Valuation is how we estimate the importance or worth of something, like a product, service, or feature. When we talk about social value, we’re looking at the worth that people place on changes in their lives, often referred to as ‘aspects of social wellbeing.’ 

Valuing social outcomes is crucial for businesses for two main reasons: 

1. To show others the value they are creating for their stakeholders. 
2. To make better decisions by understanding where the most value is being created, so they can improve and create even more value. 

Making the value of social outcomes clear helps us make better, more transparent, and accountable decisions. Using data to value social outcomes means we rely less on guesswork and more on solid information, similar to how we manage financial decisions. The Principles of Social Value provide a framework for making our decisions clear and accountable, especially when we include the perspectives of the people affected by our activities. 

See here for technical guidance; Standard on applying Principle 3: Value the things that matter 

GVE contains data on valuations of specific outcomes datasets that can be used. The valuation data has both pros and cons. Whilst it allows comparisons of costs/ values and can be used to support decision-making, it can be mis-understood as outcomes being about money. There is also the risk that the values do not represent stakeholder preferences.  

Writing any social value report requires thought and judgement. Having access to data is not a quick fix or copy and paste data solution but instead an opportunity to access data to support your own judgements and decision making.  

Our flagship SROI Practitioner Training course here provides you with the framework for measuring and accounting for social value. Please see here to learn about social value.