CIVIL SOCIETY: 44 PRACTICES
The non-profit organization Equal Society acts against "social exclusion, unemployment and poverty" in order to raise awareness of equality issues in every aspect of social life.
Read more: www.equalsociety.gr
The activity involves the development and implementation of SROI methodology (Social Return on Investment). The methodology assesses the value that social investments generate by measuring quantitative and qualitative performance indicators. Our goal is to make the social value measurement part of the routine for any for-profit or non-for-profit organization in order to increase their social impact and reduce social and economic inequality thus improving public welfare through balancing social, economic and environmental factors.
Our specific objectives are:
This activity is aimed at:
12 months
The activity involves the strengthening and empowerment of Equal Society's human resources in the development and implementation of the social performance measurement method SROI (Social Return on Investment). Moreover, it contributes to the strengthening of the social economy sector in general, through promoting the methodology as a tool for accountability, performance measurement and strategic planning.
More specifically, from October 2014, Equal Society‘s qualified personnel, started developing the SROI methodology in order to measure the performance of its own activities and 10 more organizations of civil society. In the framework of customising the SROI methodology to the Greek reality, we run a pilot analysis for the project “Study with Scholarship” which was completed successfully. Therefore, within the next 12 months, Equal Society implements the methodology for free in organizations of social economy around Greece in an effort to support regional development.
Apart from conducting the evaluation studies, the members of the participants will be trained in using the SROI methodology as a tool to facilitate strategic discussions, understand and maximize the social value each activity generates. In addition, Equal Society will organize a workshop and a conference to promote social investment and discuss the limitations of the Greek environment. Bring together NGOs, mentors and investors and professionals of social impact measurement. Finally, we designed an online platform, which will host the Greek Network for Measuring Social Value, in order to facilitate networking and the open dialogue between NGOs and other social economy actors on social value generation and effective measurement.
The development and promotion of a social value assessment tool reinforces good governance of organizations and improves their activities through:
a) The integration of all stakeholders’ opinions in the process of defining social outcomes and assessing them.
b) It supports transparency through the providing free access to decision-making information.
c) Contributes to strategic planning for more efficient and effective activities.
The wider contribution to society will be achieved with the creation of a Greek Network for Measuring Social Value and the training of the participating organizations on the application of the methodology as a tool for involving stakeholders and strategic planning. In addition, it will contribute to improvements in the wider sector of the social economy through increased public confidence in the institutions that have been evaluated with positive social performance indicators.
13 greek regions
The development of the methodology is carried out in collaboration with the SROI Network International (agreement from 2013). Equal Society’s certified members collaborate with various institutions based on the target audiences of the case studies.
The employees of Equal Society were directly involved in implementation of the activity. From their certification and the evaluation of the activities to the training they offer.
The benefits of the activity for the organization are multifaceted. On the one hand, the contribution to developing new skills in Equal Society is very important because through the development of the methodology it becomes more competitive and increases its credibility. Therefore, more funding opportunities will come in the future to further pursue their statutory aims. On the other hand, through the evaluation conducted in the most important activities of the organization, Equal Society incorporated the different categories of stakeholders in the process and gave them the opportunity to share their experiences and the actual outcomes of the activities. So, they made a monetary evaluation of the benefit (or loss) they had through the activities. This direct communication with stakeholders has boosted our relationship with them as they realized how important they are for us. Another practical benefit accruing to Equal Society through the evaluation of “Study with Scholarship” was the development of new ideas that will be incorporated in the next program cycle for 2015-2016. Finally, the positive social performance rate resulting from the evaluations enabled us to reach new investors and reaping the benefits for other activities of the organization.
No Connection with Global Goals found
