Case study: Adra
Lead Partner: David Clubb
Measuring social value
Afallen’s innovative approach to considering social value led to a robust set of results – and opened up a new way of thinking for Adra, one of Wales’ biggest, and most innovative, housing associations.
Client: Adra
Sector: Social housing
Link: View report
Introduction
Adra wanted to demonstrate their social impact from 2015-2021, encompassing a wide range of activities, and including an assessment of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The brief
Adra wanted to procure an economic, social, health and well-being impact assessment of Adra’s work over the six years from 2015-2021. They were keen to understand how their response to the Covid-19 pandemic affected their overall social impact, and to understand how their recent performance would impact their future strategy.
The solution
Afallen created a team consisting of some of Wales’ foremost experts in health, economics and social policy. We set about understanding the services that Adra provides, and the people, communities and business that form part of the supply chain around this anchor business.
We then built on an emerging methodology that we call the ‘6 economies’ to represent social value that is not commonly measured in social impact studies. These economies are:
- Planetary health
- Just economy
- Cultural economy
- Circular economy
- Well-being economy
- Foundational economy
Afallen’s team worked closely with Adra staff to ensure that as much information was incorporated into our modelling as possible. We demonstrated that Adra makes a substantial contribution to the socio-economic lives of households and communities across north Wales, and we recommended that Adra develop a ‘social impact’ measuring and reporting function in-house, to reduce future spend on consultants, and to improve local skill levels.
Testimonial
As an organisation we take our social responsibility seriously, and it was great to have the opportunity to work with a company like Afallen who also share the same values as us. It was a pleasure to work with David and the team, who were keen to ensure that they met our needs and requirements, and were ready to be flexible in their approach as required. Their report on Adra’s social impact has given us great inisght into our work thus far, and their recommendations will help us to make sure that we maximise the benefits we create for our customers and communities in the future.
Elin Williams, Community and Partnerships Manager