Measuring What Truly Matters: How Routes to Work’s Social Value Framework Can Transform How Employability Measures Can Be Measured In Scotland

In Scotland’s evolving third sector landscape, the conversation around social value and social impact is no longer optional — it is essential. As policymakers and funders strive to deliver more inclusive and sustainable outcomes, understanding the true impact of third sector interventions is key.

Yet one persistent challenge remains: how to measure social impact in Scotland when so much of it takes the form of softer but equally transformative outcomes — improved confidence, enhanced mental wellbeing, greater financial security, and renewed purpose.

This is where Routes to Work LTD (RTW) has set a new benchmark. Our innovative Social Value Evaluation Framework — “Routes to Impact” — offers a pioneering model for capturing and valuing the intangible outcomes that traditional performance measures often overlook.

From Jobs Delivered to Lives Transformed

For decades, employability success has been measured through the lens of hard outcomes. But Scotland’s social and economic challenges — from health inequalities to persistent barriers in deprived communities — require a more holistic understanding of what “success” really means.

As outlined by Social Value UK, social value encompasses the “wider social, environmental and economic changes created by what we do.” In practice, that means recognising the ripple effect of interventions that boost wellbeing, strengthen confidence, and foster community belonging.

RTW’s Routes to Impact framework is a response to this shift. Developed through an Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of the

West of Scotland and Routes to Work, it quantifies not just employment and sustainable outcomes, but the personal and community transformation that precedes them and the ongoing impact on the client, their families, the community and the public purse.

By assigning measurable value to soft outcomes — such as confidence, resilience, and financial stability — RTW can now demonstrate a social return on investment (SROI) of £7.34 for every £1 invested. This figure is not merely statistical; it represents a deeper understanding of how to measure social impact in Scotland in ways that reflect the human stories behind the data whilst providing a figure displaying the value of our interventions. You can read our full social value report with our assured SROI figure here.

Final-Social-Value-Report-RTW.pdf

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Why This Matters for Policy Makers and Funders

Scotland’s commitment to community wealth building and inclusive growth depends on recognising and investing in interventions that truly change lives. But without a consistent way to measure soft outcomes, many impactful programmes remain solely focused on hard outcomes.

The Routes to Impact framework changes that by providing:

1. A credible evidence base — Grounded in the 8 principles of Social Value UK and Better Evaluation’s Social Return on Investment approach, it offers a transparent, validated methodology for evidencing social impact beyond financial metrics.

2. A language that bridges human outcomes and fiscal accountability — By translating soft outcomes into quantifiable social and economic value, the framework aligns with how funders and policymakers evaluate investment, allowing “confidence gained” or “wellbeing improved” to be expressed in monetary terms without losing their human meaning.

3. A model for smarter commissioning — Routes to Impact can demonstrate which services deliver the highest social return, ensuring public and charitable resources are allocated where they achieve the greatest total impact.

Embedding Soft Outcomes into Scotland’s Impact Narrative

The Scottish Government’s focus on wellbeing economy principles, the National Performance Framework, and social value all point to a policy environment that values social impact alongside economic growth. Yet translating that ambition into measurable practice remains a challenge across the third sector.

RTW’s Routes to Impact directly supports these national ambitions by creating an evidence based social value structured mechanism:

● Quantify wellbeing improvements in ways that align with Sustainable Development Goals.

● Evidence local community impact for city region deals, employability pipelines, and third sector funding models.

● Embed data-driven storytelling that captures both the human and financial case for investment.

By integrating social value frameworks like Routes to Impact, we can ensure that positive social impact via employability interventions are showcased with important intangible successes such as improved confidence and greater motivation to achieve goals are considered and not just job attainment and sustainment.

Shaping the Future of Social Value and Social Impact Measurement

The Scottish third sector stands at a turning point. As funding landscapes evolve and public accountability expectations rise, the ability to evidence why and how interventions create value can define success in a different but meaningful way.

Routes to Impact demonstrates that measuring soft outcomes is not only possible — it can play an important role in showcasing positive soft outcomes, informed policymaking and effective funding based on the results that are found.

For policymakers, it offers a data-driven yet human-centred approach to understanding what works.

For funders, it provides confidence that investment generates genuine, lasting impact.

For third sector partners, it sets a benchmark for transparency, learning, and continuous improvement.

Scotland has long led the way in social innovation and community empowerment. By embracing frameworks like Routes to Impact, we can ensure that maximum social impact can be delivered and social value is always at the heart of supporting communities, such as in North Lanarkshire.

Join Us in Creating Measurable Change

If you share our belief that the future of employability in Scotland should be measured not just in tangible terms and that social value should be at the heart…

Visit our dedicated Routes to Impact webpage and sign up for our newsletter to receive news and insights from Routes to Work, including how we are shaping how to measure social value through the lens of employability.

You can also read through our latest annual reports where you can see our clients talk about the social impact that Routes to Work interventions has had on them.