Social Value International There is growing recognition and interest in the valuation of social outcomes, and in 2015 Social Value International (SVI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) convened a global meeting for experts to further progress the debate. Taking place in the Bellagio Center on Lake Como in Italy, and sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, the meeting brought together 22 individuals from a range of sectors and countries to discuss the variety of valuation techniques, their relationship to one another, and how they can be mapped and brought together with clearer guidance.

This report is the result of the global meeting, and is designed to garner cross-sector discussion and alignment. Through recent developments such as the Social Capital Protocol and the Natural Capital Protocol, businesses are aligning around an understanding of the need to measure and manage both social and environmental outcomes of their activities. This document is designed to provide additional guidance for organisations of all forms, be they governments, companies, public bodies, or third sector organisations, helping them to decide how to value social outcomes, taking into account critical issues around audience, purpose, and accuracy.

SVI’s mission is to change the way the world accounts for value, in order to reduce inequality and environmental degradation. The consequence of this ambition is the explicit requirement to value important changes in people’s lives as a result of activities, accounting for those outcomes that are not conventionally measured or managed. Underpinning the mission is recognition that whilst standard indicators of growth illustrate rising average wealth, inequality within, and between nations, continues to increase. We believe that to address the growing divide between people, what we recognise as valuable, and how we value those things, is of great significance. Click here to download the report