Posted 24th January 2023
Social Value UK are proud to announce that our member, Charlotte Sipi, has achieved Level One Associate Practitioner status.
Charlotte is Head of Social Sustainability at the UK Parliament. The UK Parliament has two Houses that work on behalf of UK citizens to check and challenge the work of Government, make and shape effective laws, and debate/make decisions on the big issues of the day.
Ahead of this announcement, we had a discussion about our Practitioner Pathway and Charlotte’s experience with the Level One assessment process:
Why have you decided to undertake the Social Value International Practitioner Pathway?
I was really keen to undertake the Social Value International Practitioner Pathway to understand more about social value and how it relates to the work I do. I also thought this was important in demonstrating my understanding and knowledge in this area.
What did you learn and find useful from this assessment process?
I learnt about the core principles of social value, which were so interesting to look at in depth and to think practically about how these can be applied to projects and assessments. I learnt about the importance of stakeholders and including them throughout an activity to ensure what you are doing is informed by those who are impacted. I also found it useful to learn about different methods to measure and monetise social value. Overall the assessment process was really insightful and gave me lots of ideas.
Now that you are a Level 1 Associate Practitioner what do you plan to do next to develop your practice? How do you plan to use your practitioner skills?
Now that I am a Level 1 Associate Practitioner, I plan to use what I have learnt about the social value principles in my upcoming work. I hope to learn more by practically applying these and develop a greater understanding of what works well for the initiatives and projects I manage or oversee. I also want to share this learning with others where possible, to develop knowledge on social value and why this is important. I also aim to build on this by working towards Level 2 status in the future.
Are there any specific projects or activities you are doing at the moment that are related to SROI/social value?
I am working on a number of social value related projects which this will be relevant to and I am looking forward to applying the social value principles and testing out some ideas in the future!
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?
I am proud to have gained Level 1 Associate Practitioner status and to now be part of this community. I aim to engage with the community of practice to connect with fellow practitioners working in different industries and areas, to help each other learn, share ideas and adopt best practice. I hope this will be useful to me in developing my subject matter knowledge further, as well as in my role moving forward.
“I am so pleased to have gained Level 1 Associate Practitioner with Social Value International. This has enabled me to develop a robust understanding of the social value principles and the importance of these in generating genuine social value. I am looking forward to building on this knowledge and using it in my work in the future.” – Charlotte Sipi, Head of Social Sustainability