A Social Work Perspective on Using Social Return on Investment (SROI) in Humanistic Social Care

ABSTRACT

Service administrators and social workers are increasingly adopting business terminology in practice, including such terms as “social impact”, “social capital”, “social investing”, “social accounting”, “social benefits”, and “social return on investment” (SROI). These concepts, especially SROI, must be examined for inconsistency with social work values. Clients must not be stigmatised, and their voices must be heard when this controversial measurement tool is used. A prudent mentality must accompany the application of business ideas to humanistic social care.

服务业管理者以及社会工作者在实践中越来越多地使用诸如“社会冲击”、“社会资本”、“社会投资”、“社会财计”、“社会收益”、“社会投资回报”之类的术语。这些概念尤其像“社会投资回报”与社会工作在价值观上的不协调应当引起注意。当使用这些有争议的测量工具时，客户不能被污名化，他们的声音应该被听到。将这些专业概念应用于人道主义的社会关怀时要有一种审慎的态度。

KEYWORDS:

• Social Venture
• Philanthropic Investment
• Performance Management
• Service Administration
• Social Impact Assessment
• Social Enterprise Development

ORCiD

Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7837-282X