Greenlink SROI Study
25 January 2010
The Greenlink is a 7 km cycle path creating a direct route from Strathclyde Country Park to Motherwell Town Centre. The Greenlink project is now in its second 3 year phase of activities with partnership support and funding from North Lanarkshire Council, CSFT, Forestry Commission Scotland, the Robertson Trust, Paths to Health and latterly the ASDA Foundation. The project is managed by CSFT with two dedicated members of staff who work closely with local people in addition to the above partners.
Pathfinder SROI analysis
The Greenlink SROI analysis is one of two "pathfinder projects" undertaken by greenspace scotland in order to further develop a SROI programme for the greenspace sector. SROI is a framework for measuring and accounting for a broad concept of value; it seeks to incorporate social, environmental and economic costs and benefits. SROI focuses on change, measures outcomes and uses monetary values to represent them. This enables a ratio of benefits to costs to be calculated. For example, a ratio of 3:1 indicates that an investment of £1 delivers £3 of social value. However SROI is much more than just a number. It is a story about change, on which to base decisions, that includes case studies, qualitative, quantitative and financial information.
The SROI analysis for the Greenlink is an evaluative SROI. The Greenlink and CSFT project staff agreed to take part in the process, because they are keen to be able to demonstrate the value of the investment in the cycle route and related activities.
Conservation volunteering
The Greenlink SROI analysis focused on the conservation volunteering in the woodlands surrounding the Greenlink route in the CSFT financial year September 2007 - 2008. The process involved all key stakeholders in developing an impact map for the project. This shows the relationship, for each stakeholder, between inputs, outputs and outcomes and how a figure of impact is then arrived at. The SROI calculation for the conservation volunteering programme gave a social return of £7 for every £1 invested. This is likely to be an underestimate, as some benefits could not be quantified because of a lack of data.
Click here to learn more about the Greenlink project.
