Social Return on Investment (SROI) has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and practitioners for its potential to calculate the monetary value of organizations that aim to solve the so-called Grand Challenges via socially oriented solutions. However, SROI suffers from methodological challenges, including the ability to lead to comparable results. This challenge is crucial as decision-makers need to allocate (public) budget and require robust and comparable evidence to make such choices. This thesis investigates the potential for enhancing the comparability of SROI ratios through the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related indicators. To do so, it exploits the context of Italian Social Enterprises operating in the Health and Social Care sector, which proves promising as the Italian Government has adopted the SDGs by establishing related indicators to measure and align the effectiveness of its policies. This thesis employed an exploratory research methodology grounded in a literature review and based on interviews with and secondary data analysis of three Social Enterprises operating in the Health and Social Care sector. The data were used to conduct a qualitative SROI for each case and explore the possibility of employing the SDG framework to enhance comparability between the SROI ratios results. The analysis reveals the benefits, challenges, and implications of incorporating SDG-related indicators in the SROI methodology. The findings suggest that the proposed framework provides a standardized ground for comparison, connecting, and aligning Social Enterprises working towards similar SDGs, in this case, SDG 3. However, the inclusion of qualitative information remains essential to complement the quantitative evaluation of the SROI ratio and consider the diverse needs of beneficiaries and services provided by organizations. Overall, this research is an initial contribution to the advancement of practical knowledge on SROI and its connection with the SDGs, offering insights into Italian Social Enterprises in the Health and Social Care sector.
Il Social Return on Investment (Ritorno Sociale sull’Investimento) (SROI) ha attratto interesse da parte dei decisori politici e dei professionisti per il suo potenziale nel mostrare, tramite calcoli, il valore monetario delle organizzazioni che mirano a risolvere le cosiddette Grandi Sfide attraverso soluzioni socialmente orientate. Tuttavia, lo SROI presenta debolezze metodologiche, tra cui l’incapacità di produrre risultati comparabili. Questa caratteristica è cruciale in quanto i decisori, nell’allocare i fondi pubblici, richiedono evidenze robuste e possibilità di comparazione per prendere decisioni. Questa tesi vuole indagare la potenzialità di miglioramento della comparabilità del Social Return on Investment (SROI) mediante l’incorporamento di indicatori correlati agli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDG). Per raggiungere questo obiettivo, esploreremo il contesto delle imprese sociali italiane attive nei settori della salute e dell'assistenza sociale, che risultano idonei data l’adozione da parte del Governo italiano degli SDG per stabilizzare gli indicatori utilizzati per valutare tali settori e allineare l’efficacia delle politiche. Questa tesi ha impiegato una metodologia di ricerca esplorativa, basata su una revisione della letteratura e su interviste e analisi di dati secondari di tre imprese sociali che operano nei settori della salute e dell'assistenza sociale. I dati sono stati utilizzati per condurre un'analisi qualitativa dello SROI per ciascun caso ed esplorare la possibilità di impiegare gli SDG per migliorare la comparabilità tra i risultati delle analisi SROI. L'analisi rivela i benefici, le sfide e le implicazioni di incorporare indicatori correlati agli SDG nella metodologia del calcolo dello SROI. I risultati suggeriscono che la metodologia proposta potrebbe rappresentare una base standardizzata per il confronto tra calcoli SROI, capace di collegare e allineare le imprese sociali che lavorano verso obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile simili, in questo caso connessi all'SDG 3. Tuttavia, l'inclusione di informazioni qualitative rimane essenziale per integrare la valutazione del rapporto SROI e considerare le diverse esigenze dei beneficiari e dei servizi forniti dalle organizzazioni. Complessivamente, questa ricerca rappresenta un contributo iniziale all'avanzamento delle conoscenze pratiche sullo SROI e alla sua connessione con gli SDG, offrendo approfondimenti sulle imprese sociali italiane nei settori della salute e dell'assistenza sociale.
SDG-related indicators to increase SROI comparability: an exploratory study on italian social enterprises in the health and social care sector
CHICARELLI ALCANTARA, BRUNO
2022/2023
Abstract
Social Return on Investment (SROI) has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and practitioners for its potential to calculate the monetary value of organizations that aim to solve the so-called Grand Challenges via socially oriented solutions. However, SROI suffers from methodological challenges, including the ability to lead to comparable results. This challenge is crucial as decision-makers need to allocate (public) budget and require robust and comparable evidence to make such choices. This thesis investigates the potential for enhancing the comparability of SROI ratios through the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related indicators. To do so, it exploits the context of Italian Social Enterprises operating in the Health and Social Care sector, which proves promising as the Italian Government has adopted the SDGs by establishing related indicators to measure and align the effectiveness of its policies. This thesis employed an exploratory research methodology grounded in a literature review and based on interviews with and secondary data analysis of three Social Enterprises operating in the Health and Social Care sector. The data were used to conduct a qualitative SROI for each case and explore the possibility of employing the SDG framework to enhance comparability between the SROI ratios results. The analysis reveals the benefits, challenges, and implications of incorporating SDG-related indicators in the SROI methodology. The findings suggest that the proposed framework provides a standardized ground for comparison, connecting, and aligning Social Enterprises working towards similar SDGs, in this case, SDG 3. However, the inclusion of qualitative information remains essential to complement the quantitative evaluation of the SROI ratio and consider the diverse needs of beneficiaries and services provided by organizations. Overall, this research is an initial contribution to the advancement of practical knowledge on SROI and its connection with the SDGs, offering insights into Italian Social Enterprises in the Health and Social Care sector.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Descrizione: SDG-related indicators to increase SROI comparability: an exploratory study on Italian Social Enterprises in the Health and Social Care sector
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/212012