National regeneration charity, Groundwork, is urging businesses to focus their CSR efforts on projects that mobilise communities and deliver lasting and tangible social change. The call follows the launch by Groundwork and Mondeléz International of a report showing how a joint campaign delivered during the 2012 Olympics achieved a social return on investment of £13.2M.
The Spots v Stripes campaign mobilised more than 4,500 volunteers and saw 180,000 people playing games as a way of creating community spirit in towns and cities across the UK.
The initiative encouraged people in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities to sign up as a spot or a stripe to play games, run by volunteers, and record their points through the Cadbury Spots v Stripes website.
A Cabinet Office-endorsed social return on investment (SROI) method was used by an independent research company, Ecorys, to assign a monetary figure to the social and environmental value created through the initiative.
The analysis looked at the social, environmental and economic costs and benefits and showed that the programme reached around two million people and generated an estimated £3.39 in social value for every £1 spent by Mondeléz International, the parent company of the Cadbury brand.
Sonia Chhatwal, Community Programme Manager UK&I, Mondeléz International, said that report proved the programme far surpassed the targets established at the outset. “We mobilised double the number of volunteers we initially anticipated (4,500), reaching four times the number of people we expected (1,196,957) and getting 180,296 people to play games in communities, more than double our initial target.”
The SROI report commends the campaign for its strong volunteering strand, showing that many of the volunteers who took part in the campaign gained skills that have helped them progress into employment or to the next stage of education and training.
Many of the 180,000 participants also reported increased self-confidence and self-esteem and a greater sense of community cohesion as a result of the initiative. Some of the community events, which brought together groups of people of all ages and ethnicities, will continue to take place annually.
Sir Tony Hawkhead CBE, Chief Executive of Groundwork, said: “Spots v Stripes is one of the few Olympic Games sponsorship stories to have had a measurable social impact. Since the close of the Games, much has been said about legacy and Spots v Stripes achieved positive and sustainable social change in communities across the UK – not just parts of East London.
“As well as demonstrating the value of corporates linking with third-sector partners to deliver innovative CSR activities, the programme provided the infrastructure for people to volunteer and take part in activities that made a tangible difference to their communities and showed that the appetite exists for activities that bring communities together if they are designed to be accessible to all.”
