Jakarta, May 20, 2025 – Social Value Indonesia (SVID) hosted the online May 2025 edition of Social Value Talk, focusing on “Is Social Value Always Measured by SROI?”. The event featured Jalal, sustainability practitioner and member of SVID's Board of Experts, as main speaker, moderated by Citra Widuri, Executive Director of SVID. The session brought together 171 online participants across academia, practice, and business.
Questioning Numbers as the Sole Metric
In an increasingly sustainability-oriented global context, quantitative tools like Social Return on Investment (SROI) have gained widespread adoption. Indonesia's 2023–2024 PROPER data showed 312 out of 4,495 companies included SROI in environmental reporting.
However, the discussion offered a critical perspective: are numbers sufficient to represent social value? Jalal noted that crucial aspects—such as dignity, empowerment, social justice, and non-material cultural changes—cannot easily be captured by financial proxies.
Social Value: From History to Contemporary Relevance
Tracing the roots of social value from social sciences to management, Jalal stressed that understanding value requires a multidisciplinary lens. 21st-century social value acts as a bridge between ethics and impact, local voices and global agendas.
Critique of Purely Quantitative Approaches
While metrics matter, Jalal cautioned against letting numbers obscure context. He shared an anecdote of mangrove restoration: while SROI recorded income gains, fishermen identified increased gratitude and spiritual reflection as their most meaningful change.
Meaningful Impact Beyond Measurement
Impact evaluations must prioritize information quality and outcome sustainability over short-term outputs. SVID advocates incorporating qualitative methods like Most Significant Change (MSC) alongside quantitative data.
Towards an Inclusive Social Value Movement
SVID encourages practitioners to deepen their capability through SVI-aligned pathways, including the Social Value Associate Level 1 orientation. SVID will continue fostering inclusive impact measurement across Indonesia.
Resolution of SVT May 2025
Social Value Talk May 2025 delivered constructive reflection: social value is not merely numbers, but a reflection of quality of life, human relationships, and social dignity.