Posted 30th April 2020
Social Value UK and International are proud to announce Charlotte Österman, Partner & Sustainable Development Director at Pax Tecum Global, as Level 1: Associate Practitioner!
Pax Tecum Global Consultancy is a London-based global consultancy firm which specialises in diplomacy and international development. Founded in 2018, we work to serve as the official link between businesses, impact investors, NGOs and emerging economies with international governments in order to build sustainable partnerships and an ethical future.
Why have you decided to undertake the Social Value International Practitioner Pathway? What has lead to your application for Level 1 of Practitioner?
On a rainy autumn day and around the new pathway’s launch, it was nicely hinted to me by Ben that this could be something for me to set my teeth into. It was designed to support ones’ personal development in social value and SROI and was something I had already expressed my interest in.
So I thought to myself: What better way to evidence the capabilities of an individual than starting working on this pathway?
My social value journey had already begun about four years ago and it has led me through SROI practitioner training to development of VINCI Facilities’ first Social Value Framework. Four years later, I’m supporting organisations in impact measurement and management. But I wanted to keep on learning and also have an extra piece of evidence of my capabilities.
What did you learn and find useful from this assessment process?
That I need to work on my exam time management skills! Oh wow, it was a tough exam to answer within the time frame haha!
But jokes aside, to prepare for the exam was an excellent opportunity to really study the Standards and guidance available – which would had been hard to find the motivation for if I didn’t know there was an exam coming up. I used the Practitioner Package as my support, which helped me a lot to structure what I was focusing on. Even if I was not new to Social Value before, these long hours of studying obviously came with the advantage of learning more about the topic, which will be hugely beneficial in my work.
Is there anything that you believe you will gain or find useful in the next steps you will take for working towards the next level of Practitioner?
Yes! As I used the Practitioner Package as my go to resource, including starting filling in templates, SROI Value Map and report, this will obviously massively help me on my journey towards AP L2 and AP L3 recognition. In addition, the network of SVUK and SVI is a constant flow of interactions and learning opportunities with other professionals in this field – which is a continuous support for that next step.
Are there any other specific projects you are doing at the moment that are related to SROI/social value?
I work for Pax Tecum Global Consultancy which is an international development and diplomacy consultancy that serves as the official link between businesses, impact investors, NGOs and emerging economies with international governments in order to build sustainable partnerships and an ethical future. As such I get involved in a variety of project created to generate social value and I advise our team and clients on how to best approach this.
You have now joined a community of practice around the globe. What does this mean to you and why do you want to participate and contribute to the development of the methodology and overall social value movement?
Working in an international setting and with sustainable development projects, the methodology of SVI/SVUK and social value movement is important to my work and I want to participate and contribute to this.
I have been a member of Social Value UK since four years back and I’m also one of the Council’s Advisors. With the new AP L1, I look forward to not only continuing to stay involved as before – but to also increase my involvement in the more “technical” aspects of social value.
As Ben said… ‘We’re creating a movement’. And I’m proud to be even closer aligned with this vision to change how the world accounts for value.
Charlotte Österman
For more information on Charlotte’s social value journey, contact her via:
Email address: [email protected]