“I’m happy happy happy happy!” proclaims a participant involved in the Museum of East Anglian Life’s (MEAL) Social Enterprise Scheme. But what does this actually mean in terms of impact for the museum and its community? MEAL’s Director, Tony Butler, is sure the answer lies in SROI or Social Return on Investment analysis.
“SROI is a complex and revealing methodology which avoids the imprecision of qualitative and blandness of quantitative evaluation”, says Tony. It’s an approach that combines a story of change with financial proxies for a numeric result.
Why MEAL turned to SROI
As a social enterprise, MEAL tries to push the boundaries of what museums typically do and was Entrepreneurial Museum of the Year in 2010. Strategically, the museum hoped the SROI would help raise the profile of social enterprise and impact within the museum sector. More practically, the team also needed to pitch and price services appropriately as the initial three year funding agreement was coming to an end.
How it works
SROI is a rigorous analysis that asks others to help you understand your wider impact in a quantifiable way. A fundamental principle of SROI is the ongoing consultation with stakeholders to establish impact.
The team used pictures and collage to talk directly to trainees, families and partners about the difference the course made to them. The pictures represented some of the researched outcomes already identified for museums through the Generic Learning Outcomes. Using research into the psychology of learning they then created ‘ladders of progression’ for participants so they could show trainees’ progress. Trainees assessed themselves against the ladder and estimated their starting point to establish ‘distance travelled’.
SROI has a very particular definition of impact, which is the affect on society of the programme, less what the museum itself can’t take credit for. The analyst therefore discounts what would have happened anyway (deadweight), what someone else was responsible for (attribution) and any displacement of effect. Having done this, the next step is to assess the duration of the impact and using HM Treasury’s guidance on discounting, identify the present value of the future returns. This figure is then placed in a ratio with the investment. In this case it showed that for every £1 of investment, MEAL could claim credit for over £4 of social return.
Impact and outcome of the project for participants
The SROI analysis looked at one year of the work-based learning programme. In that time, 37 participants, 48 family members, 4 partner agencies, 10 staff or volunteers as well as the state and local community all saw benefits. SROI allowed the museum to demonstrate the following impacts and outcomes for the four stakeholder groups:
For participants:
- Progression towards the world of work - £100,791 of social value over five years
- Increased confidence and hope for the future - £14,753 of social value over five years
- Development of positive relationships - £14,251 of social value over five years
For significant family:
- Better family or community life - £43,926 of social value over five years
For the state and community:
- Welfare payment savings - £65,223 of social value over five years
- More effective and efficient local service delivery - £494 of social value over five years
For museum staff and volunteers:
- More confidence dealing with disadvantaged people - £258 of social value over five years
Impact and outcome of the project for MEAL
The report has helped MEAL to secure further funding from the Neighbourhood Learning for Deprived Communities fund, even in these challenging times. It also identified the most productive priorities for the programme, and for the new Skills for the Future programme which MEAL is delivering with Norfolk Museums. It recommends that the museum really focuses on working with partners to help participants move on, and that it works more explicitly with families. And it recognises how important the museum itself is to trainees; the land, the collections, the animals, the crafts and the sense of belonging and place.
A more detailed look at the methodology showing the six stages and 20 steps to the approach used at MEAL is available through the MLA Research Case Studies Database.