Everton Football Club: Assessing the Social Value of ‘The People’s Project'

Everton Football Club is currently in the process of building a new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock in Liverpool. The Club wanted to understand and optimise the social value created by the stadium move. “The People’s Project” was created, combining the development of the new stadium with a legacy project for the use of the existing stadium ground.

Everton FC appointed RealWorth to understand, measure and communicate the social value associated with its stadium move from Goodison Park to Bramley-Moore Dock.

This comprised a review of the Club’s charity Everton in the Community (EitC), the new stadium itself and the effect that the Legacy Project at Goodison was likely to have in the future.

The Liverpool City Region: Reviewing the Impact of the Spatial Development Strategy

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) is a statutory planning document that provides a strategic plan for the development and use of land across six local authorities. The SDS will set out an integrated economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of the Liverpool City Region.

RealWorth has a long-running appointment with the LCRCA to deliver an ongoing social value evaluation of the SDS. Since 2019, RealWorth has been tasked with evaluating the social value of every policy within the SDS at every stage in its development, to ensure that it considers social impacts in areas such as health and wellbeing, as well as their economic outcomes.

Young Voices: Evaluating the Economic and Social Impact of a National Music Programme

Young Voices are the largest school choir in the world. Their programme links skill and educational development to the power of music and has developed a reputation amongst educators and venues that sees repeat and increased participation year on year, making a positive impact on those involved and their wider community.

To explain the impact the choir has on its young people, Young Voices tasked RealWorth in collaboration with Sound Diplomacy to understand the economic and social value of 27 concerts between January and February 2023. RealWorth conducted a Social Return on Investment study and calculated the value of the social impact of music education. Over time, our report will allow Young Voices to expand its reach and make the project even more accessible to children from all backgrounds.

U+I Plc: Reviewing the Social Impact of its Portfolio

Now known as Landsec U+I, the company is a specialist mixed-use regeneration developer that has excelled at re-imagining and re-purposing buildings and places that are no longer fit for purpose. In 2021, U+I asked RealWorth to assess the social value of 20 different projects within its portfolio with a combined value of over £1.5bn

RealWorth analysed and reported on the social value created by the U+I developments. RealWorth also provided a series of recommendations highlighting areas of best practice both within U+I and in the wider sector to further enhance the social value potential of the portfolio.

The report was used to show analysts and potential investors how social value featured in U+I’s thinking when they planned for and designed regeneration schemes.

Transport for London: Creating a Social Impact Development Framework

Throughout 2019 to 2021 RealWorth supported Transport for London (TfL) in developing a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its newly published Sustainable Development Framework (SDF). This began an optimisation brief pilot for assets and amenities around TfL development sites. The intention was to provide guidance and resources to prospective developers to produce site-specific guidance and advice and to conform to TfL’s expected and desired standards.

RealWorth reviewed the KPIs for three themes within the framework – Social Cohesion, Vibrant Places and Liveable Communities – and later wrote guidance notes for how to achieve good and best practices for each RealWorth-recommended KPI.

Developers that wish to bid for projects on TfL land will be required to set targets and meet those targets. Applying these KPIs to new developments on TfL land will provide wider social benefits for the community and provide value beyond direct financial returns. RealWorth also prepared guidance notes for each of the prepared KPIs. Preferred developers for projects will follow these guidance notes to achieve each KPI.

In Spring 2021 it was announced that the SDF got the highest possible score of 5 stars from GRESB. It also ranked 1st in the UK and 4th in Europe of all GRESB evaluations in 2020.

Balance Power: Battery Storage Projects

Balance Power is a UK energy developer that works with landowners, communities, and local authorities to bring about a fundamental shift in how we produce and use power. Its focus is to meet the needs of local communities, whilst playing a role in tackling the global climate emergency. It has over 40 consented projects and a project development pipeline of over 2GW.

RealWorth has been commissioned to provide Balance Power with advice in two key areas:

1. Establishing and maintaining a company-wide approach to understanding, optimising and capturing social impact

2. Project-specific delivery of meaningful community impact and to support the planning application process.

As Balance Power continues to develop scale and grow into other energy technologies, our role is expected to become a more integral part of its ESG ambitions and commitments.

An example of our recent work includes a project in the North-west of England, where we collaborated with representatives of the local authority and community groups to develop a social value strategy and action plan which integrated with and supported the existing pro-social thinking and activities in the local area.

St Michael's Hospice: Assessing the Social Value

St Michael's Hospice supports people in Hastings and Rother to live well with dying, death and loss. As well as providing in-patient hospice care, it offers bereavement support, rehabilitation support, spiritual support, wellbeing services and community outreach (amongst other things). In 2024, St Michael's commissioned RealWorth to demonstrate the difference it creates in its community through a social return on investment analysis, RealWorth helped St Michael's quantify the social benefits of the hospice, including the value of helping people feel prepared, connected, and less vulnerable when life gets tough.

Our work revealed that for every £1 invested in St Michael's, it returns £1.50 in value to its local community. This figure helps the charity to demonstrate its impact, providing evidence for funders, partners, and policymakers that investment in hospice care creates significant social return. Our report also helped St Michael's improve its strategy, using insights to strengthen strategic decisions behind service design and delivery. Lastly, our report helped St Michael's communicate its value to the wider public, helping them understand that hospice care isn’t just about end-of-life; it creates economic, social, and wellbeing benefits for the whole community.

To read the full report, see here.

Trinity Theatre: Evaluating the Social Impact

Trinity Theatre, situated in Tunbridge Wells, is a classical theatre, music, films, visual arts and children’s theatre, that is keen to enrich all age groups and enhance cultural togetherness. RealWorth was recently commissioned on how the Theatre generates social value, and therefore reviewed the last two years of operation at the theatre interviewing both management and board.

Throughout this assessment, RealWorth completed on-site reports which included a theory of change. To add value to this report it was important to help the Theatre communicate the many ways in which they change lives for the better.

Outcomes associated with the past two years of Trinity activity range from local heritage and people having improved wellbeing through living in good quality housing. The youth theatre has enabled people to gain employability skills and increased the amount of people who attend shows creating a welcoming community.

This project has assisted Trinity Theatre in starting a journey of demonstrating the social value they create and provided them with key material that they can showcase to corporate, donors and councils. It also assisted the board in re-evaluating its social purpose and strategy when introducing new projects.

Trowers & Hamlins: Creating a Social Value Toolkit

RealWorth was commissioned by the international law firm Trowers & Hamlins to write a pioneering report  that sought to  make the case that financial returns can be enhanced by creating buildings and places in which people and communities thrive. 

The report contained examples of practical tools, advice and sources to help those interested in doing more to understand, maximise, measure and communicate social value. The report was launched at the 2018 MIPIM conference in Cannes, with evidence that real estate projects can deliver greater financial returns by incorporating long-term sustainable social value. 

You can read the full report here, or a condensed version here.