Cathedral Group: Assessing the Social Value of Moulsecoomb Place

Moulsecoomb Place is a Grade II Listed 18th-century house in the Moulsecoomb area of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. In 2022, the Mansion and grounds were purchased by TOWN and Cathedral, with the intention to restore Moulsecoomb Place, the tithe barn and the gardens and devise a use for the property that will provide a benefit for the community. Current plans for the site include student accommodation, leisure and retail units, a community hub, the restoration of the historic gardens, improved access to the nearby Moulsecoomb railway station, greater public access to the gardens and historic buildings, and the creation of an “affordable and sustainable” place to get food and drink.

RealWorth was commissioned in December 2022 by Cathedral Group and TOWN. to produce a social value assessment of the scheme at Moulsecoomb place. The team worked closely with the client to analyse the social impact of this scheme and make recommendations for optimisation of social value for this scheme.

The report demonstrated the potential public benefits of the scheme in a concise manner and supported the planning application for the scheme submitted to Brighton & Hove.

Vita Group: Assessing the Social Value of Circle Square

Circle Square is a new neighbourhood developed on the former BBC site in Manchester City Centre. It includes student accommodation, residential flats, commercial and retail space, revitalised public realm and a new central park. The development was a joint venture between Vita Group and Bruntwood.

RealWorth was appointed by Vita Group to assist in identifying and measuring the social value that will be created by the Vita Living and Vita Student Buildings, Symphony Park and the associated public realm improvements. We were also asked to make recommendations on how social impact of this and future schemes could be optimised.

Westminster City Council: North Paddington Programme

The North Paddington Programme is a place-based programme by Westminster City Council. Its aim is to make Westminster a fairer place to work and live. Its ‘place-based’ objectives mean that all work is developed in partnership with local people, community groups and charities in the Harrow Road, Queen’s Park and Westbourne wards of the Borough.

RealWorth carried out a one-year review of the North Paddington Programme and outlined several recommendations to help shape the programme going forward. This project has assisted the Westminster City Council in demonstrating the effect that their activities are having around the areas they operate in, and evidence the benefits the North Paddington Programme can have over a long period of time.

U+I: Measuring and Optimising the Social Value of Mayfield

The developer and regeneration specialist U+I was shortlisted to transform the Mayfield district of Manchester. RealWorth worked with the bid team to develop proposals and thinking to optimise the social value that could be generated by the scheme.

SROI was used in collaboration with the bid team to influence the concept design proposals.

Our work with U+I and its partners which include Manchester City Council has continued since U+I was appointed to the development partnership in 2016.

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret: Impact Evaluation

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret (OOT) is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. RealWorth were commissioned to support OOT in accessing new funding sources, by evidencing to potential funders the potential depth of impact their sponsorship or investment could have on visitors, participants or beneficiaries.

To carry out this study, RealWorth conducted a review to assess the social value of the past two years evaluating past programmes. RealWorth assisted staff in understanding which parts of the organisation produce the most social value, and helped the museum talk about what they do in front of corporate employees, particularly highlighting what the museum does for young people.

The work completed by RealWorth is used by OOT to attract further funding, allows the organisation to be accountable to its stakeholders, and informs future decision-making including prioritising one programme above another. It is also an essential source of information for any future social value assessment.

Integrate Space: Creating a Social Impact Framework

Integrate Space is a facilitator between the real estate sector and the third sector. Integrate works with real estate owners to make their vacant or under-used spaces in prime commercial buildings available to charities on a temporary basis.

Integrate asked RealWorth to create a Social Impact Framework for them that will help to guide their approach to the delivery, monitoring, collation, analysis and reporting of social impact. The Framework covers multiple themes, question sets and broader considerations that can be templated and applied to all future charity occupation projects.

The Framework also includes a guidance document for Integrate to hand to each charity it partners with to help them track their impact, as well as a reporting template it can hand to each landlord it works with to help them capture and report on the social impact created.

Peabody: Holloway Park

Our evaluation for the Holloway Park development focused on assessing the pro-social contributions embedded within the project’s design and delivery. From the outset, we worked closely with Peabody and key stakeholders to understand the social value planning that had taken place and how it could be enhanced further. Our work involved reviewing past community engagement, existing research, and development strategies to establish a clear understanding of the project’s social impact to date.

The evaluation resulted in a series of recommendations outlining opportunities to optimise social value while mitigating potential constraints. We provided a structured assessment of how the development could generate additional lasting social impact and ensure alignment with Islington Council’s Social Value targets.

Everton in the Community: Impact Evaluation

As Everton Football Club’s official charity, Everton in the Community (EitC) is one of the UK's top sporting charities, considered one of the Premier League’s leading community schemes due to the quality and reach of its various programmes.

Since its work on the new stadium in 2019, RealWorth has been retained as EitC’s social value consultant, measuring its impact on a bi-annual basis to evaluate and demonstrate the social value EitC is creating across Merseyside.

EitC has used RealWorth’s social value reports to show a range of stakeholders (including project partners and, government departments, and funders) how EitC benefits the people and communities it operates in.

The Level Initiative: A Social Value Forecast and Evaluation

LEVEL: Equity Buildings (LEVEL) has been awarded a grant to develop a pilot scheme that illustrates how low-income people can progress to owning their own homes. The pilot (located in McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh) will show how housing located in under-invested parts of urban areas can be rehabilitated and sold to low-income occupants for both their benefit and the benefit of the surrounding community. The dual driving forces behind the LEVEL programme are the improvement of people’s lives and the potential to bring impoverished and under-invested neighbourhoods back into productive health.

To measure the success of the programme, RealWorth has been employed to measure and report the social value that the Programme creates for homeowners and neighbourhoods. To achieve this, RealWorth has been tasked with producing a Social Value Framework and carrying out a predictive assessment of the social value that the project will create.