IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/epplan/v64y2017icp116-126.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The leap from ROI to SROI: Farther than expected?

Author

Listed:
  • Gargani, John

Abstract

Social return on investment (SROI) is a popular method for evaluating the impact that organizations have on society and the environment. It has its roots in finance, where return on investment (ROI) is used to evaluate investments. Over the past ten years, SROI has made the leap from a tool for building private wealth to one that advances the public good. Has it landed us in a better place? To answer the question, I describe the general approach to financial analysis, how it is applied to financial decisions, and how it has been adapted to evaluate impact. I then consider the strengths and weaknesses of SROI, and suggest how, by pushing beyond the constraints of financial analysis, it can give stakeholders voice and provide evidence of success from diverse perspectives. Along the way, I propose a conceptual model for value, a foundational concept in SROI that has been criticized by some as underdeveloped, and I include a technical appendix that identifies potential sources of statistical bias in SROI estimates. I conclude by acknowledging our growing need to incorporate efficiency as one of multiple success criteria and the role that SROI—properly implemented—can play.

Suggested Citation

  • Gargani, John, 2017. "The leap from ROI to SROI: Farther than expected?," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 116-126.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:epplan:v:64:y:2017:i:c:p:116-126
    DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2017.01.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149718917300071
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2017.01.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donald B. Rubin, 2004. "Teaching Statistical Inference for Causal Effects in Experiments and Observational Studies," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 29(3), pages 343-367, September.
    2. Fujiwara, Daniel, 2013. "A general method for valuing non-market goods using wellbeing data: three-stage wellbeing valuation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51577, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
    4. Daniel Fujiwara, 2013. "A General Method for Valuing Non-Market Goods Using Wellbeing Data: Three-Stage Wellbeing Valuation," CEP Discussion Papers dp1233, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ngarava, Saul & Mushunje, Abbyssinia & Chaminuka, Petronella, 2020. "Qualitative benefits of livestock development programmes. Evidence from the Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo (KyD) Scheme in South Africa," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. José Pablo Abeal Vázquez & Pilar Tirado-Valencia & Mercedes Ruiz-Lozano, 2021. "The Impact and Value of a Tourism Product: A Hybrid Sustainability Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Samal, Parshuram & Mondal, Biswajit & Jambhulkar, Nitiprasad Namdeorao & Verma, Ramlakhan & Das, Anup Kumar & Singh, Onkar Nath, 2023. "Evaluation of crop research institutes under data and resource constraints: An alternative approach," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Yates, Brian T., 2021. "Toward collaborative cost-inclusive evaluation: Adaptations and transformations for evaluators and economists," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Muhammet Usak & Ming Yuan Hsieh & Yung-Kuan Chan, 2021. "A Concretizing Research on Making Higher-Education Sustainability Count," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, March.
    6. Clare, Grace & Diprose, Gradon & Lee, Louise & Bremer, Phil & Skeaff, Sheila & Mirosa, Miranda, 2023. "Measuring the impact of food rescue: A social return on investment analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. kartikaputri, arella, 2020. "Pentingnya Social Return on Investment," OSF Preprints 4rv9a, Center for Open Science.
    8. kartikaputri, arella, 2020. "Pentingnya Social Return on Investment (SROI)," OSF Preprints y9ntg, Center for Open Science.
    9. King, Julian, 2021. "Expanding theory-based evaluation: Incorporating value creation in a theory of change," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McDonald, Rebecca & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2018. "The Shadow Prices of Voluntary Caregiving: Using Panel Data of Well-Being to Estimate the Cost of Informal Care," IZA Discussion Papers 11545, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Paul Frijters & Christian Krekel & Raúl Sanchis & Ziggi Ivan Santini, 2024. "The WELLBY: a new measure of social value and progress," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Murtin, Fabrice & Boarini, Romina & Cordoba, Juan Carlos & Ripoll, Marla, 2017. "Beyond GDP: Is there a law of one shadow price?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 390-411.
    4. Romina Boarini & Marc Fleurbaey & Fabrice Murtin & Paul Schreyer, 2022. "Well‐being during the Great Recession: new evidence from a measure of multi‐dimensional living standards with heterogeneous preferences," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(1), pages 104-138, January.
    5. Ricky N. Lawton & Iulian Gramatki & Will Watt & Daniel Fujiwara, 2021. "Does Volunteering Make Us Happier, or Are Happier People More Likely to Volunteer? Addressing the Problem of Reverse Causality When Estimating the Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 599-624, February.
    6. Sebastian Himmler & Job Exel & Werner Brouwer, 2020. "Estimating the monetary value of health and capability well-being applying the well-being valuation approach," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(8), pages 1235-1244, November.
    7. Jules Pretty & Jo Barton, 2020. "Nature-Based Interventions and Mind–Body Interventions: Saving Public Health Costs Whilst Increasing Life Satisfaction and Happiness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Anna Maccagnan & Sam Wren-Lewis & Helen Brown & Tim Taylor, 2019. "Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 217-243, January.
    9. Giulia Greco & Paula Lorgelly & Inthira Yamabhai, 2016. "Outcomes in Economic Evaluations of Public Health Interventions in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: Health, Capabilities and Subjective Wellbeing," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(S1), pages 83-94, February.
    10. Ecker, Olivier & Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L. & Mahrt, Kristi, 2018. "Transforming agriculture for improving food and nutrition security among Nigerian farm households," NSSP working papers 56, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Claudia Hanson & Sanni Kujala & Peter Waiswa & Tanya Marchant & Joanna Schellenberg, 2017. "Community-based approaches for neonatal survival: Meta-analyses of randomized trial data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-137, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Eugenia Ganea & Valentina Bodrug-Lungu, 2018. "Addressing Inequality in Vocational/ Technical Education by Eliminating Gender Bias," Revista romaneasca pentru educatie multidimensionala - Journal for Multidimensional Education, Editura Lumen, Department of Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 136-155, December.
    13. Gallopín, Gilberto, 2018. "Back to the future," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 318-324.
    14. Pandey, Shanta, 2017. "Persistent nature of child marriage among women even when it is illegal: The case of Nepal," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 242-247.
    15. OGUNNOWO, Fatai Abiodun & Prof. F. A. OKWO & JULIUS, Deborah Nwanne, 2023. "Availability and Utilization of Security Facilities in Federal Tertiary Institutions of Enugu State, Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(5), pages 931-941, May.
    16. Paul L. G. Vlek & Asia Khamzina & Hossein Azadi & Anik Bhaduri & Luna Bharati & Ademola Braimoh & Christopher Martius & Terry Sunderland & Fatemeh Taheri, 2017. "Trade-Offs in Multi-Purpose Land Use under Land Degradation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Victor Kasulo & Rochelle Holm & Mavuto Tembo & Wales Singini & Joshua Mchenga, 2020. "Enhancing sustainable sanitation through capacity building and rural sanitation marketing in Malawi," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 201-215, January.
    18. Fernanda Guedes & Alexandre Szklo & Pedro Rochedo & Frédéric Lantz & Leticia Magalar & Eveline Maria Vásquez Arroyo, 2018. "Climate-Energy-Water Nexus in Brazilian Oil Refineries," Working Papers hal-03188594, HAL.
    19. Alex. B. McBratney & Damien Field & Cristine L.S. Morgan & Jingyi Huang, 2019. "On Soil Capability, Capacity, and Condition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-11, June.
    20. Tiantian Zhai, 2021. "Environmental Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications to Materialize China’s Green Belt and Road Initiative," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:epplan:v:64:y:2017:i:c:p:116-126. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/evalprogplan .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.