Social Value Snapshot

Issue 4, 2017

Hello friend,

Our mission is to change the way society accounts for value through seven principles.  Our Vision is increased equality and well-being and reduced environmental degradation. At Social Value International we don’t just listen to our stakeholders, we involve them and we learn from them. With our first principle in mind, we are delighted to have Social Value Aotearoa guest edit this month’s Snapshot and share with you a glimpse of the Social Value scene in New Zealand - now that they’re two years old… Enjoy!  

Don't forget to Visit our website to check out our latest free online resources, our international training and volunteering opportunities or to find out how £50 per year (less if you are a full time student) can give you access to our member webinars, training discounts and much more. Together we have a voice and together we will inspire change... it could be quite wonderful! 

See you next month!  ... the Social Value International Team!

Social Value Aotearoa (SVA)

 “Connectivity and engagement” were the opening words from Hon. John Tamihere, CEO of Te Pou Matakana at the launch of Social Value Aotearoa (New Zealand) Network in June 2015. While internationally the demand and importance for organisations to commit to social value measurement was growing and had been around for a while, in New Zealand it was still emerging. In 2015 it was timely for a national network to be established, linked to the broader Social Value movement where we could collaborate, learn, share knowledge and build a local context.

From its launch, Social Value Aotearoa has naturally taken on and been guided strongly by the first social value principle – involve stakeholders. As a member network this is vital – we are only as strong as our ability to understand and support our members and such an understanding can only come from relationships founded on reciprocity. Our members are a mix of individuals and organisations from a variety of sectors – NFP (Not for Profit), Charity, Social, Health, Education and Indigenous Providers; NGOs, Local Body, Government Agencies and Social Enterprises.

It is also important that we build a common understanding across our members, affiliated networks and the New Zealand community. From our training and networking events we know that many in the not for profit and public sector are interested in the same issues – they want to understand the effect of their work and they want to be effective in their work. We see our network events as a first step towards this. We co-host as often as possible with other like-minded organisations and networks, sharing speakers as a means to share dialogue and build a shared understanding on common topics.

This month’s snapshot is brought to you on the strength of these relationships – with SVA member contributions in the Network Focus, set alongside contributions from other networks and like-minded organisations in the National Focus section to give you a flavour of the Social Value scene in New Zealand.

SVA Network Focus

- Network Round-up: It’s an extremely busy time for Social Value Aotearoa and our members since attending the Social Value Matters 17 conference. One of our members Brad Norman shared his learnings from this via video while Kristin Fanselow, an SVA team member, blogged about her experience. We also put into practice further SVM17 learning via a Storify summary of our own network event. We’ve also co-hosted a network event with Social Enterprise Auckland and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (University of Auckland) with members from each sharing their own impact journey.  This was a great success and the more we do it, the more we see the value of having our members share their own story at these type of events, read more.   

- Members Exchanges: As the social value movement grows in New Zealand, we have more and more local examples of strong social impact practice to draw upon. To complement the SROI Practitioner Trainings we have hosted, we will be focusing increasingly on holding Members Exchanges as a key approach to supporting our members. Having recently facilitated a shared learning workshop between two members, we see future Members Exchanges as a way to draw on the strengths and learnings of our affiliated organisations while making international best practice relevant to the New Zealand setting. Staying true to the social principles, our next Members Exchange will be on Stakeholder Engagement, being held at the end of July to coincide with our AGM. Stay tuned!

- Member Milestone: Parliamentary Launch for member’s SROI reports. Te Pou Matakana and Te Whānau o Waipareira jointly celebrated significant milestones with Māori Development Minister, Hon. Te Ururoa Flavell holding a Parliamentary launch for their two reports, Te Pou Matakana’s ‘Measuring Impact: Social Return on Investment’ and Waipareira’s ‘Value Creation by Taitamariki: Social Return on Investment Report’. The launch spoke of the significance of both reports giving evidential direction for social impact in our communities and more importantly shaping the future for impact focussed funding models. Read More.

- Measuring Impact: Social Return on Investment. Te Pou Matakana (TPM) is an indigenous commissioning for outcomes agency and crucial advocate for Whānau Ora implementation (an approach that supports whānau and families to achieve their aspirations in life by placing them at the centre of decision making and supports them to build a more prosperous future). It seeks to establish itself as an example of best practice in commissioning for outcomes and impact. Through this report, TPM introduces the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework, as an innovative approach to measure impact in the Whānau Ora space. TPM argues SROI is more than just a number - instead, it has the potential for providers of Whānau Ora services to narrate their stories of change and impact more comprehensively and foster relationships with the whānau and other partners. Read More.

- Value Creation by Taitamariki, SROI Report. Te Whānau o Waipareira (Waipareira) is an Urban Māori (indigenous) Authority which evolved to meet the needs of the West Auckland community via the delivery of services in the education, justice, social services and health sectors.   Waipareira is a whānau-centric organisation which operationalizes the core values and principles of Whānau Ora in all its provision.  In response to the Strategic Plan laid down by their Board, it set out to understand, measure, quantify and value the impact of their activities on the lives of whānau. More simply – understand if they make a difference?  

On the 27th June they launched their first SROI analysis, a milestone in their Ngā Hua o Mataora (Impact Measurement) journey. Completed in partnership with Social Ventures Australia, the study is one of the few in the country, and the first for Māori by Māori. It presents a leading edge practice to understand the value and significance of culture in service delivery and provides insights for other Whānau Ora and indigenous providers to leverage off. Read More.

SVA National Focus

Growing an ecosystem of like-minded organisations and networks

- As a network and as part of a broader movement, we sense a change of the tide as social value, impact measurement and management are increasingly talked about across sectors. Setting the scene for these changes, The JBWere New Zealand Cause Report is the first major in-depth analysis of the state of New Zealand’s $20 billion a year not-for-profit (NFP) sector, tracking its growth over the decade from 2004 and providing a detailed sector analysis. Read key insights and the full report

- While there may be plenty of challenges ahead, the work towards outcomes measurement and long term impact that has been seen in the public sector is further buoyed by a growing social enterprise ecosystem, with the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) being held on our shores in September 2017. SEWF 2017  is an event for social enterprises from around the world to come together, share wisdom, build networks and discuss how to create a more sustainable future. It attracts social entrepreneurs, policy makers, community leaders, investors, academics and more from all across the globe. Ākina Foundation who led the bid to host SEWF 2017 in NZ also recently invited us to mentor on their Elevate: Impact programme, a great opportunity to support social enterprises to better understand their impact. More here.

- And rounding out our ‘State of the Social Value Nation’ is another of our like-minded partners, EY.  They’re a valuable contributor to the New Zealand scene, having recently hosted talks on Impact Investing as well as completing a round of Outcomes Measurement training with their team. Here they consider the first principle of Involving Stakeholders and how they might apply their learnings and approaches particularly in the indigenous space. Read more.

Technology advocates for Involving Stakeholders: Whānau Tahi is a New Zealand based Software Company with both public and private clients and delivery partners in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the United States and Canada that pushes the social value conversation further by placing stakeholders at the centre of how they approach technology. Guided by their whakataukī (Māori proverb), "Ma te huruhuru ka rere te Manu” ("without feathers, the bird cannot fly") they deliver services and pioneering software that enables stakeholders to develop their own Plans, bringing together a community of health and social service professionals and practitioners from multiple organisations and sectors to work as a team in supporting and empowering stakeholder aspirations for overall well-being.

Here they talk about their work with local health agencies to enable integrated health care that is ‘whānau-centric’ or stakeholder driven through their ICT platform, as well as the importance of stakeholder ownership of their own data for better health outcomes.

And it’s a wrap: Social Value Aotearoa values being part of the Social Value International community. It allows us to contribute to and draw upon international experience to support our members and grow our membership. We may not be the largest network but through our ongoing work with likeminded networks and agencies, our reach is broad. The relationships we have forged to date, both nationally and internationally are key to progressing this movement towards social value and towards a world with more equality and a more sustainable environment.

It has been a privilege and pleasure to be the guest editors this month.  Thanks SVI for asking us and we hope we have given you a snapshot of Social Value New Zealand style.  Now the important question – which network is stepping up to be the next guest editor!

"Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi"
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive

Member News

- BLOG: Creating social value, how can we be sure? Susan Balet, a consultant with Stone Soup specialising in social impact measurement, offers her professional and personal insight to the Social Value Matters 2017 conference in Istanbul where delegates and speakers from 25 countries gathered to discuss how best to amplify voices, inspire change and maximise value. Read More.

- BLOG: A blog from SVUK, member Anton Simanowitz, which also links to excellent resources, is the latest in an on-going series focusing on various aspects of impact management, read it here! A second blog from Ben Carpenter, the Operations Manager with  SVUK, also shares his take on Social Value Matters 2017. Find out more here.

- SROI Report: In the space of two generations the Martu people, of the Western Deserts of Australia, have gone from living a traditional way of life in the desert to living in modern Australia, while trying to hold on to their traditions. Social Ventures Australia recently completed an evaluation of a Martu Leadership Pilot Program using SROI methodology for Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa. The analysis is based on 3 years of developmental evaluation work for this pilot, and builds on the work from 2 prior SROI analyses on KJ’s On Country programs over the past 6 years.

- Social Impact Management Training: EVPA along with SVUK are presenting the 2nd edition of their popular workshop especially relevant for Venture Philanthropy/Social Investment funders and investors who are considering getting a better understanding of and improving their impact management strategy. Find out more.

SROI Practitioner Training

Opportunities to join SROI training around the world.

• 24/25 July, Sydney

• 1/2 August, Melbourne

• 28/29 August, Auckland

• 9/10 October, Bucharest 

More international dates to be confirmed in May 2017, as well as regular training dates in London and across the UK.

For more information on any of these courses or our workshops , get in touch with JP at members@socialvalueint.org, or see our Events and Training page.

Did we forget something?

We're always on the look out for recent work around social value and social impact. Let us know for next time!