Making an Economic Case

These studies have all shown financial benefits and/or cost savings from Building Community capacity initiatives.

We are keen to keep this bibliography alive by adding new documents to it when we come across them, and we'd like you to help.

Please contact us if you have read, or know of a good document or piece of research that you think should be in the bibliography.

• New Economics Foundation - Growing Social Capital SROI - Kirklees Council
  Measuring what matters is an increasing challenge for local councils as they are required to move away from narrow unit cost into areas of outcomes and social value. This is perhaps particularly true...
• Empowering Communities for Health: Business Case and Practice Framework
  Using GP practice-level data, the HELP project estimated savings of £655,162 could be generated in one neighbourhood through setting up a community development project, against an investment in...
• Lived Experience Leading The Way - Peer Support in Mental Health
  A report by Together-UK showed that a mental health peer support service in Leeds saves £28,000 a year compared to traditional care. Other studies showed that in mental health can save bed days...
• Partnership for Older People Projects (POPP) report
  This evaluation found that for every extra £1 spent on the POPP services, there was approximately £1.20 in savings on emergency bed days. A wide range of projects resulted in improved quality...
• Economic Value of Volunteering
  This study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found a social return of between £2 and £8 for every pound spent on volunteers.
• Volunteering England Study into the Value of Volunteering
  Europe-wide research using the VIVA method showed returns of between 1.3 and 13.5 for every unit spent.
• Mental Health Promotion the economic case
• Social Return on Investment analysis of the Expert Patient Programme
  This study found that for every £1 spent on EPP programmes in the Wirral, £6.09 of social return was created, in addition to the health benefits for participants.
• Economic case for mental health promotion
  This study found that for every £1 spent, £14.35 could be saved through school-based interventions to reduce bullying, £9.69 through workplace mental health promotion and £83.73 through...
• Catalysts for Community Action and Investment: A Social Return on Investment Analysis of Community Development
  This research undertaken by the New Economics Foundation found that investing £1 in community development delivers £3 of social value.