is a performance measurement tool currently being encouraged to capture this impact. This paper draws on survey and interview data to analyse how SROI is used and understood in health and social care settings. It indicates that despite being accepted as an internationally recognized measurement tool for social enterprise, SROI is underused and undervalued due to practical and ideological barriers.

Key words:

• Social enterprise, social return on investment, SROI, health and social care, social value, performance measurement, impact and outcome measurement

Acknowledgements

This is an independent article using data from a project funded by the Policy Research Programme in the Department of Health. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Department. The authors would like to thank Pete Alcock for his helpful input in shaping the development of this work.