Background
Fife Council’s Active Communities team works across the region to support physical activity and sport as a means of addressing health inequalities, community need, and wider social outcomes. The team delivers targeted programmes directly and works in partnership with third-sector organisations, community sports clubs, and community sport hubs to increase participation and improve wellbeing across Fife.
While the team was confident about the positive impact of its work, articulating that impact in a way that resonated with senior decision-makers proved challenging. Traditional case studies, testimonials, and participation numbers did not fully reflect the scale or significance of the change being achieved, particularly for targeted programmes serving smaller or more specific populations
Challenge
Like many local authority teams, Active Communities operates in a financially constrained environment. As funding pressures increased, the need to clearly evidence impact became more urgent. The team identified several key challenges:
- Demonstrating the value of physical activity beyond participation figures
- Translating social and health outcomes into a language understood by senior management and elected members
- Making the case for investment in programmes where participant numbers were relatively small, but impact was significant
- Aligning physical activity outcomes with wider council and health priorities
Existing Social Return on Investment (SROI) examples within sport tended to focus on economic impact rather than community, health, and wellbeing outcomes. This left a gap in how the team could evidence the true value of its work.
Solution
In February 2025, Fife Council’s Active Communities team began using the Social Value Engine to support impact measurement and reporting. The decision followed exploratory discussions and research into alternative approaches, with a focus on finding a tool that could:
- Quantify social outcomes in a credible and evidence-based way
- Align programme impacts with recognised strategies and policy objectives
- Support both retrospective evaluation and forward-looking investment cases
The Social Value Engine provided a structured framework for measuring outcomes using validated proxies, allowing the team to place monetary values against social, health, and community benefits without reducing impact to purely financial terms
Outcomes and Benefits
Clearer articulation of impact
Using the Social Value Engine has enabled the team to move beyond narrative descriptions of impact. Programmes can now be presented with quantified social value, supporting clearer conversations about outcomes and effectiveness with stakeholders both inside and outside the council.
Improved engagement with senior decision-makers
Placing monetary values alongside social outcomes has helped senior management and health partners better understand the contribution physical activity makes to wider priorities. This has strengthened the position of physical activity within strategic discussions and investment decisions.
Stronger investment cases
The team is now able to model potential social value before programmes begin, supporting more robust funding bids and internal business cases. This has been particularly valuable when advocating for relatively small investments that deliver disproportionate social benefit.
Increased confidence among partners
Community sports clubs and third-sector providers have also benefited from access to social value reporting. The ability to evidence impact has supported their own discussions with funders, partners, and local decision-makers.
A missing piece of the puzzle
For the Active Communities team, social value measurement has filled a long-standing gap. It has complemented existing passion and professional insight with credible, evidence-based reporting that aligns with the way decisions are made within local government and health systems
Looking Ahead
Fife Council’s Active Communities team plans to continue embedding social value measurement into programme design, evaluation, and funding discussions. There is strong interest in aligning future reporting with Community Wealth Building priorities and wider Scottish policy frameworks, ensuring physical activity continues to be recognised as a strategic contributor to health, wellbeing, and community resilience.
