When a Skill Training Centre is established in a community, what is the ripple effect?  How does it affect the broader community, beyond the individuals who study there?  To answer these pressing questions, ACF decided to measure the Social Return Of Investment of 6 SEDI training centres, namely Sankrail, Nagaur, Chirawa, Kodinar, Dadri and Chandrapur, between 2015 - 2018.

The results confirmed anecdotal evidence of broader community impact with an average SROI across centres of Rs. 5.56 for every Re1 invested, and provided ACF with the quantitative confidence to continue expansion of this valuable program across rural communities.  The resultant social return for every Re. 1 invested by ACF for each location was:

Average SROI	CHANDRAPUR	KODINAR	DADRI	SANKRAIL	CHIRAWA	NAGAUR
5.56	5.07	4.84	4.62	7.38	5.17	6.28

Conducted by Sustainable Square India, the aim of the SROI study was to understand the 'socio-economic value creation of trainings and placements done for the students at these SEDI centres of ACF.'

The beauty of an SROI study is that it measures not only the 'tangible' benefits and impacts of a programme, but also the intangible ones.  It also assesses avariety of intended and unintended outcomes, including:

1. Economic Upliftment- positive change in regular monthly income among first time earners and experienced earners, investments to improve standards of living, personal well-being and contribution to economy.

2. Knowledge & Skills - induction of technical knowledge and skills to enable alternative income earning opportunities and career paths.

3. Women Empowerment - Increase in role of women making their own decisions in personal choices, household expenses and making savings for family and personal needs.

4. Entrepreneurial Initiatives- provision of employment and generational of revenue which impacts local economy.

SROI also builds confidence among our partners who have financially invested in our projects - providing them with tangible, transparent data of the impact their investment has made on both beneficiaries and the broader community.

This research included information on the intended outcomes of the SEDI for the stakeholders involved such as increase in income and income generation activities, empowerment of social status and learning new skills and acquired experiences. The research also reviewed the unintended outcomes of the process, which included improvements for whole stakeholder groups such as families of the beneficiaries.  For example:

Stakeholder Group	Intended Change	Unintended Change
Direct Beneficiaries	-  Acquiring skills -   Employment -   Self-discipline -   Financial Earning -   Personality Development	- Family wellbeing - improved economic status - Independent - Reputation among neighbours, family and friends - Improved technical knowledge

To frame the evaluation of impact, SROI used a 'theory of change', which sets out the relationship between the situation (the problem the initiative is trying to address), the inputs (the investment), the outputs (what has happened) and the outcomes (what has changed), in order to help us understand the impacts (what has changed that would not have happened anyway). 

The Research and Monitoring Unit of ACF helps to objectively and systematically oversee the measurement of implementation, progress and impact of ACF programmes. It provides a vital function to assure board members, partners and beneficiaries that the work ACF is doing is scrutinized, course corrected where needed and refined. As such, ACF follows an evidence based practice while planning and implementing development initiatives. 

"This evidence highlights the broader impacts that the SEDI program is having, over and above the direct impact on students as individuals" said Anagha Mahajani, General Manager, Research & Monitoring, ACF.  "There are direct impacts to families and communities which reinforces our vision for building more prosperous, rural communities." She said.

To request a copy of the full report, please write to us: communications.acf@ambujafoundation.com