Reports Database

“Ex post analyses of major sporting events show that the benefits for the organizing countries are often greatly over-estimated in advance. A major portion of the proceeds (e.g., tickets, broadcasting rights, marketing) goes to the organizing sports federation, while most of the costs are borne by the organizing country. Nonetheless, there is fierce competition between candidate countries for the right to organize tournaments like the Olympic Games and the World Cup. We demonstrate this paradox through a social cost-benefit analysis of holding the 2018 World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. The results show that national pride and pleasure come at a price. The re-search also shows that a complete ex ante study is needed to reveal the balance between the organization of a sporting event and the costs that are associated with it.”

“In August 1997 the Mexican government introduced a key component of its overall development and poverty alleviation strategy, the PROGRESA program, in the most marginal rural areas of the country. The expansion of the program across localities took place in phases. By the final phase11 of the program in early 2000, the program included nearly 2.6 million families in 72,345 localities in all 31 states. This constitutes around 40% of all rural families and one ninth of all families in Mexico. The total annual budget of the program in 1999 was around $777 million, equivalent to just under 20% of the Federal poverty alleviation budget or 0.2% of GDP.

The program gives cash transfers to mothers in households classified as “poor”, these transfers being conditional on child attendance at school and regular visits by family members to health clinics for preventative check-ups. Households with young children also receive food supplements to improve their nutritional status. Although the program is essentially a demand-side intervention, an important dimension of the program involves the explicit recognition that, for such an intervention to be effective at achieving its ultimate objectives, co-ordination with the supply side is essential. To this end, the education and health ministries are expected to plan to allocate resources to areas where substantial demand increases are experienced in order to avoid deteriorating quality on the supply-side that may frustrate the achievement of program objectives.

In this report we are concerned with the application of a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) to PROGRESA. The application of SCBA to the evaluation of the program requires one to identify both the impacts and the costs of bringing about these impacts, and then to compare both of these to determine the overall welfare impact of the program and how effectively the program achieves these welfare impacts relative to alternative policy instruments. When monetary values can be attached to these impacts they are referred to as “program benefits” and the application of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) then involves determining whether benefits exceed costs and by how much. In the absence of a monetary valuation of impacts, one is restricted to the use of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), which identifies the cost of bringing about a given impact.”

“Better quality data on costs and benefits of competing investment options in children’s services is becoming available. In this paper, we describe the translation of one model developed for Washington State translated for use in the UK. The paper describes the approach and method used to develop the economic model, and adapt it for use in another country. Results from the United States are compared with those from the United Kingdom. The opportunity to apply these methods to improve child outcomes at reduced cost to the taxpayer is explored. The limitations and need for future development of the methods are outlined.”

“Background: How valuable is public investment in treatment for drug abuse and dependency in the real world of everyday practice? Does drug abuse treatment provide benefits and how are they valued? What are the costs of obtaining outcomes and benefits? Cost–benefit analysis attempts to answer these questions in a standard analytic framework.

Aims: This paper reviews cost–benefit analyses with scientific merit so that analysts will have a current picture of the state of
the research. It will also give public decision-makers information with regards to the available evidence for policy purposes.”

“This report summarises the first phase of a three phase study to develop a financial cost:benefit analysis specific to supported employment for people with learning disabilities. It is being conducted in collaboration with Kent Supported Employment Agency (KSE). It aims to develop a cost benefit framework that is robust enough to accurately identify the potential costs and savings to the local authority and taxpayer of delivering the KSE service. Phase 1 ran from January to March 2010 and involved developing the cost benefit framework and collecting the relevant information from KSE.”

“The application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has grown significantly over the last decade with an increasing amount of healthcare resources being allocated to the activity. Faced with increasing demand for health care services, healthcare systems must ensure that resources are allocated to achieve the maximum health benefits. Wanless (2002) stressed the importance of this effective use of resources for the NHS. While the application of health impact assessment (HIA) has increased, there does not seem to have been a
comparison of the costs and benefits involved in this process. For this reason, the Department of Health commissioned York Health Economics Consortium to undertake a cost benefit analysis of HIA, with particular regard to:

• Best practice in policy, programme and project decision making with particular
reference to local strategic partnerships (LSPs);
• Indicators about when and what areas HIA should be used to maximise its impact
and effectiveness, particularly in relation to addressing health inequalities;
• Investment made in HIA compared with the outcomes achieved in the form of
recommendations to decision makers that were implemented;
• Benefits of carrying out HIA compared with incorporating health into other impact
assessments (e.g. SEA);
• Recommendations about how HIA can be used most efficiently and effectively at
LSP level.”

“In the current design of international climate change policy, a narrow application of social cost-benefit analysis with emphasis of short-term efficiency of resource allocation appears to be the leading criterion. This explorative study sets out to integrate – from a societal perspective – in cost-benefit analyses of climate policy measures long-term impacts to the extent possible. Externalities such as favourable impacts on air pollution problems and energy supply security risks are included in the proposed analysis framework. The objective of this explorative study is to compare different greenhouse gas abatement options on the basis of a social cost-benefit analysis with a view to inform the policy-making process. The numerical application of the proposed analysis framework focuses on ten technical measures in three different sectors: energy and industry, transportation and buildings. Quantification of externalities of air pollution is based on literature approaches and for impacts on energy security of supply risk a novel approach is suggested. The results are given in monetary value ranges and show that taking into account ancillary externalities can significantly change the net social cost of certain mitigation options and the net social cost of a given climate change programme.”

“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”