Social Value Blog
Achieving Excellence: an interview with Wendy Braeken, our newest Advanced Practitioner
Wendy Braeken has made it to the pinnacle of SVI’s Professional Pathway, joining the elite ranks of Advanced Practitioners worldwide. Learn about her impactful work, collaborations, and why gaining accreditation and being part this global community matters so much to her.
Empowering Changemakers in Thailand
Social Value Thailand has become our newest Assurance Centre and now offers the Level 1 Social Value and Impact Management Exam. This initiative empowers changemakers and organizations and caters to the rising demand for social value, SROI, and impact management expertise in Thailand.
Towards an Accounting System for Wellbeing
SVI has contributed an input paper to The Impact Taskforce’s new report to the G7. It identifies key developments and collective progress towards an accounting system for wellbeing and proposes a consortium approach to bring a harmonized system into existence.
Meet our Trustee: Catherine Manning
SVI benefits enormously from the depth of experience, diversity and range of expertise represented on its Board of Trustees. In Catherine Manning, we have a movement builder who is equally at home discussing methodology with international peers as she is advising government on social value policy.
Meet our Trustee: Isabelle Parasram OBE
SVI benefits enormously from the depth of experience, diversity and range of expertise represented on its Board of Trustees. In Isabelle Parsram, we have a CEO, barrister and political operator keen to share knowhow and strengthen ties between member networks around the world.
Shape the Movement!
SVI and Capitals Coalition have consulted with their members and jointly formulated a response to an important consultation on the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance. Find out more and make your voice heard.
Welcome, Social Value India
To celebrate the relaunch of Social Value India, we interviewed the co-founders about the plans, priorities and opportunities for our affiliate network in the world’s most populous country.
SVI Glossary 2.0
We’re thrilled to share Social Value International’s SVI Glossary 2.0, which has been thoroughly updated from the original 2012 version.
It comprises both a short ‘Glossary of Key Terms’ written for anyone starting to engage with social value and SVI’s work, as well as a more comprehensive ‘Technical Glossary’ for Social Value practitioners.
Updating the purpose of financial reporting
In the third blog in the Materiality Files, Ben Carpenter and Jeremy Nicholls illustrate how a small but necessary evolution to the purpose of financial reporting is the real key to transforming capitalism and creating a more sustainable world.
It’s a solution that’s beautiful in its simplicity.
How financial accounting determines materiality and what this means for sustainability
In the second installment of The Materiality Files, Ben Carpenter and Jeremy Nicholls explore how the concept of materiality is actually applied in financial accounting and reveal why sustainability accounting and impact management have (generally) not followed the same logic or approach. But what would it look like if sustainability accounting was more analogous to financial accounting?
Financial materiality and human rights, pineapples and profits
In the first of a three-part blog series called The Materiality Files, Ben Carpenter and Jeremy Nicholls argue that human rights abuses, like those allegedly perpetrated by guards at a pineapple farm in Kenya, will continue to occur until there is a fundamental change to the way our economy works and the way businesses make decisions.
New SVI Co-Chairs Outline Bold Plans for Growth
Ada Yip and Stephanie Robertson have been appointed the new Board Co-Chairs of Social Value International (SVI) at time of significant growth for the social value movement. We spoke to them about their plans and priorities in supporting the expansion of our networks and accelerating the adoption of social value thinking and methodology.
Applying SROI expertise to amplify impact
Read this interview with Terry Guan-Hao Chen, our newest Level 3 Advanced Social Value Practitioner, about why he sought this accreditation and how his SROI expertise will support his work advising social enterprises, non-profit organizations and public sector entities to amplify their positive impact.
Transforming the world with impact management
In this interview, Social Value International’s CEO Ben Carpenter outlines the network’s key priorities, including its contributions to the SDG Impact Standards and Impact Management Platform. Ben explains why perfect is the enemy of good when it comes to impact data, why such data is crucial in corporate decision making, and why we need legislation mandating the full integration of social, environmental and financial value in company balance sheets.
Capitalism must be transformed: Here’s why we need principles for measuring and managing impact
Ben Carpenter, CEO of the global network, Social Value International, wants to transform capitalism to prevent companies and organisations from harming people and the environment and optimize their social impact. The solution, according to Ben Carpenter, is standards and principles for measuring and managing impact that will lay the ground for better decision-making. This requires more regulation and a shift in mindset.
Read this article by journalist Malene Nørby Pedersen for the magazine Impact Insider.
What is impact data for? Using impact data to gain insights
For most of the relatively short history of impact measurement – and the even shorter history of impact measurement and management, the purpose of impact data has been to prove that you have had an impact. It will not come as a surprise that the conclusion is nearly always that yes you have had an impact, yes, it is positive and yes, it is in line with your goals.
Read this blog from Bonnie Chiu and Jeremy Nicholls on What is impact data for? Using impact data to gain insights.
Cause for Optimism in 2023
This short blog, written by Ben Carpenter - CEO of Social Value International, reflects on some key developments of the last 12 months and, as Ben says “provides me with hope and optimism for 2023. I hope this energises you too and inspires you into more collaboration with SVI as we grow and build momentum in our mission to change the way the world accounts for value.”
Finding those negative impacts
We all know that we should consider material positive and negative impacts but finding those negatives is often hard, and sometimes harder still to accept our contribution to them.
We are psychologically biased away from them – they challenge the very core of our good intentions, and risk our positive messaging to funders and others who can hold us to account.
This is a blog co-authored by Dr. Adam Richards, Bonnie Chiu and Jeremy Nicholls to illustrate some techniques that can help.
The Future of GDP and Measuring What Matters
This blog post is by Bonnie Chiu, Senior Advisor at Social Value International and Managing Director of The Social Investment Consultancy, who was invited to contribute to the Future of GDP Symposium organised by the Dubai Future Foundation. Her blog post draws from her insights at the symposium, as well as recent events in the UK.