Reports Database

“This thesis examines how culture and cultural events should be valued within the policy process. The framework one chooses to assess the level of costs and benefits associated with possible policy projects affects the outcome of those values. This may lead to systemic biases against certain types of projects and in favour of others. When using an economic impact analysis or typical cost-benefits analysis type framework, projects with “intangible” or public good benefits components may appear less desirable to society than they actually are. Policy makers compensate for this discrepancy between calculated values and the intuitively perceived higher value of culture by making ad hoc provisions for cultural funding, a solution which often leaves culture in a precarious position. This thesis attempts to address this problem by proposing a more comprehensive social cost-benefit analysis framework for the assessment of policy projects.”

“The Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) to “calculate the return on investment to taxpayers from evidence-based prevention and intervention programs and policies.”

In this update, we identify public policies that have been shown to improve the following outcomes:

Child maltreatment
Crime
Education
Labor earnings
Mental health
Public assistance
Public health
Substance abuse

This report presents our findings as of July 2011. Prior to the 2012 Washington legislative session, we will update and extend these results.”

Evidence-Based Effects of Class Size reductions and Full-Day Kindergarten.

“This report provides an evaluation of the social return from investing in the Woods for Health Pilot at Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park. This provided a range of structured outdoor activities to supplement traditional forms of care provided to people accessing support from Perth and Kinross Community Health Partnership and NHS Tayside mental health services. The report forms part of a series of four Social Return on Investment (SROI) analyses of urban nature sites. The analysis was undertaken during 2010 by greenspace scotland supported by the Woods for Health Steering Group partners (Perth and Kinross Council Ranger Service, Perth and Kinross Community Health Partnership, NHS Tayside and the Forestry Commission Scotland).”

“The report provides an evaluation of the social return from investing in the reinstatement by volunteers of the Coronation Garden at Spier‟s Old School Grounds. Restoring the gardens to their original glory has provided the local community with a unique place of environmental and heritage significance in which they can take pride and can visit regularly to gain health and wellbeing benefits from being outdoors. Through taking part in restoration activities, the volunteers, who were mostly young people, gained new skills, improved their health and fitness levels, increased their confidence and self-esteem, enhanced their knowledge and awareness of the surrounding environment and of how to preserve their natural heritage.”

“The report provides a forecast (or prediction) of the social return from investing in the Cumbernauld Glen Mountain Biking initiative. This provides opportunities for schoolchildren at Abronhill High School to take part in mountain biking on an urban trail as part of the school’s physical education curriculum. The report forms part of a series of four Social Return on Investment (SROI) analyses of urban nature sites. The analysis was undertaken during 2010 by greenspace scotland supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT).”

“The report provides an evaluation of the social return from investing in a school EcoClub‟s
use of Dumbreck Marsh Local Nature Reserve. The report forms part of a series of four
Social Return on Investment (SROI) analyses of urban nature sites. The analysis was
undertaken during 2010/11 by greenspace scotland supported by North Lanarkshire Council
Greenspace Service.”

A framework for Minnesota

“This report is an evaluation of the social return generated by the employability pilot collaboration between Registers of Scotland and Haven Products as part of the Scottish Government funded Public Social Partnerships Project.

This pilot aims to expand an existing employability scheme for people with disabilities, who are trained by Haven Products, to create a ‘complementary workforce’. Registers of Scotland is the first Government agency to participate in this scheme and benefit from the additional skills of the new employees.

The analysis in this report was carried out using Social Return on Investment which tells the story of the change affected by our activities, told from the perspective of our stakeholders. SROI places a monetary value on outcomes, so that they can be added up and compared with the investment made.”

PricewaterhouseCooper, Forth Sector Development

“This briefing paper on the social value of adult learning for community empowerment has been produced by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) on behalf of the Local Government Group for cabinet members, elected members and directors of economic development. It provides a short overview on how adult learning provides outcomes that support and add value to a variety of local priorities as well as being of intrinsic value in its own right.

It contains examples gathered through case studies and through using a Social Return on Investment approach. This approach recognises the value of each step and, in particular, focuses on the value to the beneficiaries of the intervention, as well as to the partners and funders.

NIACE believes that adult learning is essential, not only to create and maintain a more skilled and knowledgeable workforce, but also for personal development, and for a just, inclusive and democratic society. We work to secure high-quality education and training systems that are responsive to the diversity and complexity of adults’ needs and aspirations as learners. Our work has a particular focus on those who have not benefited through formal education systems and those who are under-represented in existing provision. These concerns are reflected in our work to strengthen the role of adult learning within local communities and to maximise the contribution it makes to addressing disadvantage and empowering communities of both place and interest.”

This report is the culmination of a year’s partnership between Demos and Coca-Cola aimed at better understanding how businesses can measure the social value of their sponsorship activity.

In an era of increased pressure on business to demonstrate social responsibility, it is vital that the tools for robustly measuring and understanding their social impact are available. Good businesses can no longer afford quiet confidence about social impact – they must be able to analyse and report on it. But – as polling for Demos has shown2 – many corporate sponsors simply cannot do this. Almost two-thirds of corporate sponsors (59 per cent) do not measure their sponsorship activity through social value created, and a third (34 per cent) of these businesses acknowledge that they are unable to do so because no appropriate model exists for them to use. This gap has prompted Demos to develop a unique and original model of
sponsorship evaluation.

The new model to measure the social value of corporate sponsorship activity discussed in this report is the first of its kind – built specifically for ease of use and robust reporting of corporate sponsorship. Unlike traditional models for measuring social value, this new tool allows corporations to test the impact of their activities, funding and interventions in a time-specific
and cross-cutting way. It is specifically designed to complement and enhance more traditional methods of understanding the impact of sponsorship and commercial engagement such as ‘reach’ and ‘opportunities to see’. It is clear, robust, straightforward and tailored to the needs of major brands and businesses.

This model will be piloted by Coca-Cola to evaluate its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to demonstrate how best to use and apply it to corporate sponsorship. This report uses examples from Coca-Cola’s London 2012 activity to illustrate the theory and practice behind the new model.

Demos (www.demos.co.uk) 2012

“The aim of the Review is to provide an overview of arts impact research to complement a recent Arts Council-commissioned review on arts and social
exclusion. This review is available online at the Arts Council’s website at www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/publicationsindex.html, and covers this area of policy in more depth. Inevitably there is some overlap between the two publications.

The objectives of the Review are to:

• collate and review existing research on the economic and social impact of the arts
• share understanding of methodologies and measures used for assessing the impact of arts projects, facilities and programmes, as well as the creative industries
• assess the comprehensiveness and quality of the existing evidence base
• inform the future agenda for impact research within the sector, and support evidence-based policy making by the Arts Council
• identify key research needs to help improve the robustness of research methods and evidence demonstrating the contribution of arts and culture to the social and economic objectives of national and local government, and other key partners
• provide a practical resource to assist those working in the field”

This SROI analysis is one of two “pathfinder projects” undertaken by greenspace scotland In order to further develop a SROI programme for the greenspace sector. greenspace scotland is a national charity working with a wide range of national and local partners to improve the quality of life of people living and working in urban Scotland through the planning, development and sustainable management of greenspaces.

The Greenlink is a 7 km cycle path creating a direct route from Strathclyde Country Park to Motherwell Town Centre. The Greenlink project is the result of a 3 year partnership between North Lanarkshire Council, CSFT, Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire, Scottish Natural Heritage, Fresh Futures and Forestry Commission Scotland.

The project is managed by CSFT on behalf of the Greenlink Steering Group. The first year of the project saw the creation of the lit tarmac cycle way and some adjourning walk ways were upgraded. There is ongoing programme of woodland management, conservation and community events and activity taking place as part of the project, developed in partnership with the communities along the route; Daisy Park, Forgewood and Orbiston.

“The right of children to play is recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as a fundamental part of their lives. It is seen as a basic part of their rights as human beings, and a fundamental building block towards developing the social skills to participate fully in all stages of later life. Play makes a tremendous contribution to children having a happy and healthy childhood. In turn this makes them much more likely to grow up into happy and healthy adults who can make the most of their lives. Not only does this enable people to use their talents and make positive choices about their lives, it also helps them make a significant contribution to society.

Inspiring Scotland has been delighted to deliver the Go Play programme in partnership with the Scottish Government. To date we have worked closely with the play sector through a portfolio of 27 ventures. We have applied our venture philanthropy principles to meet the Government’s objectives for the programme, namely increasing the opportunities for children to play freely and working with the play sector to support its development. A key part of the work with the portfolio of play organisations which have been invested in has been the development of this pack.

It is vital that we gain a clear sense of what works and the outcomes achieved through support. This pack has been written with this very much in mind. It describes what the play sector does, how it makes a difference and how it links to local and national outcomes. It identifies ways that play organisations can realistically demonstrate their difference though use of evidence and, lastly, it begins to help us to identify some common ground to assess when play organisations can have the most impact.

The work has been developed through the portfolio and with input from experts in the play field. Whilst commissioned by the Scottish Government, both local and national government can use it to understand the case for play and the play sector. Funders can also use it to understand the case for play, the context for particular grant applications, and what can be done to evaluate play projects at a community level.

Within the Go Play programme, Inspiring Scotland will use the pack and the logic model to understand and report on the impact of the two-year programme. However, most importantly, the pack is for the play sector, to use as a framework for presenting and articulating why play is so important for children in Scotland.”

“This report presents the findings from research undertaken by Pro Bono Economics on behalf of Barnardo’s into the potential savings from Barnardo’s interventions for young people who have been sexually exploited.

The research sought to determine the effectiveness of Barnardo’s interventions in reducing the risk of sexual exploitation and associated risk factors, and estimated the fiscal rate of return of such interventions – that is, the saving to the taxpayer for every pound spent by Barnardo’s on the intervention.

Statistical methods were employed to measure the effect of Barnardo’s interventions on the severity of sexual exploitation and its associated risk factors. The cost of sexual exploitation was estimated for varying degrees of severity using a range of secondary sources. These estimates were then combined to calculate the gross financial benefit of the intervention, and compared to the cost of the intervention to give an overall fiscal rate of return.

Two models are presented – one which assumes that the level of risk remains unchanged in the absence of the intervention, and one which provides an estimate of how the level of risk changes in the absence of an intervention. Both highlight that the benefits to the taxpayer of Barnardo’s interventions for young people who have been sexually exploited substantially outweigh the costs, with a potential saving of either £6 or £12 for every £1 spent depending on the assumptions made, in addition to a substantial (non-costed) reduction in the risk of sexual exploitation.”

“This report sets out to shatter some myths about pay and value. Chief among them – and the point of the research – is to show that there is not a straightforward relationship between high financial rewards and good societal outcomes. This isn’t just an intellectual exercise – it has big implications for the way in which our society and economy are structured. Financial incentives are very powerful, and we tend to shower them on some of the professions that are the most socially and environmentally costly. This promotes undesirable behaviour, while positive activities are discouraged.”

The cycle to work scheme is a tax-free, salary sacrifice benefit currently offered through employers, who may loan cycles and various items of cycling equipment to employees, with the intention of promoting both more environmentally friendly commuting and health benefits associated with cycling (Department for Transport, 2009). The Cycle to Work Alliance brings together a group of leading providers of the cycle to work scheme, including Cyclescheme, Cycle Solutions, Evans Cycles and Halfords, who work with employers to administer the schemes offered to employees.

In February 2016, the Cycle to Work Alliance, commissioned IES to undertake a rapid evidence assessment of various quantitative and qualitative data around the efficacy of cycle to work schemes and the health and economic benefits of cycling to work. This approach provides a good overview of the state of play regarding research into this area, identifying key themes and issues in research surrounding cycling. As well as a documentary review, the assessment analysed responses of a survey administered by the Cycle to Work Alliance to employers and employees who have taken advantage of the scheme.

“For more than six decades, SOS Children’s Villages has worked to protect children and address the root causes that put children at risk of losing parental care.

Our 573 villages around the world today are ‘care and protection hubs’ in their communities, providing support for the most vulnerable children and families, because many families cannot do it all alone.

As there is no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to preventing family breakdown or ensuring quality care for a child, our village is a network of flexible care responses and supports. We strive to protect and support each child according to their own best interests.”

“SolarCity is America’s largest full-service solar power provider. We make clean energy available to homeowners, businesses, schools, non-profits, and government organizations at a lower cost than energy generated by burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil.”

“On Safer Internet Day, the UK Safer Internet Centre launched the Creating a Better Internet for All report, a study of children’s experiences of online empowerment and online hate.

The study found that overwhelmingly young people want the internet to be a positive and inclusive place that respects people’s differences and they see their peers helping to create this.

An estimated 2.1 million young people have done something online to show support to a certain group in the last year.

The report captured the views and experiences of over 1,500 young people who shared what they had done to promote kindness online.

But despite that positive experience, 4 in 5 teens witnessed online hate.

The research found that more than four in five (82%) 13-18 year olds said they witnessed online hate, having seen or heard offensive, mean or threatening behaviour targeted at or about someone based on their race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation or transgender identity.”