Accounting for social return on investment: the costs and benefits of family-centred care by the Ronald McDonald Foundation

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) often require tools that assess the outcomes of their activities. This article aims to assess the effectiveness of Social Return on Investment (SROI) as a measure of the social impact produced by NPOs that support family-centered care, an approach that focuses on the pivotal role of families in paediatric health care. We offer an analytical evaluation of the SROI created by the Italian branch of the Ronald McDonald House Charity. We highlight a) the participatory analysis of stakeholders and outcomes; b) the measurement of inputs; c) the definition of outputs and proxies for the measurement of outcomes; d) the calculation of the SROI ratio; and e) the sensitivity analysis. Our research can provide guidance to SROI analysts, while also drawing attention to the most suitable proxies and indicators for evaluating the SROI of NPOs operating in the health care field. This study also discusses the advantages and shortcomings of SROI analyses, the practical implications of our research for governance and management, and the role of engagement in managing the expectations of stakeholders. Furthermore, we assess and discuss the potentiality of SROI measurements for strategic and management purposes, with particular reference to the governance of relations with stakeholders.