*Trigger warning – This story contains content about suicide

One of our newest subscribers joining the ASVB community is Relationships Australia NSW.

The core business of Relationships Australia NSW is about “Reshaping lives, one relationship at a time.” To really understand the social value of their work they felt that they needed to be able to reflect the difference it can make to people’s wellbeing when they focus on improving the critical relationships in their lives.

To enable them to fully utilise the ASVB to understand the social value generated by their work, they funded the development of three new values to be included in the Bank:
– Improved relationship with partner
– Improved relationship with children
– Improved relationship with most recent former spouse/partner.

These new Wellbeing Values were derived by our partners Simetrica-Jacobs, using waves 1 – 19 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.

These new values can be applied to any activities that create outcomes of improved relationships, such as relationship counseling, family mediation, parenting programs etc.

Our current subscribers will now find the Improved Relationship values in the drop down list within the ASVB Calculator. Please note that guidance to apply these values, including the corresponding survey questions have been added to the back of the updated User Guide – Addendum AUG 2021.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Relationships Australia NSW and a big thank you for contributing to the ongoing development of the Australian Social Value Bank.

If there are specific values that you would like to have added to the ASVB so that you can value the work that you do, please get in touch to discuss what’s possible by emailing: info@asvb.com.au.

It is important to understand our history in order to glean a sense of our future.

ASVB History

The ASVB’s history stems from the leadership shown by the UK housing sector, who, as social purpose organisations, wanted a robust way to measure the social value of their work. This desire was partly in response to the introduction of the Publice Services (Social Value) Act in 2012 which required government to consider the social value that could be leveraged through their procurement activity.

Several housing providers came together with HACT and Simetrica-Jacobs to pioneer a new way to measure social value, launching the UK Social Value Bank in 2014.

Shortly after, four CEO’s from a regional NSW Housing Alliance went on a UK Study Tour and learnt of this new impact measurement tool that could tell you the social value your community programs were delivering.

Knowing that their state government was developing an outcomes framework, an increasing awareness of impact investing and the development of Social Impact Bonds, the Housing Alliance could see the benefits such a tool would have in the local Australian context.

They self-funded a scoping study to see if Australian data sets could be used to develop an Australian version of the tool, and the rest, as they say, is history.

UK Social Value Roadmap

The reason I reflect on the history of the development of the ASVB is because in January 2020, HACT and Simetrica-Jacobs convened the UK Social Value in Housing Taskforce, consisting of representatives from 22 organisations, including social housing organisations, national membership bodies, developers and contractors, and the Regulator of Social Housing.

The Taskforce agreed that the sector needed to work collaboratively to standardise their approaches so that social information was better understood and respected, was available to measure performance, and could be used to support and enhance their regulatory returns.

The Taskforce asked HACT to develop a roadmap for the future of social value in social housing, (which you can download here). HACT state “Our roadmap will enable the social housing sector to use social value information to improve services, enhance decision-making and increase the impact we make.”

The roadmap sets out the following three stages:

Stage 1: Expanding the UK Social Value Bank

Stage 2: Developing tools to use the UK Social Value Bank

Stage 3: Applying the UK Social Value Bank to the business of social housing

ASVB Future Development

All of HACT’s proposed development activities seem logical, and are indeed ones that I would want for the future development of the Australian Social Value Bank. However as I consider our own road ahead, I wonder what drivers exist in our local context that will move the next stage of our development forward?

Without similar policy levers or government requirements, the value proposition just isn’t there for the Australian Community Housing sector to invest further. The obvious stakeholder who would want to ensure good social returns on investment is government themselves, but they appear to be currently missing in action.

In Australia, it seems the ones who are stepping up to face the many societal challenges that have been made more dire as a result of the pandemic, are the private sector. They understand that changes need to happen now and have taken on some of the responsibility to drive these changes. The cynic could argue that this is driven by the market and the influence of their stakeholders, but wherever the pressure is coming from at least there is action.

With this in mind, I can perhaps see the next are of development for the ASVB focusing on environmental outcomes as corporations strive to achieve net zero.

I guess only time will tell?

Visit HACT’s Social Value Roadmap

You might be aware that the ASVB is based on a model that was developed by the UK housing sector, the UK Social Value Bank. The tool was developed in response to their Government’s introduction of the Social Value Act in 2012.

The UK Social Value Act requires people who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits. This made being able to demonstrate social value, alongside cost effectiveness, a priority for the UK housing sector.

We don’t have an equivalent Social Value Act here in Australia but we are starting to see our State Governments seek these additional benefits through their social procurement initiatives. At this stage, it is most prevalent in initiatives that involve large government investment, such as the development of infrastructure.

TENDERING ON SOCIAL IMPACT

Companies involved in development and construction are already being asked at the tender stage to outline their strategies to deliver social impact. It is one of the criteria that their bids are being assessed on.

There are a couple of  main strategies that these companies are using to embed the creation of social impact in their tenders.

PURCHASING SOCIAL VALUE

The first is to include their own social procurement strategy within their organisational approach. This means that they commit to purchasing goods and services from social enterprises that contribute positive social outcomes as part of their standard business operations.

For example, they may contract a social enterprise, who is an inclusive employer, to clean up waste on their construction sites and divert usable resources away from landfill. This approach would include environmental outcomes as well as employment opportunities for people with a disability who are hired by the social enterprise.

Using this strategy, the company may set a target amount or percentage of overall spend that they will direct toward social enterprises throughout their supply chain. Or, as in the example above, they may outline specific partnerships and the amount this contract will cost them.

CREATING SOCIAL VALUE

The other strategy is to embed formal training and job creation initiatives within your own organisation’s activities, as part of your bid. This approach has already been successfully used in a number of large scale projects.

Generally the construction company will partner with a vocational education provider to up-skill a group of recruits to fulfill specific positions on their work site. Depending on the target cohort of the program, it is likely additional supports will be required to achieve sustainable outcomes. In the case of supporting highly marginalised young people, new migrants or ex-offenders for example, it is best to partner with skilled NGO who has experience in supporting people with additional needs through training and into sustained employment .

COMPETING ON SOCIAL VALUE

Currently, these types of approaches are being submitted with training and employment outcome targets, which may suffice for now. However, as the market matures and competition increases, an approach like the ASVB will be able to make a real difference.

By simply taking the amount of money you intend to invest towards your social impact initiative, and estimating the number of jobs you will create, the ASVB will allow you to forecast the social value that could be created if yours were the successful bid.

This is a cost-effective strategy that can really strengthen your proposal, by including the dollar value of the social impact that would be delivered by this component of your tender.

From the government perspective, or whoever may be procuring high value services, the ASVB will allow you to compare different social impact strategies to help inform your decision making knowing which bid offers the greatest likely creation of social value.

Of course once successful in winning the tender, the ASVB is the obvious choice to report back on the actual social value created from your social impact initiative.

We believe that the ASVB can make a real difference in this context by helping to encourage money being allocated towards projects that create more social value. In response, we are now starting to offer one-off impact valuation statements that can be used to support your tender. If you’d like to discuss this opportunity, please get in touch at info@asvb.com.au.

Social and affordable housing plays a pivotal role in the lives of the people it provides a home. There are many basic needs and essential elements of wellbeing that are addressed by having a home. Recently Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) approached us at the Australian Social Value Bank (ASVB) to support their research into the inclusion of social and affordable housing as essential social infrastructure.

We must establish the merits for investment by governments into the building of new social and affordable housing properties if Australia is going to overcome our current housing supply and housing affordability crisis.

At the ASVB we have quantified the dramatic impact on people’s wellbeing when they move into social housing from being homeless or living in temporary accommodation. In monetary terms, the social value of the benefit to the individuals themselves, and the secondary benefits to society, are some of the highest ratios of cost to benefit in our Value Calculator. Once in these properties, the number of outcomes that can potentially be achieved by these tenants are diverse and often life-changing. They range from improvements in physical and mental health, educational attainment, social inclusion, employment and financial wellbeing.

We work with housing organisations across Australia who use the ASVB to put a social value on the work they do. There are two main areas in which organisations are using the ASVB to measure their social value. Firstly, to measure their core business of housing, by putting a value on the different transitions between housing situations for individuals and families. Secondly, to put a social value on the activities they carry out to support their residents to sustain their tenancies and the wider community development work in the neighbourhoods in which they operate. This evidence base of social impact and value is used to report back internally to senior management, frontline staff, board members and customers to prove the critical role housing providers play in their communities. Externally organisations use this evidence to support tenders, funding applications, as acquittal evidence for grants received and to attract private and philanthropic investment into their organisations work.

This current project by CHIA is attempting to draw attention to the combined impact of all social and affordable housing activity in Australia. The ASVB aspires to create a standard set of principles and assumptions which ASVB subscribers use, in order to allow the sector to aggregate social impact from multiple providers to provide a consistent and sector-wide valuation of the social impact they have in communities, across states and nationally. We have provided guidance to housing organisations on how they can use the ASVB to measure their core housing activities, including principles around choosing outcomes and what costs to include. [Core Housing Guidance]

Using a consistent methodology and set of principles, it will be possible to build a strong case for seeing social and affordable housing as essential social infrastructure. We are delighted to have been part of this initial piece of research by CHIA to present this case to the Federal Government. The use of ASVB values within this research will provide a powerful understanding, in monetary terms, of the potential financial benefits of investing in social and affordable housing, and the return for every dollar invested.

If you would like to know more about how the ASVB can support your organisation to measure and put a social value on the impact of your organisation’s work, please get in contact with Min Seto. For more information about the ASVB, visit our website here.

Giving fever has started early this year at the ASVB, and here’s a Christmas offer you don’t want to miss…

For the FIRST TIME EVER we’re giving 20% OFF ALL LICENCES!!

That’s right, you’ll receive a 12-month User Licence for 20% OFF the usual price!

This offer applies on top of our usual 15% not-for-profit discount – so you guys will effectively be receiving 35% OFF of the full price of a licence!

And any of you big fish out there, can save up to $12,800!

So here’s the fine print:

• You must be a  First-Time ASVB Subscriber
• You must join the ASVB before 12th December 2019 to receive a 20% DISCOUNT off our standard licence fees.

That’s right, you’ll receive a 12-month User Licence for 20% LESS – that’s a saving of up to $12,800!

Of course, you’ll receive all of the usual subscription inclusions:

• Unlimited Users from across your organisation
• Unlimited social value calculations
• Unlimited Impact Valuation Statements
• Free access to ASVB training webinars
• Bespoke on-boarding training webinar
• 8 hours individual consultancy support to get you up and running (valued at $1,600)
• Access to our online ASVB Community of Practice, where you can ask questions and share best practice with other ASVB Users

STRICTLY FOR A LIMITED TIME AND UNLIKELY EVER TO BE REPEATED!

Don’t miss out!

Register here to get your 20% Discount Now!

Please see our ASVB Licence Fees page for more information on subscribing.

Terms and Conditions  – Organisations must be first-time subscribers. Payment of licence fees must be received in full by ASVB prior to 12 December 2019.

We have had a great August out meeting face to face with impact measurement practitioners, managers, CEOs and board members across the not-for-profit, social enterprise and housing sectors.

We thought it might be good to share with you four key talking points and our perspective on these hot topics being discussed in relation to impact measurement.

No one is willing to pay for impact measurement

What is clear from the events that we attended over the last month is that there is a continuous lack of investment in impact measurement, both within organisations and being funded directly by government and philanthropic organisations.

The message coming from state and federal government representatives is that you can no longer expect to receive funding if you can’t prove the outcomes you’re creating or the impact your having. At the same time, the same government representatives and departments are unwilling to fund impact measurement as a separate part of program or grant budgets.

Speaking to social sector organisations attending these conferences, we consistently heard the same narrative of them all knowing the importance of measuring their impact to sustain and grow their organisations. They are, however, unable to find funding that is sufficient to create a solid impact measurement approach that will meet the demands of their funders.

Investing in impact measurement reaps rewards

It’s quite frustrating that we have this gap between what everybody wants to achieve, which is an evidence-based approach focused on outcomes, and what everybody is willing to invest financially to achieve this goal.

This is even more frustrating when you see organisations presenting at these conferences, who clearly demonstrate that their decision to take the plunge and invest in impact measurement, have led to them reaping big rewards.

There were two particular organisations who presented at the Criterion Outcomes conference in Sydney, who over the last couple of years, have invested significant amounts of money in impact measurement. They put impact measurement frameworks in place, trained staff and made it a part of the culture of their organisations. In return for this investment, they have received significant amounts of further investment, based on the trust that philanthropic organisations now have in their organisation as a result of their evidence base. These philanthropic organisations can clearly see the outcomes being achieved and that the results are based on rigorous evidence.

Some delegates in the audience balked at the initial investment these organisations had put into their impact measurement approaches. But the question for those delegates and the rest of the social sector is, is it worth taking a risk investing $80,000 in an impact measurement project that returns new investment to fund your organisation to the sum of $900,000?

Evaluation needs to be proportionate to grant size

Another theme that came up with grantmakers was around how big does a grant need to be before you evaluate it or require an impact report. Some grant providers are requesting grantees to evaluate the impact of grants that they are providing for as little as $1,000. This begs the question, what is the purpose of this evaluation that is being requested and what will the results be used for?

The reality is that grants of this size do not need a full evaluation or impact measurement. It is debatable how you can expect, or get any true insight or value out of, evaluating such small interventions. Impact measurement needs to be proportionate to the size of the grant being provided.

Social impact bonds as a new stream of revenue

Social Impact Bonds continue to be a hot topic, potentially opening new streams of revenue and business models for organisations. The social housing sector, in particular, seems to be grappling with how to use impact bonds to fund their growth outside of government projects. What is clear from the work currently happening in this space is that the only evidence that is being accepted as part of these bonds, is the cost savings to the government.

Cost savings, also known as secondary benefits, are those benefits to society such as increasing tax revenues, reductions in welfare costs or reductions in healthcare costs, for example. These are the only trustworthy and valid data points that are being tracked to provide evidence of a social impact bond working.

Social impact bonds, in their infancy, have been very challenging to set up and there are huge costs involved before the investor’s dollars will start flowing in to fund your initiative. At this point in time, they seem to be a funding mechanism that only large organisations, who can afford to invest in their setup, can take advantage of. We would advise caution and careful consideration as to whether a social impact bond is the best funding option for your program.

Thanks to all those who we met, and debated the way forward with, over the last few weeks. We have lots to think about, primarily around how we can best support organisations to achieve their goals around impact measurement.

The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual and do not necessarily represent those of Alliance Social Enterprises.