First US-specific wellbeing valuations published

SVI Practitioners Allison Ricket and SVI Methodology sub-committee member Tim Goodspeed have published the first US-specific wellbeing valuations, using primary US data, a US-derived WELLBY, and the latest Green Book Guidance. This groundbreaking open-access article marks a major step forward in valuing what matters in the US context.

Key findings:

• The research argues that understanding social value requires more than accounting for costs and outputs—enterprises must consider the well-being changes experienced by stakeholders.

• The authors assess how methods such as Social Return on Investment (SROI) can be complemented with well-being valuation frameworks (e.g., using “WELLBYs”) to capture broader societal benefits.

• They conclude that adopting these blended methods can improve resource allocation decisions and support social enterprises in demonstrating and maximising their societal impact.

Implications:
For investors, funders and social enterprises, the study provides a clearer roadmap for impact measurement: one that moves beyond output metrics to value creation grounded in stakeholder well-being. The authors call for wider integration of subjective outcomes into measurement frameworks, thereby improving comparability and decision relevance in the social sector.