Client Ambition

Our client sought to understand the Social Return on Investment (SROI) for its Sports for Development (S4D) intervention and explore whether it could become a meaningful tool for programme decision-making.

As the programme was still evolving with interventions being tested and participant pathways yet to be fully defined, the immediate ambition was to move beyond measuring participation and understand how sports translates into tangible outcomes and financial value for students and their families. The exercise was also intended to identify how the programme could strengthen value creation and build readiness for a future evaluative SROI study.

Our Solution

Our team designed and delivered a rapid, exploratory qualitative SROI assessment. The study combined secondary research, qualitative field research, and stakeholder validation to identify outcome-to-value pathways and test the assumptions underlying potential financial proxies.

The research engaged 60 respondents, including 40 students from two schools with two years of program exposure and 20 respondents across 10 student families, through FGDs and in-depth interviews. Findings were triangulated with programme team consultations and a validation workshop.

The analysis identified and validated eight financial proxies across four S4D outcome pathways, spanning health, fitness, nutrition, life skills, sports coaching, competitive opportunities, and sports-career awareness.

Results

The study provided the client scenario-wise SROI values based on duration for which financial values sustain after investment period. Importantly, the study went beyond the headline SROI number to identify six actionable recommendations across programme design, implementation, measurement, and sustainability.

The engagement provided the program with both a directional estimate of the value created by S4D and a practical roadmap for strengthening programme design, evidence generation and long-term social value. Additionally, the study also helped in benchmarking the program against similar programs globally based on the SROI that they generate.