A Social Return on Investment Case Study of a Sport and Leisure Programme

Sport and leisure programmes can have an essential role in shaping the physical health of the nation. The UK Chief Medical Officer (2019) argued that physical activity can reduce the risk of long-term health conditions, help manage existing conditions and impact positively on physical and mental health. There are emerging opportunities to better understand the social value of programmes in supporting these types of outcomes and to establish whether there are other impactful returns from investment in these programmes. This chapter introduces social return on investment (SROI) as a potentially important adjunct to any sport and leisure programme evaluation method. This is achieved by outlining how the SROI method is usable for researchers and sport and leisure stakeholders. Following this, a real-world lens is applied to explore the process and principles when applying an SROI method as a case study. The study focuses on the social return of a physical activities programme for older socially isolated and lonely people, delivered by young person apprentices who were situated in one of three delivery sites. This chapter serves as an introductory resource that also offers recommendations for anyone interested in understanding the SROI approach, especially when integrated into wider evaluation approaches.