SROI analysis of Ronald McDonald Houses

Measuring the value created by Ronald McDonald Houses in Italy

Location: Florence, Rome, Brescia, and Milan (Italy)

Duration: February – May 2017

Client: Italian branch of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC)

Context

Several studies have underlined that the healing process of children in hospital is easier if families have the possibility to stay together. The central activity of RMHC aims at guaranteeing a place where hospitalized children and their families can share quality time together. In the past 17 years, RMHC has implemented programmes to support families who seek treatment far away from home, providing them with comfort, support, and resources just steps away from the hospital.

General objective

ARCO evaluated the social and economic impact of RMHC activities on its beneficiaries in order to help them improve their existing services. This research activity was also a transparent evaluation of the social value of Ronald McDonald Houses.

 

Our conribution

The SROI methodology is based on a participatory scheme to improve managerial processes and measure the socio-environmental return for beneficiaries. The analysis of the Ronald Houses measured the SROI index by taking into account the social value produced by all the activities and the experiences of the beneficiaries and stakeholders to translate it into an economic-financial value.

The SROI analysis of the activities of the Ronald McDonald Foundation was divided into the following phases:

  • Contextualization of the Ronald McDonald Italia Children’s Foundation: its mission, activity, internal structure.
  • Mapping of the activities involved in the management of the four Ronald houses in Italy
  • Identification and monetary evaluation of the inputs used by these activities
  • Stakeholder involvement (families, children, hospital, Ronald Foundation staff, donors) for participatory mapping of outcome and output.
  • Calculation of financial proxies for the economic exploitation of outcomes. Subtraction of potential displacement, deadweight, attribution and drop-off effects
  • Calculation of the SROI index. Compared to the 2016 financial year, Fondazione per l’Infazia Ronald McDonald Italia generated a social return of € 3.15 per 1 euro invested.
SROI index indice social return on investment social impact impatto sociale

The application of the methodology resulted in an SROI of 3.15. This means that for every euro invested, a social and economic return of 3.15 euro was generated.

To read a summary and get more information click here.

 

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