Making a better business case for social impact projects

Return on Investment (ROI) is a central part of project planning (and approvals), but it only factors in financial returns. The social impact is just as important, but it’s hard to quantify. We can see it, but we can’t quite measure it. It’s a common struggle for many designers to communicate the social benefits their work will provide.

This article calls for the adoption of a framework that translates social impact into a dollar figure – a Social Return on Investment – such as this one by Social Value International. This would make it easier to incorporate social value into business cases, and in turn drive changes in public policy and funding allocations, encouraging long-term thinking and reducing inequity.