Glossary 2.0

This document comprises both a short ‘Glossary of Key Terms’ written for anyone starting to engage with social value and SVI’s work, as well as a longer and more comprehensive ‘Technical Glossary’ for Social Value Practitioners who are undertaking technical impact measurement and management tasks.

It was published in 2023, and is an update to the original Glossary of Social Value terms which was developed as part of the SVI Standards and Guide to SROI in 2012.

Why publish an update?

The Principles of Social Value and SVI Standards are used by thousands of practitioners all over the world and are being referenced by other standard setters and frameworks as the practice of IMM (impact measurement and management) continues to evolve.

This new glossary reflects the latest developments in the understanding and use of key terms and helps to develop consistency and interoperability with other IMM frameworks.

What changes have been made?

The process of reviewing key terminology has led to some substantial updates to the words we use and their definitions. It is important to highlight all of these updates especially for practitioners who have been using the SVI Standards and Guide to SROI for many years.

The three most significant changes are i) a greater emphasis on wellbeing; ii) a focus on optimising; and iii) replacing the term ‘stakeholder’ with ‘people affected’.

For a more detailed summary and explanation of key updates to terminology please read our Summary of the most significant changes to terminology.

And if you want to compare the Glossary 2.0 with its predecessor, download the original 2012 version.