The ACE Aotearoa network is a significant contributor to the achievement of social capital – the ‘glue’ that holds societies together. Social capital and social wellbeing are inextricably linked to keeping our societies strong and well-functioning. Each day the sector delivers that glue, making a difference to the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of New Zealanders as well as to our wider communities.

The OECD defines social capital as “networks, together with shared norms, values and understandings which facilitate cooperation within or among groups”, with higher levels of social capital associated with better outcomes in health, education, employment and civic engagement. Social capital is inclusive of culture and cultural practices and sits alongside three other forms of capital:

• Natural capital = environmental stocks and systems that generate benefits for people, including ecosystem services, raw materials, and a stable climate
• Human capital = the health and skills of the population
• Economic capital = financial goods, physical infrastructure and technology.

While we can define social capital and we can be clear about the contribution it makes to human capital (the health and skills of our community), what is harder to define and measure is the contribution this work makes to economic capital.

During 2023 Eastbay REAP undertook Social Return on Investment research with ImpactLab to better define the difference made by their learnercentric approach. ImpactLab uses GoodMeasure methodology to support organisations to understand their social value and empower them to further understand their data, people and impact stories. The GoodMeasure methodology draws on publicly available data, academic research and an organisation’s own data to estimate social value and a social return on investment.

Eastbay REAP is one of 13 REAPs throughout the country that provide, supplement and complement lifelong learning opportunities. Eastbay REAP works across the Eastern Bay of Plenty from Ruatāhuna, to Matatā, to Cape Runaway. In the ACE context, the REAP provides a suite of learning and support services, including digital/computing, budgeting, parenting, te reo māori me ōna tikanga, employability, pathway planning, sustainability, and driver licensing. The aim is to increase learner engagement, foundation skills, confidence, future pathways and social cohesion in rural communities.

CEO of Eastbay REAP Dr Ryan Morrison says they embarked on the ImpactLab piece of work to fulfil their ongoing commitment to “checking themselves”.

“As an organisation we are constantly checking ourselves around the real good we are delivering. We have always taken a very proactive approach to ensure we are making a difference. We wanted to engage with an external party to provide some critical reflection around our data and reporting to communities. Performance reporting is incredibly important, and we have always tended to be ahead of the curve in terms of telling that particular story.”

Ryan says their strategic plan is very clear in relation to purpose, priorities and outcomes. “We see education as the fundamental human right that unlocks all others. But we needed ways to effectively measure our results. That’s where ImpactLab and the GoodMeasure methodology were able to help demonstrate the value we add. Their measurement clearly shows the proven gap between what might have happened and what actually did happen with the intervention of ACE learning opportunities. The intervention demonstrates that doing things in a targeted way helped achieve a suite of definable outcomes.”

ImpactLab has expressed a series of GoodMeasure outcomes that directly contribute to social value calculations. These include an improvement in mental health, an increase in academic achievement, employment and driver licensing, and a reduction in the need for the emergency benefit. Additional outcomes that were not included in the return on investment calculations (and so are additional benefit on top of the published amounts) include an increase in self-esteem, confidence, sense of belonging and personal skill set.

Using these criteria, results in 2023 showed that the Eastbay REAP’s tailored learner-centric approach returned $4.90 for every $1.00 spent – that’s more than $3m of social return in just one year of ACE delivery, reaching far above the national average.

Specifically, Eastbay REAP’s ACE Learning Support Services delivered $3,270,382 of measurable good to society in New Zealand during 2023. Ryan says that this result is a conservative output. “The ImpactLab work is still in the early phases of development and the measurement analysis does not include aspects such as social cohesion and confidence, which are proven dimensions that were not able to be measured.

“Further, the results don’t take account of the intergenerational connection, which is core to the lifelong learning model of all REAPs. We know that when we get it right for adults, we help break the cycle for future generations. Our next phase will include a measure of the impact on early childhood and the “knock on” effect of working with the children of our ACE learners during the first 2,000 days of their lives.”