197095 Social return on investment (SROI) analysis as a public health management tool: A case study of Nemours Health & Prevention Services

Wednesday, November 11, 2009: 12:45 PM

Allison Gertel-Rosenberg, MS , Health & Prevention Services, Nemours, Newark, DE
Sara Olsen, MBA, MASW , Social Venture Technology Group, San Francisco, CA
Andrew Tulchin, MBA , Social Enterprise Associates, Santa Fe, NM
Organizations seeking to generate positive public health outcomes through direct practice and policy advocacy require tools with which they can measure, manage and communicate their performance and impact. Nemours Health & Prevention Services teamed with Social Venture Technology Group (SVT) and Social Enterprise Associates (SEA) to develop an SROI analysis system which consists of three components: 1. “SROI Lite Calculator” all staff can use to evaluate the strategic relevance, potential impact and priority of potential projects; 2. “SROI 360” which allows Nemours and its partners to track their performance relative to a shared set of objectives, and to visualize their cumulative progress; and 3. “SROI Analysis” which enables the organization to see the outputs, outcomes and impact it has contributed to relative to its investment in specific areas of effort.

In 2008, Nemours, SEA and SVT designed the Toolkit working closely with Nemours' partners, and implemented preliminary versions. In 2009, the Toolkit is being refined and implemented throughout the organization.

The presenters will share lessons learned to date from the process of designing and implementing this impact management system, including insights into scoping the project, resource requirements, stakeholder engagement and relationship management, the different types of information about outcomes, communication of results with different audiences; and how to reap the advocacy, fundraising and program management value of the knowledge obtained.

Learning Objectives:
Explain the concept of social return on investment (SROI) analysis and its application as a management tool in the context of a public health foundation that works with community organizers and partners in the public and private sector. Demonstrate the use of SROI analysis through the illustration of the SROI Toolkit developed by Nemours Health and Prevention Services in Delaware. Differentiate among the different uses of SROI analysis: a) to evaluate potential impact and social return on investment during project selection; b) to monitor the social return on investment of individual programs and inform collaboration on an ongoing basis; and c) to provide a retrospective assessment of actual social return on investment.

Keywords: Accountability, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I currently serve as a Senior Special Assistance and Policy Analyst in the Office of the Senior Vice President at Nemours Health and Prevention Services. I am responsible for serving as a liaison between of the Office of the Senior Vice President and the Division's five operational centers to ensure integration of projects and alignment with overall strategic direction; acting as an advisor on important strategic and operational matters; managing the SROI initiative; and managing special projects including national collaborations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Community Health Assessment
See more of: Community Health Planning and Policy Development