The social value generated by the inclusion programs. The case of the ROMI Program of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano

Abstract

In modern societies, there is an increasing demand to address the reduction of inequalities. It has led to a diversification in the modes of implementation of social policies, given the interest of private entities to contribute to this achievement. To this goal, the role of non-profit entities is key, making it clear the need to analyze and communicate their processes of creation of social value to legitimize their actions. The objective of this research is to show the usefulness of certain methodologies for third sector entities to account for the social value derived from their interventions. Not because such generation of value is questionable, but mostly because the real impact generated by their interventions is not reflected in a mere financial analysis. The application to a specific case will be a reference for other organizations and will favor progress towards a more efficient and sustainable management of similar entities. In our case, we apply the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology to evaluate the social value generated by the ROMI Program. As it is a live program at the time of the analysis, the objective of the evaluation has been to determine the social value of two last projects performed under this program. But the analysis has also been carried out with the intention of guiding decision-making in future management, to establish stable channels of dialogue with its stakeholders, and to improve transparency and accountability. SROI is considered one of the most effective methodologies to show the social impact of the activities developed by social entities, where the economic result is not relevant beyond the concern for budget balance. In this analysis predominates a legitimate interest in analyzing whether the tangible and intangible impacts generated on its stakeholders are consistent with the organizational purposes. The implementation of the SROI analysis allows to demonstrate the effectiveness of the organization in the use of its resources, with the idea of attracting new funds or justifying their existence. In turn, it also provides information that facilitates making decisions to improve the allocation of resources or to demonstrate the management performance, because of the detail with which the activities carried out by the organization are analyzed. The final objective is to prove by means of evidence the sustainability and social value generated by the actions, through the understanding, management and communication of the impacts in economic, social and environmental terms. This study includes a detailed analysis of the impact achieved by one of the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano (FSG) employment programs in a Spanish city: the ROMI Program. The Romi Program is aligned with the learning provided by previous studies, for which access to employment is one of the most effective levers to improve the social inclusion of people and groups at risk of exclusion. It is especially relevant in a context such as Spain, in which job insecurity and difficult access to employment are a distressing reality. The projects whose social impact has been evaluated in this process are ROMI II (carried out between the months of March to June 2014) and ROMI III (carried out between the months of March to May 2015). Of these programs, 30 Roma people at risk of exclusion have benefited, focusing on helping them in the search for better qualification and job placement, but also improving in aspects related to education, coexistence, participation in the environment and work-life balance of his professional and personal life. Specifically, 20 women and 10 men have been beneficiaries, distributed equally in the two programs evaluated: 15 people in each of them, 10 women and 5 men. The program consists of a theoretical-practical training of 300 hours in a real work environment. Specifically, through their temporary insertion into the staff of a company that we will fictitiously call MULTISERVICIOS, the beneficiaries participate in gardening, cleaning or maintenance tasks develops in hospitals in the city. Similarly, the program ensures that 100% of the participants, regardless of whether they continue to be hired after their training period, enroll in the Public Employment Services, which already connects them in a stable way with the world of work, thus starting the exit from the circle of exclusion. To analyze the social impact of these project, the SROI methodology was used through an evaluative analysis of the activities carried out in the program. The theory of change behind the ROMI program shows how the FSG tries to address the problem of social exclusion of Roma people, a problem that is aggravated by the lack of expectations and the low employability of the group, especially in the case of women. The application of the methodology has been participatory through the use of three main instruments: focus groups, structured and semi-structured interviews and surveys designed ad-hoc. These techniques have been applied to the stakeholders as prioritized by FSG: technical personnel from FSG, the beneficiaries participating in the program, the Foundation that financed the program, the technical staff of the MULTISERVICIOS company, the company’s management, and finally, other service-providing companies. The impacts were identified with a series of indicators, the data of which was obtained through surveys and / or interviews carried out with the different groups, allowing to determine the amount of change experienced by each stakeholder and thus allowing the quantification of the incidence for each impact. The results show how the ROMI projects, coordinated and executed by the FSG, have generated social value and how this has been distributed among the different stakeholders considered. Our analysis makes it possible to draw substantive conclusions, by differentiating the value between the different stakeholders and distinguishing the types of impacts they receive. This distilling of the impacts will favor decision-making for continuous improvement, as well as will provide information that allows contrasting the level of achievement of the objectives of the projects. A first draft of the results shows how: • The main group favored by the impacts of the project are the beneficiaries of the training, since they receive just over 50% of the total value generated. • The social value received by the beneficiaries is not limited to the professional aspect. It is, the people who participate in the project receive impacts not only related to their employability, but also to improvements in their personal situation and within society. This multipolarity of impacts is another of the great strengths of the intervention, since the social value is effectively equidistributed in this triple aspect: professional, personal and social. • The intervention impacts on the six of the identified interest groups. It stands out the impact caused on the personnel of the companies participating in the project. The generation of value of this type of project is shown in the sensitization of society towards the problem of social exclusion. • The intervention also has wide and varied institutional impacts in all the organizations linked to it, also in line with raising awareness to face exclusion beyond the participating interest groups. In conclusion, the application of the SROI methodology reveals the impacts generated by its value creation process, allowing the contrast to verify the fulfillment of its objectives. But, at the same time, it reflects impacts that are not always on the strategic horizon of organizations when they design their interventions. The study also shows certain limitations. The results must be analyzed with a certain degree of relativity, considering into account the context and adaptation to the object of study. In line with previous research, the lack of standardization and a certain arbitrariness of the approaches to social value, as well as the limitations when using the information, make it difficult to carry out comparative analyzes. In our specific case, we consider that these limitations can be offset by the incorporation of this methodology is incorporated into a continuous improvement management process in the execution of the program. This integration can help the organization to set strategies and priorities aligned with the demands of the society and its closest stakeholders.