The Evaluation of Social Farming through Social Return on Investment: A Review

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a need for a shared methodology for evaluating social farming (SF) practices to verify not only their effectiveness but also their social and economic sustainability. The evaluation of SF has been highlighted using the methodology of the social return on investment (SROI) due to the potential of such approach regarding the quantification of social impact. The main purpose of this study is to provide an overview, through a systematic review, of the application of SROI to SF experiences to check the results comparability, both in terms of outcomes standardization and comparisons between SROI ratios. The results first show some similarities on the construction of outcomes that allow for the initial comparability of the results. Secondly, all the indicators calculated in the articles report a social return value of social farming projects that varies approximately from EUR 2 to EUR 3 per euro invested. Critical issues remain regarding the application of this methodology to SF practices, regarding the number of the applications of SROI to SF, the process of stakeholder engagement and the construction of outcome. There is a need for more studies that apply SROI to SF experiences in order to standardize the process of analysis.