Social Value Vietnam launches as SVI’s newest Associate Network
Social Value International (SVI) are delighted to celebrate the launch of Social Value Vietnam (SVV) as an Associate Network.
This new network is building a cross-sector community to move impact practice from reporting and compliance towards stakeholder outcomes, value and better decision-making. The team has put real energy and care into building these foundations, and we're proud to welcome them into the SVI Global Network.
To mark the occasion, we're handing this space over to the SVV team to introduce themselves and share their vision social value practice in Vietnam.
- Social Value Vietnam -
A new chapter for social value in Vietnam
Vietnam’s impact landscape is evolving. Across businesses, investors, development organisations and the public sector, there is growing attention to ESG, sustainability, responsible business, impact measurement and management, and impact investing. At the same time, formal Social Value practice remains at an early stage.
That combination creates an important opportunity: to build on the progress already being made while helping the market go further - from reporting activities and managing risks towards understanding the outcomes people experience, what matters to stakeholders and how impact evidence can inform better decisions.
SVV has been established to help build those conditions. We are pleased to introduce SVV as an Associate Network of SVI, connecting Vietnam-based practitioners and organisations with the wider global Social Value movement while developing a learning community rooted in the Vietnamese context.
Social Value Vietnam, why now?
Vietnam already has important foundations for impact practice. Businesses are increasingly engaging with ESG, sustainability, compliance and responsible business. Investors are paying greater attention to impact capital and other blended finance vehicles. NGOs and development organisations have long used monitoring, evaluation and results frameworks to understand performance and demonstrate accountability.
Social value builds on these foundations rather than replacing them. It asks us to go one step further: what actually changes for the people affected by a decision or activity? Which outcomes matter most to them? Are those changes positive or negative, intended or unintended? And how should this understanding influence the way resources are allocated and decisions are made?
For a market where impact conversations can still be centred on compliance, disclosure, “do no harm” safeguards or predefined indicators, this represents a meaningful shift. Social value brings stakeholder wellbeing, outcomes and value more directly into decision-making. For traditional monitoring and evaluation, it adds a complementary lens: moving beyond what was delivered and whether targets were met to understand what changed, for whom, and how important that change was.
““Vietnam’s growing focus on ESG and impact gives us a strong starting point. At Impact Link Asia, we saw an opportunity to create a space where people can go further — to learn how Social Value puts stakeholder outcomes at the centre of decision-making, exchange practical experience and connect with a global community. Social Value Vietnam is our way of building that bridge together.””
From market readiness to a community of pioneers
Impact Link Asia and other founding members have been building the groundwork for this network since 2024 through introductory social value and SROI dialogues, impact measurement and management work, peer referrals, regional engagement with Social Value networks in Asia, and participation in SVI initiatives.
The purpose of SVV is not to introduce another reporting framework into an already crowded landscape. It is to create a practical bridge between what organisations in Vietnam already know — ESG, sustainability, monitoring and evaluation, impact reporting and responsible investment — and a deeper way of understanding value through stakeholders and outcomes.
At this early stage of market development, we see pioneering as a collective process. It means learning together, testing how internationally recognised Social Value principles work in Vietnamese contexts, sharing what succeeds and what does not, and gradually building a stronger local practice base.
What we are building together
Social Value Vietnam is a cross-sector network for people and organisations interested in advancing social value practice in Vietnam. As an Associate Network of SVI, it creates a local space for practical learning while opening stronger connections to regional and global knowledge, professional development and good practice.
Our initial work focuses on four areas:
LEARN
Build awareness and understanding of Social Value, SROI, the Principles of Social Value and impact management.
CONNECT
Create opportunities for practitioners, organisations and individuals to exchange experiences, resources and opportunities.
LOCALISE
Bring relevant knowledge and resources from the wider social value movement closer to the Vietnamese context.
BUILD
Grow a community that can help embed social value more systematically across sectors in Vietnam.
What this looks like in practice
During its first phase, SVV will focus on market education and movement building. This includes introductory learning, peer-support spaces, localised resources, networking across sectors, regional exchange and opportunities for practitioners to engage with SVI’s wider ecosystem.
The network will also help make professional pathways more visible in Vietnam - including SVI membership, the Professional Pathway, accredited training and Report Assurance - while ensuring that the local community first has the knowledge, confidence and practical opportunities needed to engage with them.
This phased approach reflects the reality of the market. Before building a formal membership and operating model, SVV wants to understand demand, strengthen practitioner capability and demonstrate value to the community it is intended to serve.
Meet the Social Value Vietnam team
SVV was established by Impact Link Asia together with founding organisations and individual practitioners. The founding network brings perspectives from impact advisory, impact finance, conservation, research and evaluation, creating a cross-sector base for the network’s development.
A. Organisational Founding Members
Impact Link Asia
Thao Lam
CEO, Impact Link Asia
LinkedIn profile: Thao Lam
Duc Le
COO cum Head of Product Development, Impact Link Asia
LinkedIn profile: Duc Le
PEAPROS Consulting
Hung Nghiem
CEO, Chairman, PEAPROS Consulting JSC
LinkedIn profile: Hung Nghiem
B. Individual Founding Members
Mai Doan
COO, Conservation Vietnam
LinkedIn profile: Mai Doan
Tuong Nguyen
ESG & Investor Relations Manager, Dynam Capital
LinkedIn profile:Tuong Nguyen
Trung Nguyen
Independent Impact Evaluator
LinkedIn profile: Trung Nguyen
Connected to a wider movement
SVV begins locally, but it is not working alone. Impact Link Asia has already collaborated with Social Value Malaysia on introductory learning, supported SVI initiatives in Vietnam and built relationships with Social Value network members across Asia. These connections create opportunities for peer learning, practitioner development and regional collaboration as the Vietnamese community grows.
For SVV, localisation does not mean diluting international principles. It means making them more accessible, relevant and usable in the realities of Vietnam - while staying connected to SVI’s standards, learning pathways and global community.
Join the Conversation
As the SVV journey begins, we welcome conversations with practitioners, organisations, researchers, funders, businesses, impact investors, public-sector actors and emerging professionals who are interested in Social Value and its development in Vietnam.
Whether you are starting with ESG, sustainability, monitoring and evaluation or impact reporting; already applying Social Value and SROI; or simply curious about a more stakeholder-centred approach to impact, there is a place for you in this community.
Our ambition is to help build a social value community in Vietnam where impact is not only measured, but understood, valued and used to make better decisions - and where people affected by those decisions are increasingly at the centre of how value is understood.
Connect with Social Value Vietnam
Website: socialvaluevn.org
Email: support@socialvaluevn.org