Social Return On Investment (SROI) measuremet in charitable organisations in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

There is a particular interest in social value measurement by private, public and social organisations. Social value, sometimes referred to as ‘social return on investment’, attempts to express in monetary terms the value of the services that charities produce. Many methodologies have been created to achieve this for use at all levels, for instance, government, social enterprises, for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organisations. However, there is no consistent framework applicable in all contexts. Almost all studies on the evaluation of social value created by organisations have been conducted in Western countries, with the tools used also created in Western countries. Therefore, it is not known how non-profit organisations in the City of Cape Town in particular, and South Africa in general, communicate with their sponsors in terms of social value work undertaken. It is unknown if any formal methods of reporting social value are employed in charitable organisations in Cape Town or in South Africa. This research, therefore, was qualitative. Data were collected by interviews and purposive sampling as the researcher selected five non-profit organisations with six senior managers (three directors, one deputy director, and two managers) for this study’s investigation. Data analysis was done thematically: data was collected, recorded and transcribed in the text; codes were assigned to data transcripts; key concepts were identified in interviews; findings were identified and presented to answer each research question. Findings from interviews conducted with seven participating selected NPOs will be discussed as part of the project.