Valuing Desistence? A Social Return on Investment Case Study of a Throughcare Project for Short-Term Prisoners

Jardine, Cara; Whyte, Bill

doi:10.1080/0969160x.2013.768088

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Antonaras et al, 2011:81;Gair, 2002Gair, , 2009Jardine & Whyte, 2013), or improving availability of external data such as shared databases of proxy data (e.g. Jardine & Whyte, 2013;Meldrum, 2011;Olsen & Lingane, 2003).…”

Section: High Costs and Resource Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, commensuration enables compromise and integration (Espeland & Stevens, 1998:318-323). Hopes have been voiced that, by translating often-ignored impacts into the language of money, SROI analysis might put them into the limelight (Edwards, Smith, & Büchs, 2010;Jardine & Whyte, 2013 Kehl & Then, 2009). Another approach -and this is the one we mostly chose in our work -is to aim for rather comprehensive monetization, but to explicitly reflect on the ethical and political implications of doing so.…”

Section: Fundamental Controversiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Antonaras et al, 2011;Arvidson et al, 2010;Jardine & Whyte, 2013;Manetti, forthcoming). One step towards assuring quality was the establishment of the SROI Network as an accrediting institution.…”

Section: Assuring Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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SROI as a Method for Evaluation Research: Understanding Merits and Limitations

et al. 2014

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Please direct correspondence to florentine.maier@wu.ac.at.Abstract: NPOs and their funders are increasingly drawn to the Social Return on Investment (SROI) method to evaluate the social impact of programs, organizations or organization networks. While many claims about the benefits of SROI have been expressed, various points of criticism have also been raised.On the basis of both current research and our own experience in conducting SROI analyses, we develop a comprehensive assessment of this method, which is structured along two dimensions: the observer's paradigmatic perspective, on the one hand, and positive or negative valuation, on the other. We identify two major merits: SROI analysis can provide legitimacy to NPOs or their funders, and it can assist in allocating resources. We identify limitations from three perspectives: From an interpretative-sociological perspective, criticism of commensuration and utilitarianism calls the method as a whole into question.From a technical-instrumental perspective, there are a number of difficulties that could however be overcome as the method matures. From an intermediary perspective, a number of limitations become apparent that, while inherent to SROI analysis, are no reason for abandoning it, as long as they are thoroughly understood. We conclude by providing suggestions for the responsible use of SROI analysis.The question of how to advance the common good is increasingly seen as a matter of finding out and implementing "what works" rather than of following ideologies. Among NPOs and government institutions that consider themselves cutting-edge, the formulation of explicit theories of change (see, for example, Fulbright-Anderson & Auspos, 2006) as well as the regular development of evidence-based policies (Pawson, 2006:vii) are expected. In managing performance, the focus has clearly shifted from inputs and outputs to impacts and public value (Barman, 2007; Lynch-Cerullo & Cooney, 2011; Moore, 2013). On the one 1 hand, these developments are to be welcomed as progress towards more open-mindedness and discursive rationality. On the other hand, the ideology of anti-ideology comes with its own trappings. The old quip that "[p]ractical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist" (Keynes, 1965:383) still applies. The present article contributes to a deeper understanding of this dilemma by focusing on a particular method that is widely used in the search for impact and evidence: the analysis of Social Return on Investment (SROI). It is the aim of this paper to contribute to a balanced and comprehensive understanding of its merits and limitations.Out of more than 40 approaches that have been developed for measuring social impact (Stevenson, Taylor, Lyon, & Rigby, 2010), SROI analysis is one of the most widespread. It is a mixed-method-approach to assess the social, economic, and environmental impact of interventions. Its most prominent feature is the SROI ratio. This ratio aims to dete...

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Section: High Costs and Resource Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fundamental Controversiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SROI as a Method for Evaluation Research: Understanding Merits and Limitations

et al. 2014

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“…However, their estimation has some shortcomings [4,26,27]. Even though the filters are perfectly defined within the SROI methodology, when we fix them at a certain percentage, we cannot find a method or reference that enables these filters to be calculated with precision and ease [28][29][30]. We can see that these coefficients have a different accuracy depending on the person who conducts the study of measurement, their interests and ability to access the information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambiguity in the Attribution of Social Impact: A Study of the Difficulties of Calculating Filter Coefficients in the SROI Method

2019

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In order to analyse, manage, and compare social projects we need, among other things, to be able to measure their impact. One of the methodologies currently used to measure and manage social impact is Social Return on Investment (SROI). However, not all the results calculated by the SROI method are directly attributable to the project, and, therefore, to determine the real impact it is necessary to filter out the changes that the project has not produced. Filter coefficients perform this function. However, the theoretical logic on which the chain is constructed that converts the outputs into impacts is ambiguous. In this study, we will analyse twenty-five real cases where SROI was used to measure social projects. We will identify the difficulties of isolating and measuring impacts by performing a comparative study of the procedures that entities develop to calculate the filters. This allows us to calculate the impacts from the outputs. We will then propose the improvements needed to overcome these shortcomings.

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“…This research contributes to such debates by highlighting the investment and return value of treating addiction not only in its savings to other service providers, but also its benefit to the local economy; the latter being a factor that is frequently overlooked. Whilst various forms of cost-benefit analysis have been used in American studies of the value of addiction services that include impacts on productivity (US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011; Mark et al, 2001;US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008;Uggen and Shannon, 2014), it is only now becoming increasingly popular in the UK (SROI Network, 2013;Cabinet Office, 2009;Arvidson et al, 2013;Jardine and White, 2013;Jones, 2012;Marsh Farm Outreach, 2009;Millar and Hall, 2012), though there remains little awareness of the economic regenerative impact of addiction treatment amidst a focus on benefits to the budgets of other service providers.…”

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The investment and regenerative value of addiction treatment

Iafrati

2015

Drugs and Alcohol Today

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that despite welfare retrenchment and political rhetoric towards welfare, spending on residential addiction treatment should be protected. Design/methodology/approach – Examining benefits in context of costs, the research used social return on investment to monetise benefits and compare with costs. Based at a residential addiction centre, the research used questionnaires and focus groups with residents and former residents. Findings – The centre created almost £4 of benefit for every £1 of cost. Whilst the bulk of savings came from health, housing and criminal justice, there was also a regenerative impact for the local economy. Research limitations/implications – Sampling in sensitive themes is always problematic, however, the research had contact with many respondents, achieved data saturation and used the centre's success rate as a guide to weight the findings. Practical implications – The benefits of addiction treatment go beyond health outcomes and raise questions about how this should be reflected in cost distribution. Consequently, this has implications for the ways in which addiction services should be measuring their successes beyond solely health outcomes. Social implications – Existing research has largely overlooked the benefit of addiction treatment to the local economy and the fact that, as an investment, this benefit will continue to grow as more people enter the labour market over time. Originality/value – The research recognises the political context of funding and measures success beyond solely health outcomes. Furthermore, the research recognises the regenerative impact of addiction treatment, which is often overlooked in similar research.

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Valuing Desistence? A Social Return on Investment Case Study of a Throughcare Project for Short-Term Prisoners

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

SROI as a Method for Evaluation Research: Understanding Merits and Limitations

SROI as a Method for Evaluation Research: Understanding Merits and Limitations

Ambiguity in the Attribution of Social Impact: A Study of the Difficulties of Calculating Filter Coefficients in the SROI Method

The investment and regenerative value of addiction treatment

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