Measuring and Valuing Impact: The Benefits of an SROI Analysis

By Stephanie Robertson

It's fine to count the number of people coming through the door, or how many dollars are raised, but to find out if your organization is really having an impact, you have to start asking different questions.

Impact. ROI. Measure. Each word is linked to questions about value creation. And these questions are linked to the need for evidence that results have been achieved. These are necessary and important questions for internal teams to ask, as they also are when engaging with funders/investors and other external audiences.

Many nonprofits, charities, social enterprises and social businesses are beginning to explore the social return on investment (SROI) methodology as a framework to assist them to speak to impact, ROI and measurement. While still an emerging method, SROI can assist any organization to consider and present the value resulting from activities that influence the circumstances of stakeholders.

When exploring SROI as a framework, there are a few important things to consider. For example, does your organization have an evaluation system in place? If so, is your approach focused on describing activities and reporting on the quantity of participants, or is your approach geared toward measuring outcomes?

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