Social impact measurement

The new social policy landscape

Inspire2Enterprise helps private sector organisations looking to engage with social enterprise navigate the UK social policy landscape. A landscape which has undergone radical change in recent years.

The real value of government expenditure – i.e. how much it improves people’s lives – has recently been called into question. As a result, new approaches to public spending and service commissioning have been developed.

Among government agencies and organisations, ‘evidence-based policy making’ has been widely endorsed, while the ‘social return on investment (SROI)’ model is gaining traction in the voluntary sector. These approaches seek to measure and maximise the social outcomes delivered by public spending, and signal a departure from the policy methods of old.

At Inspire2Enterprise, we help private sector organisations understand and adapt to these changes. We support companies looking to develop social enterprises or corporate responsibility programmes meet the shifting needs and expectations of commissioners and end-users.

Demonstrating social value

In the new era of ‘outcomes-based government’, people are less convinced by ‘the numbers argument’ in service delivery. Instead, there is an increased focus on the quality of the outcome, rather than the numerical output.

As a result, it is vital that organisations are able to demonstrate social impact. Indeed, with the introduction of Payment by Results (PbR) in many public service contracts, providers’ fees are increasingly linked to results that demonstrate that set targets have been achieved. For example, that social care services have met people’s needs under the personalised care agenda, or that repeat offending has been reduced.

At Inspire2Enterprise we have a number of specialists in social impact measurement. They can work alongside your organisation, or they can oversee the whole process for you. Either way, they can help you:

  • Analyse and quantify social value
  • Develop an index against which to measure social outcomes
  • Assess in quantifiable terms what was previously unmeasurable

Whatever your needs, our aim is to help you communicate clearly the social value of your work, or the work of the organisations you are supporting.

If you’d like more information on how we could help you in this area, please get in touch.