Social Return on Investment (SROI) Assessment

Social Return on Investment is a methodology for measuring and communicating the social value created by an organisation's activities — quantifying the social, environmental, and economic outcomes generated relative to the investment made. It provides a monetised ratio of social value to investment — for example, stating that for every rupee invested in a programme, X rupees of social value was created — giving stakeholders an intuitive, comparable measure of social impact.

The SROI methodology involves identifying all stakeholders affected by the programme, mapping the outcomes they experience, valuing those outcomes using financial proxies, accounting for what would have happened without the intervention, and calculating the net social value created.

The process is participatory and evidence-based — engaging stakeholders directly in identifying and validating the outcomes that matter to them. SROI assessments are used by organisations to demonstrate the effectiveness of CSR and social investment programmes, to compare the social value of different programme interventions, and to communicate social impact to investors, boards, and other stakeholders in a credible, quantified format.