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Dive into case studies, digital tools, and insights that showcase practical strategies and proven approaches for embedding social value across organisations.
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Evaluating grant applications: how to spot real social value
Organisations responsible for awarding grants play an important role in deciding where funding goes and how effectively it contributes to social change. Accurately identifying genuine social value among numerous applications can be challenging. This article outlines how to evaluate grant applications effectively by applying the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology.

How do I assign financial values to outcomes in my SROI analysis?
Assigning financial values to outcomes is a core step in Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis. It involves estimating the monetary value of the outcomes experienced by stakeholders as a result of a project or service. To apply these values, we use ‘approximations of value’, also known as proxies.

What is the difference between SROI and the TOMs framework?
This article explores how TOMs and SROI differ, where each approach has strengths, and why a more holistic view of social value is increasingly being called for.

What is the new Social Value Model?
If you’re working in public procurement, bidding for government contracts, or supporting organisations that do, you’ve probably come across PPN 002 (2025) – the latest update to the UK Government’s Social Value Model. But what does it actually mean in practice?

Preparing for the new Procurement Act: what VCSEs need to know and how the Social Value Engine can help
The new Procurement Act is reshaping public sector purchasing and placing social value at the heart of contract decisions. This shift offers exciting opportunities for Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations, but it also raises the bar on how to measure and prove social impact.

How To: Applying impact adjustments (deflators) in social impact assessments
Measuring a project’s true impact accurately is important in social impact assessment. Concepts like leakage, deadweight, attribution, drop-off, and displacement—collectively known as impact adjustments or deflators—help refine impact calculations. This article explores these concepts and explains how to apply them within the Social Value Engine.

Understanding the 8 Social Value International Principles
The Social Value Engine relies on eight core principles to guide organisations in measuring and enhancing social value effectively.

What is a Theory of Change?
A Theory of Change is a visual map that shows how an organisation’s activities lead to desired outcomes and impact. It makes explicit the logic, and the assumptions, behind your work, so that social value measurement has something credible to stand on.

What is Social Value?
Social value is the quantification of the relative importance that people place on the changes they experience in their lives.