SROI REPORT

En Route
Don Bosco Volunteers for Human rights
education

Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw

Naamsesteenweg 37
B-3001 Heverlee
Belgium

Tel.: +32(0)16.48.78.80
Fax.: + 32(0)16.48.78.90
Email: info@donboscoyouth.net
Website: www.donboscoyouth.net

En route Don Bosco volunteers for Human rights education

Colophon
This is a publication of Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw. Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw is an international
network of Salesian youth work offices and youth organizations which work in the style of don
Bosco.
The international secretariat of Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw is financially supported by the European
Commission, through its Erasmus+/Youth in Action-programme. This programme supports youth
projects and organisations involved in the field of non-formal education in Europe and the rest of the
world.

The international secretariat of Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw is also financially supported by the
Council of Europe, through the European Youth Foundation. This foundation already supports
European youth work since the early 1970-ies.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and neither the Commission nor the Council
of Europe can be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.

Index

Index
Colophon .......................................................................................................................................................................2

Index ................................................................................................................................................................................3

Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................5

SROI measurement......................................................................................................................................................6
Identifying scope and setting objectives .............................................................................................................6
Scope of measurement ......................................................................................................................................7
Social issue addressed ........................................................................................................................................7
Activity plan ..........................................................................................................................................................9
Input ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Stakeholder Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Limitations of the analysis ................................................................................................................................... 14

Impact measurement ........................................................................................................................................... 15

New volunteers ................................................................................................................................................ 15
Additional income for DBYN through secure earnings of participation fees ................................... 16
Commitment of new trainers ....................................................................................................................... 18
Commitment of potential trainers ............................................................................................................... 19
Impact at a glance ............................................................................................................................................. 19
SROI calculation .................................................................................................................................................... 20
Sensitivity analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 23

Introduction

Introduction
En route Don Bosco Volunteers for Human rights education, was a training project from Don
Bosco Youth-Net, organised through the year 2015. The project consisted of 3 activities:
1. Pathways to Human rights education was a 6-day training for trainers on HRE, which aimed to
develop the competences of young volunteers to become active as trainers in European youth
projects within the framework of DBYN. This training course took place at the Savio House in
Bollington (UK), from the 5th to the 12th of July 2015.
2. Routes to Europe was a 6-day training course on Human rights and Intercultural learning,
focussed on theme of refugees, aiming to involve local volunteers in intercultural youth work
both in their local communities, as well as on European level through DBYN. The venue for the
training course was the Salesianum in Vienna (AT). The activity took place from 19th to the 26th
of July 2015.
3. DBYNs member organisations send young people for a voluntary service abroad. We see
voluntary service as a strong learning experience to develop active citizenship. However, making
the transition from between a NGO-driven voluntary service, to a self-driven commitment as
active citizen, proves to be hard many returned volunteers. Streetwise was a 4-day seminar
aimed at transforming an international voluntary experience of returning volunteers into active
citizenship in local community. The seminar took place at the Salesian Centre WDM in Krakow
(PL), from the 18th to the 23rd of November 2015.
Throughout these 3 training activities Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw experimented with integrating the
method of Human rights education according to the Council of Europes youth sector into its own
educational methodology. Next to this, participants of the first activity were integrated in the teams
of trainers for the second and last activity. As such DBYN worked towards a common identity for
the project. The individual activities and their outcomes are described into detail on the dedicated
project website: http://enroute-dbvolunteersforhre.weebly.com.
As DBYN had a clear aim to achieve impact with this project, we wanted to measure this impact at
the end of it. The method of SROI we are applying in this report is based on our experience
developed through the All Alien!-project. This training course on human rights and migration was
organised in the summer of 2014. It also received financial support from the European Youth
Foundation. We used the project to develop assess if SROI measurement was something we could
apply to our projects. Even though there were many challenges, we decided to continue this process
and apply it to a larger scale. The En route-project was an ideal project for this: It is developed with
the same stakeholders and has similar aims, but is upscaled from 1 to 3 activities in the project itself.
For a general introduction to social impact measurement, Social Return On Investment, a case study
and more resources on the subject, please consult the All Alien! - Social Impact Measurement report,
which can be downloaded from http://www.donboscoyouth.net/impact.

Social Impact Measurement

SROI measurement
The measurement of the Social Return on Investment of DBYNs En Route Don Bosco Volunteers
for Human rights education is done through the analysis of following consecutive elements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Identifying scope and setting objectives

Input
Stakeholder analysis
Limitation of the analysis
Impact measurement
SROI calculation

Important to underline is that the analysis is made from the viewpoint of DBYN. It means that the
general target group are our member organisations as well as their volunteers they are sending to
complete the training course. This is important to consider, as it leads to some limitations during the
analysis. If member organisations are going to follow this model of measurement, it is significant to
adjust the process towards their target groups and thus to consider different indicators. This will be
further clarified under the subchapter Limitations of the analysis.

Identifying scope and setting objectives

The measurement of the En route project serves processes of good governance of our network:

Monitoring: monitoring is an internal process which enables to evaluate the progress of our
network. For members it shows the progress of their non-profit organisation. As well it provides
more transparency within the network as we can align the achievements with our strategic
objectives. As the 3 activities in this project are part of our training structure, we aim to monitor
and evaluate the impact we achieve through our training structure.

Management tool: with the measurement of the project we will gain more knowledge in this
area and also we will have the opportunity to establish a new management tool, which we can
integrate into our strategy and operations. That means it is possible to involve impact
management into our policy and thus standardise the process in order to measure different
activities. As such this example should be considered by our member organisations as they could
learn how to measure their own projects, or the organisation for their own reasons and
motivations. Furthermore, it will serve as a resource for our training course on project
management.

Reporting: to be able to provide more information for external stakeholders, especially funders,
impact measurement can be used as a communication tool and support the marketing process
within the network. At the same time it increases our transparency towards other external
stakeholders but also towards our members and partners. So the purpose of this report is
improving our funding opportunities.1

1 As the distribution of grants is moving more towards impact-oriented funding, it is necessary to know the manner and the
extent of changes our projects achieve.

SROI measurement

Scope of measurement
The analysis is undertaken by DBYNs international secretariat. The most important resource for this
is time which is provided by the general secretary. Moreover, the analysis needs some support from
participants, trainers, and member organisation which is given through questionnaires and
information. The development of this report itself is not considered in the SROI calculation, as the
impact is generated by the actions of the En route project, not by this report afterwards.
The participants received an online questionnaire, which they completed in the period of 3 months
after the activity in which they took part. This online questionnaire was compulsory and included the
question on impact which we use as a basis for this report. The participants also received a follow-up
questionnaire at the end of the project period. This questionnaire was non-compulsory and checked
the personal development of the individual participants.
Our focus points of measurement were the different training programmes which were implemented
by the trainers during the project: they are crucial during the training activities and lead to the
achievement of the expected outcomes and thus also to impact and social return. Furthermore the
analysis should show the progress of the dissemination and exploitation of results, hence identifying
the impact of the project itself. Summing up we focus on the impact which is caused through the
training programmes of the whole project, including its sessions and the progress of the participants
and their impact on their sending organisations.

Social issue addressed

The strategic framework of this measurement is easy to define. DBYN has clear aims and objectives
for their services identified in its mission statement2, its educational methodology3 and its strategic
master plan 2015-20174. The social issue addressed in this project resonates with all 3 of these policy
papers:
The European continent is currently facing several crisis situations. Young people in particular are
suffering strongly under these crises, resulting in a growing number of young people living on the
peripheries: N.E.E.T.s, 3rd and 4th generation migrants, ROMA youth and refugees. Often they face
intrusions to their Human rights, but do not have the capacity to change this situation.
Human rights education is an educational approach to come towards these intrusions. It brings
together a wide spectrum of sectors: Juridical sector, educational sector, civil society, development
cooperation sector ... Within the European youth work sector, the Council of Europes youth
department plays a crucial role in promoting human rights education. It has developed an
educational methodology on Human rights education which is described in their publication
2 We, the partners of Don Bosco Youth-Net, wish to contribute to the total development of all young people by bringing
them together through various international activities. We hereby look to broaden the opportunities for these young
people who are, through various reasons, excluded. By concrete activities of co-operation, we wish to be a living example
of tolerance and mutual understanding. Through our own Salesian identity, we aim to keep the heritage of Don Bosco alive
and look to offer a youthful voice in the Europe of today. By doing this, we want to make a real difference in the lives of all
young people, especially for those most in need.
3
DBYNs educational methodology is defined in the publication "Few words and a Lot of Action". This publication is a
cornerstone of our network, as this document describes the educational methodology which is applied in all our activities.
This includes the educational themes, the learning environment, the curriculum development and the educators style. For
more information please consult the publication at http://www.donboscoyouth.net/few-words-and-a-lot-of-action.html
4
In order to put our mission and aims into practice, we develop Master Plan for the period of 3 years. The current master
plan determines our strategy for the period 2015 2017 . Under the 4 strategic actions we are focussing on 4 fields of
work: Education, Inclusion, Growth and Synergy. For more information please consult the publication at
http://www.donboscoyouth.net/master-plan.html

Social Impact Measurement

COMPASS. It consists of the methodology, training sessions and resources. As it offer the full
package youth trainers need, this publication is instrumental for the European youth work sector to
integrate Human rights education into the work of youth organisations. As such it aims to provide
youth work organisations the tools to fight intrusion onto the Human rights through their actions.
Don Bosco Youth-Net is part of global Don Bosco Movement. This is a catholic movement in civil
society which focuses on education for youth at risk as well as mainstream youth. All organisations
involved in this movement apply the same educational method. The aim of this educational
methodology can be summarised with an aphorism of the founder of our movement, Don Bosco: to
educate young people to become good Christians and honest citizens. The core of this aphorism is
close to that of Human rights. An honest citizen is a person who commits to actively participate in
shaping the society in which he lives. The good Christian concept relates to the moral code
according to which the citizen wants to shape society. From Christian-catholic ethical standpoint, we
start from the human dignity of each person, especially young people facing fewer opportunities. All
our member organisation work with disadvantaged target groups (migrants, refugees, asylum seeks,
Roma, young offenders, special youth care, ) in an inclusive way. According to our educational
style social inclusion is a strong factor in education young people to respect ones diversity. DBYN
has a policy paper which describes how to apply this educational methodology within its activities:
Few words and a lot of Action. This method tackles the intrusions of human rights in an implicit
way: social inclusion of young people facing the intrusions. In order to step-up to the social issue we
realised that we should make the option to tackle Human rights issues explicit in our educational
methodology.
The En Route-project is part of DBYNs larger strategy to work together with the Council of
Europe. By merging our own educational methodology with the Council of Europes methodology for
Human rights education, we have a tool to make Human rights education an integral part of our
educational and advocacy work. By disseminating Few words and a lot of Action in the wider
European youth work sector, we are encouraging other youth organisations applying the same
approach. As such this strategic process aims at mainstreaming Human rights education into the
European youth work sector, in order to support the qualitative development of the European
Youth work sector.
The ultimate beneficiaries are the young people who are facing the intrusions of their Human rights
and young volunteers who can support addressing these issues. The first activity trains our trainers
to apply this new educational methodology. Activities 2 and 3 have the specific focus on encouraging
active citizenship amongst its participants. The thematic focus for activity 2 is refugees. Currently
most minor refugees coming into Europe are from the Middle-East and Central-Asia. Next to this
our Mediterranean member organisations work with refugees coming in over the sea. The
participants of activity 3 will be involved in the future training and follow-up of volunteers globally
active in Don Bosco projects. The universal HR language will help them to better communicate with
the project partners in neighbouring regions. But foremost this work plan strengthens participation
and social cohesion. By mainstreaming our renewed educational methodology we will ensure that the
quality of our non-formal work increases. On local level the participants of activity 2 often are
working together with migrants, Roma, refugees, and other vulnerable groups, and we will encourage
the participants of activity 3 to take on a similar engagement. All pax will develop competences which
have a value for the labour market. By continuing their voluntary engagement, working with a
renewed rights-based framework, they will also be able to better promote and cater for the social
rights of youth.

SROI measurement

Activity plan
As described under Social issue, the project fits into our long-term strategy of integrating the
methodology of Human rights education into our own educational methodology. Starting point for
this was an activity which is not included into the SROI measurement. In February 2015 we organised
a study session titled 'A Preventive Approach in Human rights education' at the European Youth
Centre in Strasbourg (15-20/02/2015). The purpose of this project was to collect recommendations
from our volunteer on how to integrate Human rights education into our own educational
methodology Few words and a lot of Action. These recommendations were used as basis for the
programme development of the En route-activities. The trainers could test and evaluate the
recommendations in practice. The evaluated recommendations were included in the updated
publication.
'En Route - Don Bosco Volunteers for Human rights education' it was a project consisting of 3
training activities: Pathways to Human rights education, Routes to Europe and Streetwise. The
activities in this project targeted 3 different categories of volunteers in our network. Each category
reached different target groups of young people on international, European or local level. The 3
overall objectives of the project targeted each one of the categories of volunteers:
1. Pathways to Human rights education aimed to train new trainers in delivering Human rights
education in the style of Don Bosco: after the first activity its participants will be added to our
Pool of Trainers. In this way we could replenish the Pool of Trainers with trainers bringing a new
expertise. The new trainers will be active on the future activities of DBYN annual work plan, but
as well on multilateral activities of our member organisations, on local activities of their home
organisation and have access to Pool of Trainers of other platforms (European Youth Forum,
SALTO, CoE, ...).
2. Routes to Europe aimed to train local volunteers in working with young people facing fewer
opportunities and encourage them to further develop their voluntary engagement on local and
European level within DBYN: all pax of the second activity are active in local youth work
organisations, where they work with young people facing fewer opportunities. This training
course focused on intercultural learning and human rights education, taking refugees as thematic
red line. By exploring the human rights dimension of refugees in international group, we
developed training methods and tools to work on this theme in their local organisations. This is
important as quite some of our member organisations are (getting) involved in the refugee effort.
At the same time they were introduced into European youth work and encouraged to also
pursue further engagement in this field.
3. Streetwise aimed to train volunteers returning from a voluntary service abroad to continue
their voluntary commitment in their local communities, especially focussed on safeguarding
Human rights and childrens rights of young people: the pax of the third activity all have an
experience working as volunteer with children and young people facing intrusions on their
human rights abroad. Even though this is a strong learning experience, it is difficult for them to
translate it into a new voluntary commitment in their local communities after returning. The
seminar allowed them to explore ways how to make this transfer. Most of the pax after
returning will also be involved in the selection, preparation and follow-up of new volunteers
abroad. If they have a better understanding how they are translating their experience back to
their local communities, they can also better prepare the new volunteers for when they return.
For each other these projects we developed a training manual, describing the specific objectives, the
individual training sessions and the evaluation. These can be consulted on the dedicated project
website: http://enroute-dbvolunteersforhre.weebly.com.

Social Impact Measurement

Input
The input for the project came from various funders and contributors. Mainly we earned financial
income in order to be able to execute the project. But also volunteer time was a part of the input:
Stakeholder
Participants Pathways (16)

Participants Routes (29)

Participants Streetwise (17)

Description
Participation fee
Participation fee reduced
Participation fee reduced full
Participation fee
Participation fee reduced
Participation fee reduced full
Participation fee
Participation fee reduced
Participation fee reduced full

DBYN - solidarity fund

Solidarity fund Pathways

Solidarity fund Routes
Solidarity fund Streetwise

DBYN - project fund

Project fund Pathways

Project fund Routes
Project fund Streetwise

DBYN - operational budget

Wages general secretary

Wages student worker

Trainers Pathways
Trainers Routes
Trainers Streetwise

Voluntary time contribution

Voluntary time contribution
Voluntary time contribution

Salesian Chaplain Pathways

Salesian Chaplain Routes
Salesian Chaplain Streetwise

Voluntary time contribution

Voluntary time contribution
Voluntary time contribution

Host team Pathways

Host team Routes
Host team Streetwise

Voluntary time contribution

Voluntary time contribution
Voluntary time contribution

Salesian Youth ministry UK

Salesians of Don Bosco AT
n/a

Contribution Pathways
Contribution Routes
Contribution Streetwise

European Youth Foundation

Contribution Pathways
Contribution Routes
Contribution Streetwise

Total investment

10

Unit cost
90,00
50,00
0,00
90,00
50,00
0,00
50,00
0,00
0,00

Units

14
1
1
23
2
4
13
0
4
Subtotal
130,00
1
440,00
1
200,00
1
Subtotal
1.000,00
1
1.407,23
1
1.000,00
1
Subtotal
33,65
184
12,99
440
Subtotal
12,99
240
12,99
256
12,99
176
Subtotal
12,99
64
12,99
96
12,99
144
Subtotal
n/a
n/a
12,99
288
12,99
32
Subtotal
2.000,00
1
634,86
1
n/a
n/a
Subtotal
10.578,34
1
12.477,05
1
6.240,81
1
Subtotal
Total
Total deadweight

Input
1.260,00
50,00
0,00
2.070,00
100,00
0,00
650,00
0,00
0,00
4.130,00
130,00
440,00
200,00
770,00
1.000,00
1.407,23
1.000,00
3.407,23
6.191,60
5.715,60
11.907,20
3.117,60
3.325,44
2.286,24
8.729,28
831,36
1.247,04
1.870,56
3.948,96
n/a
3.741,12
415,68
4.156,80
2.000,00
634,86
n/a
2.634,86
10.578,34
12.477,05
6.240,81
29.296,20
68.980,53
6.191,60

62.788,93

SROI measurement

Participants:
The full participation fee for Pathways and Routes was 90 - 6-day training courses -, and 50
for Streetwise a 4-day training seminar.
Participants who couldnt afford this could apply for a reduced or a fully reduced participation
fee. DBYN paid the part the participants could afford through its solidarity fund.
Don Bosco Youth Net:
- DBYN maintains an assigned fund for supporting participants who cannot afford to pay the
participation fee. These participants need to individually apply to the network for support. If the
application is approved, the network agrees with the individual participant on the percentage of
the reduction. The input is calculated on fixed amounts, based on the deficit of income of the
expected participation fees.
- DBYN balances the budget with its own financial resources from the project fund. The input is
calculated on fixed amounts.
- The project was supported by 2 staff members of the international secretariat. DBYN contracted
a student worker as project officers for this project. Next to this the general secretary
supported the development of the project as well. As the general secretary has a permanent
contract, the hours invested in this project, would also have been paid if the project didnt take
place. Therefore we consider the wages of the general secretary as deadweight for the input
calculation. As the student worker is only dedicated to this project and the contract ended after
the project, we do consider the wages as input into the project. The input is calculated on the
basis of working hours.
- The development of this SROI report took 32 working hours from the general secretary. We
are considering this as deadweight for 2 reasons. The first being again these working hours would
otherwise be spent in other work. The second being that we consider this SROI doesnt
contribute directly to the impact measured in the project itself; the impact of the report is on
DBYN as organisation.
Volunteer time calculation:
- The trainers, the Salesian Chaplain and the host team are voluntarily contributing their time to
this project. The trainers are responsible for the training programme, the Salesian chaplain for
the support of the trainers and participants and the host team for all practical issues related to
the hosting, accommodation and local transport.
- We included both the work at the preparation meetings prior to the activity, and the activities
itself. We calculated 8 hours per working day. We excluded travel days, personal preparation
time and Skype meetings. The units indicated are the sum of all counted working hours.
- The hourly wage of 12,99 is based on the wage of the student worker. This is the official
minimum wage for an educational worker in youth work in Flanders, where the legal seat of the
organisation is based.
Contributions host organisations:
- 2 of the host organisations managed to secure additional funding from local organisations. The
last host organisation offered in-kind support. We decided not to put this into a monetary value
in order to remain consistent in this category.
European Youth Foundation:
- The project received a grant from the European Youth Foundation for this project. There grant
is calculated on the basis of the expenditure for the project. The European Youth Foundation
pays 2/3 of the total expenditure, DBYN is responsible for raising the remaining 1/3.
The total investment into this project by all contributors was 62.788,93.

11

Social Impact Measurement

Stakeholder Analysis
Within this step we focus on the stakeholder who had an effect or were affected by the project. In
general we could identify nine stakeholders. Some of them are divided again in smaller groups. The
reason for a further is e. g. the structure of the network. The green marked stakeholders are
included into the analysis whereby the red highlighted ones are excluded.

Following the stakeholders are distributed within the stakeholder matrix, to see who contributed
and which parties benefit from the project.
Direct

Indirect

Contributor

Participants
Trainers
Support Staff
DBYN
Member organisations (hosts)
European Youth Foundation

Member Organisations
Experts (DB Flchtlingswerk)
Venues

Beneficiary

Participants
DBYN (Pool of Trainers)

Council of Europe
Member organisations
Experts (young refugees)

12

SROI measurement

The following table gives an overview of all stakeholders, describes their role within the project and
also gives information about their status of inclusion or exclusion.
Stakeholder

Description

Participants

61 young people from 14

different European countries

Trainers

12 trainers from 9 different

European countries

Support Staff

Chaplain for spiritual support

DBYN

General Manager and project

officer of DBYN

European Youth
Foundation /
Council of
Europe

Funder of the training course

Member
Organisations

15 sending European Youth

organisations, of which 3 hosted
an activity

Society
Migrants,
Refugees and
youth with fewer
opportunities

The general working groups of

the member organisations and
thus the focus group of the
training course

Venues

Member organisation in
Germany, that provided space
and materials

Experts

1 expert on Refugees and

Migration from Don Bosco
Flchtlingswerk Life
25 young refugees attending
playground Sale fr Alle

Included / Excluded
Included
- contributed participant fees
- direct beneficiaries as they were trained
Included
- contributed in kind (volunteer time for
training the participants)
Included
- contributed in kind (volunteer time for
management support)
Included
- contributed financial resources in the
form of wages
- benefit from increase members Pool of
Trainers
Included
- contributed financial resources
- benefit in savings in publication costs
Included
- contributed
indirect
by
sending
participants
- contributed directly through local
fundraising.
- benefit in savings in training costs and gain
new volunteers
Excluded
- for the analysis of change, recordings must
be done over years considering the fact of
better integration, savings for the
government in sectors of housing, welfare
benefits, insurances, etc.
Excluded
- Due to the fact that the training course
could have taken place somewhere else
(deadweight: 100%).
- Cannot be seen as contributor, as all the
costs (for materials, rent) occurred during
the week were covered by DBYN
Excluded
- Too little extent of contribution as only
provided
information
about
the
functionality of their working tasks
no
effect on the participants
- Impact of meeting with young refugees is
hard to as this was part of the informal
learning

13

Social Impact Measurement

Limitations of the analysis

The limitation of the analysis is not limiting the outcomes and impact, but it describes facts which
have to be measured by our member organisations and other stakeholders, as for DBYN it would be
impossible to keep track of all the changes caused by the project in each member country.
We excluded from the stakeholder analysis that the group of migrants, refugees, and youth with
fewer opportunities. The reason for not including those stakeholders is quite simply the recording of
data. To investigate which savings are done within the each country, each member organisation has
to identify the expenditure claimed for the support of their target groups (e. g. living support).
Following there is an example which shows how a member organisation can approach further
analysis.
If volunteers are going to execute projects or work face to face with their target groups they could
help them as follows:
-

Finding a job
Develop sustainability
Improve their financial situation
Giving them better orientation and hence increase the time of integration
Develop their language skills
Etc.

The above mentioned impacts are transmitted to following savings for cooperative agencies:
-

Savings in administrative and consulting costs

Economy of basic costs (insurance, living, etc.) due to new income through a job
Higher income in taxes, due to full citizenship tax payments are required
Gaining of image and increasing publicity of helping organisations

Finding indicators for the monetisation for the savings should not be that difficult, as these statistics
are standard research materials for national institutes of statistics. The difficulties are to prove if
there is an existing correlation between the impact of the activity and the savings, as well as to prove
if the savings were caused by the acting organisation.
Another example could be considering the savings of our funders, e.g. savings in publication costs.
For this it is recommended to have a personal interview, in order to find out if any savings will occur
and to which extent.
Finally, there is the outcome of the 3 evaluated trainer manuals. These are made available online. The
training manuals can be used by other trainers or organisations as resource to develop similar
projects. In other to measure the impact on the usage of the manual, the users should apply a similar
method of SROI as described in this report.

14

SROI measurement

Impact measurement
In this section we will focus on the valuing different outcomes which lead to impact.

New volunteers
Through this project, new volunteers are generated for DBYN and our member organisations. We
see it as an impact because that instead of employing a new social worker, member organisations
gains a volunteer worker, who they do not have to pay for. Consequently savings can be generated.
The following questions were answered in the final evaluation of the En route-activities, to calculate
the value.
Activity

Evaluation questions

Yes

No

10

Pathways to Human
rights education

Are you becoming a trainer purely because of this training

course?
Total new trainers
If you werent active as volunteer before this training
course, will you become one afterwards because of your
participation?
Routes to Europe
If you already were a volunteer before this training course,
will you remain one because of your participation?
Total new local volunteers
If you werent active as volunteer before this training
course, will you become one afterwards because of your
participation?
Streetwise
If you already were a volunteer before this training course,
will you remain one because of your participation?
Total new international volunteers
1 participant took part in Routes to Europe and Streetwise answering positive both time to
become active as volunteer
Total new volunteers because of En route

10
7

18

12
1

13

4
-1
25

Using the Study on Volunteering in the European Union Country Report Belgium, we could
calculate total average of voluntary working hours per week:
Calculation average new voluntary engagement in hours/week
Belgian average voluntary work per week for young people below 25
Belgian average voluntary work per week for young people between 25 & 34
Total new volunteers below 25
Total new volunteers between 25 & 34
Total new volunteer average below 25 in hours per week
Total new volunteers average between 25 & 34 in hours per week
Total new volunteers average in hours per week
Average in hours per week for the En route group

4
2
21
4
84
8
92
3,68

15

Social Impact Measurement

Taking into account that a volunteer remains active within our network for an average of 3 years, we
could calculate following impact for 1 year and 3 years:
Impact calcution
New volunteers because En route
Volunteer hours per week
Weeks
Hourly minimum wage youth work

25
3,68
52
12,99
Total value per year

62.144,16

Average engagement in years 3

Total impact new volunteers 186.432,485
Summing up, the total impact of the future voluntary engagement of participants will
generate a value of 186.432,48 over the next 3 years.

Additional income for DBYN through secure earnings of

participation fees
In addition to new volunteers, DBYN has the possibility to generate new incomes within the next
training courses. We include this in the SROI report because:
-

By generating income through participation fees we will have the opportunity to include this
amount into the project and partly reduce our expenditures concerning our funds. That means
that the saved money can be integrated in other projects or more participants can me supported.
On the other side, our total amount asked from the grant-giver or subvention-giver could be less
than usual, as participation fees are included into input. Therefore more funding will remain
available for all applicants (DBYN or organisations), enabling them to apply for more projects,
and thus executing further projects and social activities.

The activities of the En route project are part of DBYNs training structure. This training structure
consists of 3 training courses, which are organised in a consecutive way. If the participants run

The alternative to calculate this impact is to apply percentage-based reduction, based on the deadweight of the total
number of participants compared to the new volunteers. There are 25 participants of a group of 61 which decided to
become a new volunteer, or remain active as a volunteer because of their participation in the En Route project. This is
41% of the group. This means there is deadweight of 59%.
Impact calcution
New volunteers because en route
Volunteer hours per week
Weeks
Hourly minimum wage youth work
Total value per year
25 of 61 in percentage
Total impact new volunteers
Average engagement in years
Total impact new volunteers

61
3,61
52
12,99
148.605,60
% 41
60.928,30
3
182.784,89

We decide not to use this deadweight calculation as the online evaluation form allowed us to determine the correct ages of
the 25 new volunteers. Therefore our first calculation is more accurate that this deadweight calculation.

16

SROI measurement

through all the steps they can enter DBYNs Pool of Trainers. The Pool of Trainers consists of
volunteers which deliver training or facilitation on DBYNs activities.
The first step of the training structure is an international training programme on Human rights
education. The aim is to prepare the volunteers of our member organisations to be able to work in
intercultural teams within the framework of our network. Streetwise is a training seminar which is
not part of the training structure. It aims to change the focus of returning international volunteers to
become active in Europe. Hence this training seminar can motivate its participants to enter our
training structure. Routes to Europe was our STEP1 training course for 2015. This En Route
project didnt include a STEP2 training course. The 2015 edition was organised the first week of
September in Malta co-funded by the EUs Erasmus+ programme. Its thematic focus was social
entrepreneurship. Hence we do not include it into this impact study. Pathways to Human rights
education was our STEP3 training course for 2015.
In order to calculate the impact through the future commitment of trainers, coming from the En
route project we raised the question if they are now interested in completing the training structure.
The standard participation fee for each training course is 90. The participants of Streetwise can still
participants in all 3 steps, the participants of Routes to Europe in step 2 and step 3. For the
participants of Streetwise we only asked for starting the training structure (STEP1). We know from
the statistics from Routes to Europe which percentage of STEP1 participants will continue.
Therefore we are using these percentages to estimate the number of participants from Streetwise
which will take part in STEP2 and STEP 3. The participants of Pathways already went through the
training structure and will not be considered.
Value generated from new participants DBYNs training structure
0
A Future participants for STEP 1 from Routes to Europe
9
B Future participants for STEP 2 from Routes to Europe
14
C Future participants for STEP 3 from Routes to Europe
29
D
Total number participants from Routes to Europe
11
E Future participants for STEP 1 from Streetwise
3,413793
F Future participants for STEP 2 from Streetwise [(B/D)*E]
5,310345
G Future participants for STEP 3 from Streetwise [(C/D)*E]
n
pax
pax
fee
totals
Future income
990,00
Total future participants for STEP 1 from En Route
11
90
2.234,48
Total future participants for STEP 1 from En Route
12,41379
180
5.213,79
Total future participants for STEP 1 from En Route
19,31034
270
Total future income from activities

8.438,28

In 2016 we only organise STEP 1 and STEP 2, in 2017 we will organised STEP 1, STEP 2
and STEP 3. Therefore we will need to spread the expected future income over the
first and second year of the SROI. We will put the expected income of STEP 1 and
STEP 2 in the first year ( 3.224, 48) and the expected income of STEP 3 in the second
year ( 5.123,79). Therefore we can claim to expect a future income of 8.438,28
divided over 2 years.

17

Social Impact Measurement

Commitment of new trainers

We already indicated that after completing the training structure of DBYN, volunteers can become
trainers and deliver training at DBYNs activities. Pathways to Human rights education was our
STEP 3 training course. After the training course 8 participants joined DBYNs Pool of Trainers, of
which 6 already were active in the second half of the year. With 8 new trainers in a total Pool of
Trainers of 21, there is a significant impact in DBYNs core body of volunteers. The average time
trainers remain involved in our Pool of Trainers is 3 years. DBYN organises in average 6 projects in
its annual strategic work plan, where the Pool of Trainers is involved. This consists of facilitators for
our seminars and trainers for our training courses. Next to this DBYN has a system of peer review
where, trainers evaluate the training manuals develop and implemented by their peers. The following
table gives an overview of the total voluntary contribution of our Pool of Trainers in our annual
strategic work plan:
Annual value generate by DBYNs Pool of Trainers
Activity
Seminar march
Seminar october
STEP1
STEP2
STEP3
Ex-volunteer seminar
Peer review

Team
hour/day
prep.day
act.day
Total hours
members
2
8
2
2
64
2
8
2
2
64
4
8
4
6
320
4
8
4
6
320
4
8
4
6
320
4
8
2
4
192
12
8
0
1
96
Annual VTR investment Pool of Trainers in hours 1280
Hourly minimum wage youth work 12,99

Total annual value generated through our Pool of Trainers

16.627,20

To calculate the total contribution of our new trainers we need to take the annual percentage of
voluntary time contribution multiplied by 3 years:
Value generated by voluntary time contribution of new trainers
A
B
C

Total members of DBYNs Pool of Trainers

Total new members of DBYNs Pool of Trainers
Total annual value generated through our Pool of Trainers

Total annual value generated through our new trainers [(B/A)*C)]

21
8
16.627,20
6.334,17

Average involvement in years Pool of Trainers 3

Total value generated through En route Activity 1
19.002,51
In total we expect future generated value of 19.002,51 for the next 3 years, or
6.334,17. This value is generated by the voluntary commitment of the new trainers
which entered DBYNs Pool of Trainers as result of the Pathways to Human rights
education training course.

18

SROI measurement

Commitment of potential trainers

Next to this we need to take into account the potential future trainers, which entered DBYNs
training structure through the En route-project.
Value generated by voluntary time contribution of new trainers in 2018
A
B
C
D
E
F

Total participants DBYNs STEP3 in 2017 from Streetwise and Routes to

Europe6
Percentage DBYNs Pool of Trainers new trainers vs. old members7
Total new trainers active in Pool of Trainers in 2018 from Streetwise and
Routes to Europe [A*B]
Percentage new trainers active in Pool of Trainers 2018 from Streetwise and
Routes to Europe compared with the full Pool of Trainers. [C*B]
Total annual value generated through our Pool of Trainers8
Total value generated by new trainers active in Pool of Trainers from
Streetwise and Routes to Europe in 2018 [D*E]

Total value generated through En route - Activity 2 & 3

19,31034483
0,380952381
7,356321839
0,35030104
16.627,20
5.824,53
5.824,53

In total we expect future generated value of 5.824,53. This value will be generated by
the voluntary commitment of the new trainers which entered DBYNs Pool of Trainers
as result of the Routes to Europe training course and Streetwise training seminar
after completing all steps of our training structure in 2018.

Impact at a glance
Summed up we are able to generate the following impact:
Impact at a glance
New volunteers
Additional income
Commitment of new trainers
Commitment of potential trainers
Total impact

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Totals

62.144,16
3.224,48
6.334,17
0,00

62.144,16
5.213,79
6.334,17
0,00

62.144,16
0,00
6.334,17
5.824,53

71.702,81

73.692,12

74.302,86 219.697,80

186.432,48
8.438,28
19.002,51
5.824,53

Cf. Pg. 17: Total future participants for STEP 1 from En Route from table Value generated from new
participants DBYNs training structure.
7
Cf. Pg. 18: Total new members of DBYNs Pool of Trainers divided by Total members of DBYNs Pool of
Trainers from table Value generated by voluntary time contribution of new trainers.
8
Cf. Pg 18: Total annual value generated through our Pool of Trainers from table Annual value generate by
DBYNs Pool of Trainers.

19

Social Impact Measurement

SROI calculation
For calculating the Social Return on Investment we need to divide the current net value of our
impact through the total investment. In order to calculate the current net value of our impact, we
need to apply a discount factor on the total value generated through the project. The discount
factor enables to transform the future value of the money to a previous time period, which in our
case is the year in which the training course took place. In order to calculate the discount factor we
need to apply following formula:

 =
df
i
t

1
(1 + )

discount factor
discount rate
year

For determining the discount rate, we take the standard interest, which is generated by a long-term
account with a fixed interest for 3 years (the time of the impact measurement). The current
standard interest for such an account with the bank of Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw 0,30. As a result
we can calculate the discount factor as follows:
Calculation discount factor
Interest rate
Discount rate (= i)
Discount rate year (= t)
Discount factors

0,3
0,003
0
1

dF = 1/(1+i)^t
Year 1
0,997008973

Year 2
0,994026892

Year 3
0,991053731

If we then apply the discount factor on the total value of the impact of the project we come to
following total of the current net value:
Calculation total net present value
Year 1
Total return
Discount factor
Net present value

71.702,81
0,997008973
71.488,35

Year 2

Year 3

73.692,12
0,994026892
73.251,95

74.302,86
0,991053731
73.638,12

Total net present value of En Route

218.378,43

After calculating the Net Present Value (NPV) we can use the formula which was given for the SROI
calculation to see which value the training course generated per every invested Euro.
  =

218.378,43
= 3,48
62.788,93

A SROI of 3.48 was calculated. That means that per each invested euro there is social
return of 3,48.

20

SROI measurement

Sensitivity analysis
Following alternatives where proved within the sensitivity analysis:
-

No new volunteers
No new trainers
No impact generated

Alternative 1: no new volunteers

In this case we assume that the training course didnt encourage any volunteers to be active within
their sending organisations, which leads to the following SROI:
No new volunteers
Impact at a glance
New volunteers
Additional income
Commitment of new trainers
Commitment of potential trainers
Total impact
discount factor
net present value

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Totals

0,00
3.224,48
6.334,17
0,00
9.558,65
0,997008973
9.530,06

0,00
5.213,79
6.334,17
0,00
11.547,96
0,994026892
11.478,99

0,00
0,00
6.334,17
5.824,53
12.158,70
0,991053731
12.049,92

0,00
8.438,28
19.002,51
5.824,53
33.265,32

SROI

0,53

33.058,97

As the SROI is below one, it means that we are losing 0,47 per each euro we invest into the
training course. Compared to the SROI which was calculated in the chapter before, we see that the
encouragement of new volunteers is of high importance. New volunteers in that case are
contributing about 85 % to the return.

Alternative 2: no new trainers after the training course

No new trainers in Pool of Trainers
Impact at a glance
New volunteers
Additional income
Commitment of new trainers
Commitment of Potential trainers
Total impact
discount factor
net present value

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Totals

62.144,16
0,00
0,00
0,00
62.144,16
0,997008973
61.958,29

62.144,16
0,00
0,00
0,00
62.144,16
0,994026892
61.772,97

62.144,16
0,00
0,00
0,00
62.144,16
0,991053731
61.588,20

186.432,48
0,00
0,00
0,00
186.432,48

SROI

2,95

185.319,45

Not having new trainers after the En route-project would mean that none participant of our STEP 3
Pathways to Human rights education would join our Pool of Trainers (failing of training programme,
not correct profile of participants ...), as well as none of the participants of Routes to Europe and
Streetwise were satisfied with the activities, and thus wont participate in the follow up trainings. As

21

Social Impact Measurement

a result there is not voluntary time contribution made by our new trainers. It could also lead to the
decreased income which is generated through participation fees.
Still we would gain the additional financial sources by addressing other participants. But on the other
side we have to consider, that it means that the income source is not secure anymore and we would
most probably need more time to encourage other volunteers to participate in STEP 2 and STEP 3
training courses of DBYN.
In general the influence on the SROI by commit new trainers is about only 15 %, which is why the
SROI of this alternative is still considerably higher than 1 and means that we would still benefit from
the training course.

Alternative 3: no impact generated

No impact
Impact at a glance
New volunteers
Additional income
Commitment of new trainers
Commitment of Potential trainers
Total impact
discount factor
net present value

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Totals

0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,997008973
0,00

0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,994026892
0,00

0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,991053731
0,00

0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00

SROI

0,00

If the activity would not cause any impact we would have a SROI of 0. A SROI of 0 is not a bad sign,
as of course we do not have a return, but it is better than having a negative result, which would
mean that the training course would have a bad influence on our target groups.

22

Conclusion

Conclusion
We calculated that for each euro invested in this project there is a social return of 3.48. If we
would only follow an economic rationale, we can state that the investors in this project can be happy
with the final result. There is a return of almost 350% on their investment. But this is a social return
on investment, so what does this actually mean?
Don Bosco Youth-Net is a faith-based organisation which aims to create an impact on society,
making local communities more inclusive and receptive to young people facing fewer opportunities.
Our model of change to achieve this is to educate young people to become actively involved as
citizens to shape their local communities. We are happy to see that this is exactly the result of the
En route project:
85% of the return of investment for this project refers to young people which are becoming or
increasing their voluntary commitment in their local communities. As such they will active as
volunteers in local youth work, over 4.782 hours per year. By choosing the thematic focus on
migration and refugees we have encouraged them to take on the challenge to engage in the European
refugee effort, trying to cater for young refugees in local communities or advocate for their rights. At
the time of this report we can already report the effect. As a result of the En route project DBYN
has applied for a follow-up project, purely dedicated to the refugee issue. Please consult
www.donbosco4refugees.net for more information. Apart from doing these projects, we are actively
integrating refugees into our projects as participants, as experts and host team members.
The remaining 15% of the return of investment refers is invested in the sustainability of our network.
It includes the future income of participation fees for follow-up projects, which is necessary to
remain a healthy financial basis for DBYN. It includes as well the future investment of our trainers
into the network. DBYN invest in the training of volunteers, but the training itself is delivered by
volunteers as well. As such we remain a youth organisations: it young volunteers are which training
their peers. It also works in the other direction. Our trainers can develop professional competences
in training and experience in human rights education, which strengthen their employability and equips
them as well to take on leadership in shaping society as active citizens.
As such we claim to reinvest the social return on investment to transform our Don Bosco
volunteers for Human rights education to active citizens who promote and protect Human rights in
Europe.

23

International network
represented in
15 European countries

www.donboscoyouth.net
w.donboscoyouth.net

Austria

Malta

Austria

Poland

Belgium

Slovakia

Czech Republic

Slovenia

Germany

Spain

Italy

The Netherlands

Italy

Ukraine

Ireland

United Kingdom

Montenegro

... and still growing !

Mission statement DBYN

We, the partners of Don Bosco Youth-Net,
Youth Net, wish to contribute to the total development of all young people by bringing
them together through various international activities. We hereby look to broaden the opportunities
opportunities for these young
people who are, through various reasons, excluded. By concrete activities of co-operation,
co operation, we wish to be a living example
of tolerance and mutual understanding.
Through our own Salesian identity, we aim to keep the heritage of Don
Don Bosco alive and look to offer a youthful voice in
the Europe of today. By doing this, we want to make a real difference in the lives of all young people, especially for those
most in need.