Social Return on Investment for Public Programmes Training Course

Course Introduction

Government programmes are increasingly expected to demonstrate not only how much public money has been spent or how many activities have been completed, but what broader social value has been generated. Social Return on Investment provides a structured approach for assessing the social, economic, environmental, and community value associated with public interventions. This course equips public sector professionals with practical techniques for designing, conducting, interpreting, and communicating SROI assessments.

Social Return on Investment extends conventional financial analysis by examining outcomes experienced by people, communities, institutions, and wider society. A programme may create value through improved health, employment, education, social inclusion, reduced demand for public services, stronger community resilience, increased safety, or improved wellbeing. Participants will learn how to identify these outcomes and develop credible approaches for understanding and, where appropriate, assigning values to changes generated by public programmes.

A credible SROI assessment begins with understanding stakeholders and the changes they experience. Participants will learn how to identify relevant stakeholders, map inputs and activities, define outputs and outcomes, establish theories of change, and determine which outcomes are material to the assessment. The course emphasizes avoiding overclaiming by carefully considering deadweight, attribution, displacement, drop-off, and other factors that influence whether observed outcomes can reasonably be linked to an intervention.

Public programme valuation can be challenging because many important outcomes do not have obvious market prices. Social inclusion, improved confidence, community cohesion, environmental improvements, wellbeing, safety, and strengthened institutional capability may require alternative valuation approaches. Participants will explore appropriate valuation techniques, financial proxies, stakeholder evidence, sensitivity analysis, and transparency principles while recognizing the limitations of assigning monetary values to complex social outcomes.

Digital data and emerging analytical technologies can strengthen SROI assessments when used responsibly. Administrative records, surveys, geospatial information, citizen feedback, service utilization data, integrated government datasets, and analytics can improve evidence collection and outcome measurement. Participants will also examine responsible applications of artificial intelligence while considering data quality, privacy, cybersecurity, bias, explainability, model uncertainty, digital exclusion, and the risks of using automated estimates as substitutes for professional judgment.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to develop and assess SROI frameworks for public programmes and investments. They will gain practical skills in stakeholder mapping, outcome identification, theory of change, impact valuation, financial proxies, attribution analysis, sensitivity testing, reporting, and executive communication. The course helps public institutions strengthen value-for-money decisions, demonstrate broader public benefits, prioritize investments, and make better-informed choices about programme design and resource allocation.

Duration

5 days

Who Should Attend

• Senior government executives responsible for public investments, strategic programmes, policy implementation, social outcomes, and value-for-money decisions.

• Permanent secretaries, principal secretaries, directors, and senior administrators responsible for programme performance and public value.

• Policy analysts and advisors assessing the wider social, economic, environmental, and community consequences of government interventions.

• Programme managers responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and demonstrating the value of public programmes.

• Monitoring and evaluation specialists conducting outcome assessments, impact evaluations, programme reviews, and evidence-based performance analysis.

• Planning and strategy professionals assessing whether government interventions align with development priorities and generate meaningful public benefits.

• Finance and budget officials evaluating investment cases, public expenditure, value for money, economic benefits, and broader social returns.

• Development programme officers managing initiatives involving poverty reduction, employment, health, education, inclusion, livelihoods, community development, or resilience.

• Social policy professionals measuring changes in wellbeing, social inclusion, community conditions, service access, and vulnerable population outcomes.

• Data and analytics professionals supporting SROI assessments through administrative data, surveys, modelling, dashboards, and integrated information systems.

• Evaluation consultants and advisors supporting public institutions with impact assessment, social value measurement, benefits realization, and investment appraisal.

• Procurement and commissioning professionals assessing social value considerations within government contracts, grants, partnerships, and programme investments.

• Risk, governance, audit, and assurance professionals reviewing assumptions, evidence, valuation approaches, attribution, and credibility of social return assessments.

• Non-governmental and development-sector professionals partnering with government on programmes that generate measurable social and community outcomes.

• Public agency and local government leaders seeking stronger evidence for investment prioritization, programme improvement, accountability, and public value creation.

Course Objectives

• Explain the principles, concepts, stages, and applications of Social Return on Investment for assessing social, economic, environmental, and community value.

• Distinguish SROI from conventional financial return, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, programme evaluation, impact assessment, and standard performance measurement.

• Identify relevant stakeholders, outcomes, inputs, outputs, and changes required to establish a credible foundation for assessing the value generated by public programmes.

• Develop theories of change and impact maps that explain how public programme activities contribute to stakeholder outcomes and longer-term social value.

• Identify material outcomes and determine which changes should be included in an SROI assessment based on stakeholder relevance, significance, evidence, and potential value.

• Apply deadweight, attribution, displacement, drop-off, and other impact adjustment concepts to avoid overstating the value generated by government programmes.

• Select appropriate financial proxies and valuation approaches for social, environmental, wellbeing, community, institutional, and other outcomes that lack direct market prices.

• Develop credible SROI calculations and sensitivity analyses that demonstrate how changes in assumptions, valuations, attribution, and evidence affect reported social returns.

• Use administrative data, surveys, evaluations, stakeholder evidence, analytics, and emerging digital tools responsibly to strengthen SROI evidence and outcome measurement.

• Communicate SROI findings transparently to executives, policymakers, finance officials, oversight bodies, communities, and stakeholders to support better investment and programme decisions.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Social Return on Investment

• Understanding SROI as a structured approach for assessing the social, economic, environmental, and community value generated by public programmes.

• Distinguishing SROI from conventional return on investment, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, impact evaluation, and public value measurement.

• Examining why public programmes require broader value assessment when outcomes include wellbeing, inclusion, community resilience, institutional capability, and environmental benefits.

• Establishing core SROI principles including stakeholder involvement, materiality, transparency, verification, avoidance of overclaiming, and responsible interpretation of results.

Module 2: Stakeholder Identification and Engagement

• Identifying stakeholders who experience, influence, fund, deliver, support, or otherwise contribute to outcomes generated by public programmes and investments.

• Mapping stakeholder interests, needs, experiences, contributions, influence, risks, expectations, and potential changes resulting from programme interventions.

• Designing appropriate stakeholder engagement approaches using interviews, focus groups, surveys, workshops, administrative evidence, citizen feedback, and participatory methods.

• Determining material stakeholders and ensuring that the assessment reflects meaningful changes experienced by affected groups rather than only institutional priorities.

Module 3: Theory of Change and Impact Mapping

• Developing theories of change that explain how programme inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and longer-term impacts are expected to connect.

• Constructing impact maps that link stakeholder groups with resources, interventions, outputs, outcomes, indicators, evidence sources, and potential social value.

• Identifying assumptions, dependencies, contextual factors, behavioural changes, and enabling conditions that influence whether expected outcomes can occur.

• Testing impact logic to identify weak causal relationships, missing pathways, unrealistic assumptions, duplicated outcomes, and unsupported claims about programme influence.

Module 4: Outcome Identification and Measurement

• Identifying immediate, intermediate, and longer-term outcomes affecting wellbeing, employment, health, education, inclusion, safety, income, community conditions, and institutional capability.

• Defining outcome indicators that provide credible evidence of change and distinguishing genuine outcomes from activities, outputs, deliverables, and administrative achievements.

• Establishing baselines, targets, measurement periods, evidence sources, data responsibilities, and quality standards for priority outcomes within an SROI assessment.

• Combining quantitative and qualitative evidence to capture complex social changes that may not be adequately represented through numerical indicators alone.

Module 5: Valuation and Financial Proxies

• Understanding the role of financial proxies in estimating the value of social, environmental, community, wellbeing, and institutional outcomes without direct market prices.

• Selecting appropriate valuation approaches using research, benchmarks, stakeholder preferences, revealed preferences, avoided costs, replacement costs, and other credible sources.

• Assessing the suitability, relevance, transferability, limitations, and assumptions associated with financial proxies used in public programme SROI assessments.

• Maintaining transparency about valuation assumptions and recognizing that monetary estimates of social value are analytical tools rather than literal market prices.

Module 6: Impact Adjustments and Attribution

• Applying deadweight analysis to estimate what proportion of observed outcomes might have occurred even without the government programme or intervention.

• Assessing attribution to determine how much of an observed outcome can reasonably be associated with contributions from other organizations, programmes, stakeholders, or external factors.

• Understanding displacement and examining whether positive outcomes in one area, group, or service may have generated negative effects or shifted problems elsewhere.

• Applying drop-off assumptions to account for situations where the value of an outcome decreases over time and requires ongoing intervention or support to remain sustained.

Module 7: SROI Calculation and Sensitivity Analysis

• Building SROI calculations that compare the adjusted value of outcomes with the resources invested in delivering the public programme or intervention.

• Testing assumptions, financial proxies, attribution estimates, deadweight levels, outcome values, and other variables to determine how sensitive results are to methodological choices.

• Interpreting SROI ratios responsibly and recognizing that a high ratio does not automatically demonstrate programme effectiveness, equity, sustainability, or causal certainty.

• Conducting scenario analysis to explore conservative, central, and alternative assumptions and communicate how different conditions may affect estimated social returns.

Module 8: Data, Digital Tools, and Emerging Analytics

• Using administrative data, programme records, surveys, citizen feedback, geospatial information, service utilization data, and evaluation findings to strengthen SROI evidence.

• Applying dashboards, data integration, visualization, statistical analysis, and scenario modelling to improve the transparency and efficiency of SROI assessments.

• Exploring responsible AI applications for evidence synthesis, stakeholder feedback analysis, outcome identification, data classification, forecasting, and analytical support.

• Addressing emerging issues involving data quality, privacy, cybersecurity, interoperability, algorithmic bias, explainability, AI-generated evidence, model uncertainty, and human oversight.

Module 9: SROI Reporting and Decision-Making

• Developing SROI reports that clearly explain the programme context, stakeholders, outcomes, evidence, valuation assumptions, adjustments, calculations, limitations, and conclusions.

• Presenting SROI findings in ways that support government investment decisions, programme redesign, resource allocation, benefits realization, policy development, and strategic planning.

• Communicating social value findings to executives, policymakers, finance authorities, oversight institutions, communities, partners, and other stakeholders with appropriate transparency.

• Avoiding misleading communication by clearly distinguishing estimated social value, measured outcomes, contribution, attribution, assumptions, uncertainty, and evidence limitations.

Module 10: Institutionalizing Social Value Management

• Assessing institutional capability to conduct SROI assessments, manage social value evidence, integrate results into investment decisions, and maintain consistent analytical standards.

• Integrating SROI and social value considerations into programme design, business cases, procurement, commissioning, budgeting, portfolio management, evaluation, and benefits realization.

• Establishing assurance processes for reviewing stakeholder engagement, outcome definitions, financial proxies, attribution assumptions, calculations, evidence quality, and reporting integrity.

• Building an evidence-based public value culture where social returns inform investment choices, programme improvement, accountability, learning, and long-term public outcomes.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.