The Social Return on Investment (SROI) of the Our Khung BangKachao (OKBK) project.

Abstract

The "OUR Khung Bang Kachao" project, also known as OKBK, operated under the collaboration with over 34 network partners across a project area of 1,276 acres. Its primary focus was on conserving and developing the Bang Kachao area towards environmentally friendly growth (Green Growth) by driving development across various dimensions of the Bang Kachao area through capacity-building mechanisms and community empowerment. Implemented over a span of four years, from 2019 to 2023, the project utilized Social Return on Investment (SROI) as a tool to communicate operational outcomes and societal impacts to stakeholders and project managers.
Through an Ex-post Evaluation conducted for the period of 2019-2023, it was found that the project generated a Net Present Value (NPV) of societal impacts amounting to 321,664.33 THB. with an SROI index of 1.03 in the base year of 2019. Furthermore, when assessing the Ecosystem Service benefits of the Bang Kachao green area, the project demonstrated an increased societal impact, presenting an NPV of 3,808,574.02 THB with an SROI index of 1.30 in 2019. When forecasting Exante societal impacts for the next five years using only 10% of the 2022 project budget, it yielded an NPV of 11,979,886.61 THB with an SROI index of 1.82.
The evaluations indicate that the OUR Khung Bang Kachao project during 2019-2023 has been an economically viable investment. Furthermore, considering the Ecosystem Service benefits, the project will continue to yield increased societal returns. Additionally, even in the event of project cessation, it underscores the project's sustainability by still providing considerable societal benefits.