Keep calm and think of the principles

Top tips for navigating the social value landscape

Dear friends, colleagues, partners,

The world of social value is an inspiring and exciting space. Collectively we are part of a movement to build a wellbeing economy, i.e. a new economic system that integrates financial value with often intangible value we create for people and planet. Social Value practitioners are the vanguard of developing a new way to ‘account for value’. This is an exhilarating time as our ideas and practices (that we have been honing for 25 years) are moving from niche to mainstream. 

At the same time, there is an explosion of social value tools, frameworks or ‘products’ that can also make the social value world a confusing and occasionally fractious space. But this explosion is simply a consequence of more people entering the social value movement. More people, arriving from different perspectives and different sectors, each coming together to design new solutions to transform their corner of the economy. Although it feels messy, this is a sign of our movement growing and gaining momentum. 

So, how can we avoid the confusion and navigate the crowded landscape of social value tools and frameworks? 

During this time of expansion and innovation it is even more crucial that we stay focused on our shared vision of a world where decisions are made to reduce inequality and enhance wellbeing. We must stay focused on our shared mission to change the way the world accounts for value through; Principles, People, Practice and Power.  

These four P’s have been guiding us since 2007 and play an equally important role in 2024. This blog offers us a reminder and offers some practical tips on how we can all work together at this time of growth for our movement. 

• Principles: The Principles of Social Value are our foundations. They offer us the building blocks for all of our thinking about social value and the practice that we shape and implement. They are our compass for navigating anything in the social value, impact management, or sustainability eco-system. 

The Principles are not a methodology in and of themselves. Instead, they guide a process for measuring social value in a way that centres the voices of the people who experience impact and support decision making that optimises wellbeing. 

Each new social value tool or framework will help you to apply some or all of the Principles to a varying degree. The important thing is to understand where it can help you apply each principle and where there may be limitations. 

Tip #1. Use the Principles of social value as your framing.  

When reviewing a social value tool, framework or product, ask yourself how can it help you to apply each of the eight Principles? Maybe they help you apply all of them? Maybe they help you with just one of the Principles.  

• People: One of our strengths as a global network is that we provide an inclusive space for all people – uniting people from different geographies, cultures and crucially from different sectors too. We have always believed that accounting for value belongs in all parts of the economy; the private sector, public sector, civil society, social enterprise, impact investing etc. Yes, we occasionally use different terminology when talking about social value and have slightly different drivers – but ultimately I believe we are all trying to do the same thing; make decisions that enhance the wellbeing of our people.  

Tip #2. Take a different perspective! 

Take a training course or guidance from a different sector. Better still, build a relationship with someone outside of your usual line of work – a different sector or industry. Try to understand their approach to social value – why is it important to them? What tools do they use? What can you learn from their practice to enhance yours? How can you share your best practice to influence their thinking too? 

• Practice: Together we are all shaping social value practice. SVI play an important role to set international best practice standards for applying the principles. We deliberately set a high bar – these are aspirational standards. They set out what practice needs to be in order for decision making to be focused on optimising positive impact on wellbeing. The SVI professional pathway (training and accreditation) provides a universal designation for social value practitioners. 

We do, however, understand that applying the principles with high-rigour and meeting best practice standards is not always possible or practical. This is especially true when starting out on your social value journey or where resources are limited. An important axiom to remember is “enough precision for the decision”.  

To reflect these challenges and ensure people at every stage of their journey have a home within our movement, SVI will continue to work on introductory level guidance and develop pathways to help practitioners gain the skills they need to start embedding the Principles - in a proportionate way. We want to work with our national networks and their members to design and deliver a range of resources for different sectors and different geographies all over the world. If you want to support this and get involved, please get in touch.

 Tip #3 Be empowered to shape best practice!  

Aim high by referencing the SVI Standards in your work. Recognise that it may take some time to achieve, so start your journey to measure social value and improve it over time. Want to help others on their journey? Get in touch and let’s work together! 

• Power: There is inherent power in the hands of those who do the measurement of social value (choosing how to measure, what to include in an account, what action to take). Principle One: Involve Stakeholders permeates through the other Principles to ensure that we transfer or share as much of this power as possible with the people who are experiencing the impacts (changes in their wellbeing). Not only is this morally right, it also provides you with the most reliable insights – good social value measurement has much in common with other practices such as ‘user led design’ or even ‘market research’! 

Ultimately, social value is about power and participation; amplifying the voices of people who experience the impact. Seeking to know better is the key here – to reduce bias, shine light on the blind spots we all have.  

Tip #4 Recognise the power imbalances at play!  

When doing any social value analysis or making any decision about wellbeing, we should be explicit in recognising the power we hold and do what we can to share this power by involving stakeholders as much as possible. 

I would like to add Partnerships as the fifth ‘P’. SVI is a ‘network of networks’; forming partnerships is part of our DNA and we must continue to strengthen these and form new ones. In recent years SVI have developed so many incredible partnerships, not least with the United Nations Development Program to help roll out their SDG Impact Standards. Partnerships are easy when there is a shared vision for the world, and from a technical point - clarity on how we can advance the Principles of Social Value. I am delighted to say that SVI will be announcing new partnerships in the next few months that will help advance our movement.  

Tip #5 Partner with us!  

Do you share our vision of a world where decisions are made to enhance wellbeing? Can you help us achieve our mission to change the way we account for value? Get in touch: hello@socialvalueint.org 

My inspiration for this blog is your continued support and dedication to our mission. Keep calm, stay focused and let’s work together.