Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an essential framework that measures and evaluates the broader impact of activities beyond traditional financial metrics. It incorporates social, environmental, and economic value, providing a comprehensive understanding of how investments create positive change in communities and ecosystems. This is crucial for organizations aiming to demonstrate their full impact. By understanding the broader impact of their activities, organizations can make more informed decisions that align with their social and environmental goals. SROI facilitates better communication with stakeholders by showcasing the tangible and intangible benefits of projects and initiatives.
This masterclass by Deloitte will delve into the What, Why and How of the SROI focusing on its importance and how it can be leveraged in an organization’s activities.
Relevance: India, with its diverse socio-economic landscape and pressing developmental challenges, presents a unique context where SROI can be particularly impactful. SROI can help companies measure the effectiveness and impact of their CSR initiatives and enhance transparency, accountability, and credibility in their operations and investments. The government’s focus on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and various social welfare schemes can benefit from SROI to ensure effective utilization of resources and achieving targeted outcomes. NGOs and social enterprises in India can use SROI to attract funding by demonstrating the broader impacts of their programs.

To provide a comprehensive understanding of SROI, the session can cover the following sub-themes:

• Introduction to SROI:
  • Definition and principles of SROI
  • Historical development and global adoption
  • Comparison with traditional ROI and other impact measurement frameworks
• SROI Methodology:
  • Establishing scope and identifying stakeholders
  • Mapping outcomes and developing a theory of change
  • Evidencing outcomes and assigning financial proxies
  • Calculating impact and the SROI ratio
  • Reporting and embedding SROI in organizational practices
• Case Studies and Best Practices:
  • Examples of successful SROI implementations globally and in India
  • Lessons learned and challenges faced
  • Sector-specific applications (e.g., education, healthcare, environment)
• Future of SROI:
  • Emerging trends in impact measurement
  • Integration of SROI with digital technologies (e.g., data analytics, AI)
  • Role of SROI in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs)
• Interactive Discussions and Workshops:
  • Interactive Q&A sessions to address specific queries from participants

About the Facilitator:

Swaminathan R., Director, Consulting, Deloitte
Swaminathan is a Director with the social impact practice at Deloitte and has extensive experience in the development, corporate and academic sectors. He has provided services for a wide range of companies, philanthropies, foundations, academic institutions, and governments in the development sector. He has supported with strategy setting, programme design and management, monitoring and evaluation, organizational development, reporting and capacity building for philanthropic foundations, companies and CSOs. Swaminathan has also led a multidisciplinary research programme on cities, sustainability and resilience for Uppsala University, Sweden. In his earlier role, Swaminathan was Chief Strategy & Programme Officer of Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI).
Swaminathan has further authored & edited five books and several peer reviewed publications that have been published in both national and international research journals.

Pratul Narayan, Manager, Consulting, Deloitte
Pratul brings rich experience in management consulting for ESG, CSR & Social impact, Sustainable Finance, Impact Investing and Microfinance across India. He has worked with a leading Bank and KPMG previously joining Deloitte. Pratul has managed clients from different sectors (BFSI, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals) to provide solutions across social impact, ESG, monitoring and evaluation along with assessments. Further, he has extensive experience in research-based impact assessments of large-scale programs across Health, Education, WASH, Skilling, Financial Inclusion and Livelihood programs. Pratul has also supported in design of pay for success program models for the Aspirational District Programme in India.
Pratul holds a master’s degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Social Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Further he holds a practitioner’s certificate on Social Return on Investment from Social Value UK and represented India at the International Antarctic Expedition 2016 to brainstorm solutions on sustainability and climate change along with global leaders.