As part of our work with Scotland’s Veterans Wellbeing Alliance we were recently able to take part in a project to better understand the Social Return on Investment (SRoI) of our work. We were incredibly privileged to work with Karen McNeil of Phronesis Partnership, Dr Lindsay Randall and Dr Linda Irvine-Fitzpatrick who led the process of calculating social value. The project was supported by Ivan Annibal, Social Value Engine and Dr Jessica Sellick, Rose Generation.
The project started with a central question:
What difference does this work make, and how can we evidence that difference rigorously and responsibly?
Let’s come to the first part of this question first, what difference does the work make?
Stand Easy is a small charity but we believe passionately in what we do and we see the benefits for our participants day-to-day and in the longterm. We know that taking part in our projects makes a real, tangible difference to peoples lives. We see this in the friendships that are formed, the changes folks make to live more positive lives and in the laughter in the workshop space. I could tell countless stories here which demonstrate this value, the veteran who was supported by Stand Easy for over a decade, through medical issues, legal battles and mental health challenges and who speaks about the value of Stand Easy whenever he can, the widow who was able to reconnect with the military world and form friendships after the passing of her husband, the church filled with the Stand Easy family at the funeral of a participant…. the list goes on.
The crucial thing we came to realise as part of the Social Value project was that although our work makes a huge difference we cannot always evidence all of these nuances rigorously and responsibly. We are incredibly proud that we have been able to evidence a positive SROI for our work with such a small team who are all stretched to the limit. The next steps for us are to explore how we can bolster and boost our learning processes and data collection.
Overall, we were able to demonstrate a net SRoI of £0.83 for every £1 invested in Stand Easy. The following outcomes were used in this calculation:
Improvement in mental health and wellbeing (non-clinically diagnosed conditions)
Increased engagement in recreational activities
Increased participation in the arts
Social benefits of increased community engagement
To find out more about the project and read the full report please visit: https://svwa.org.uk/learning/
