Social Ventures Australia: The other side of the (professional services) coin The SouRCe chats with SVA Consultant and MBS alumnus Dan Code to learn more about this unique social purpose organisation. As society evolves, the problems we face become increasingly complex. Several social ventures have emerged to solve social problems, such as disadvantages in education and housing, but not all of these ventures will be equipped to drive sustainable change. The social sector often requires specialised services that generalist professional services firms don’t offer. Individual consultants who do have these specialisations are rare or do not have enough practical business experience. Social Ventures Australia is determined to fill the gap in professional services by offering support that will scale social impact and help social enterprises be more effective in working towards change. Social enterprises often fail when they become boxed in by ‘not-for-profit’ and ‘for-profit’ definitions. SVA foregoes this distinction and provides social enterprises the ‘for-profit’ services they need to reach their objectives. To maximise impact, SVA is keeping its focus on Australia to leverage local expertise. SVA offers three core services: Impact Investing, Venture Philanthropy and Consulting. Each team shares SVA’s unique strengths: deep sector understanding, extensive experience and strong technical skills. Most of SVA’s associates come from top tier firms in their respective industries. Knowledge is shared across all three teams: on the different social enterprises, on the overall sectors that SVA’s clients are in, and on the work
that happens across SVA. Knowledgesharing particularly differentiates the Consulting team, as few other advisory firms have this advantage.
established partnership with SVA: MBA interns deliver on short-term projects, and a growing number of alumni are joining the team.
Maximising social returns
Find out more about SVA at http://www.socialventures.com.au/
SVA is uniquely placed to have a broad view of the social sector and how systems work. As a neutral observer, SVA can identify what would push key players – enterprises, funders, beneficiaries, government – to work towards overall sector change. Potential consulting projects are given an Impact Score, the predicted change that will result from that piece of work. SVA aims for systems change, and provides their support to the organisations that can fuel this. As a not-for-profit itself, SVA’s goal isn’t to find the highest-paying clients, but to find partners that they can collaborate with. SVA also helps enterprises quantify the value they are creating by measuring Social Return on Investment. Putting a tangible number to the work that social enterprises do helps external stakeholders recognise their value and enables these enterprises to continue their innovative solutions.
A passion for purpose Culture fit is key to SVA’s talented roster: new candidates are assessed on their reasons for being at SVA and passion for the impact they can make. Personal reflection and sharing of experiences is encouraged – a critical way for teams to capture their learning. Living the SVA values of accountability, integrity, respect and humility is also emphasised. If you’re interested in making an impact, Melbourne Business School has a well-
Learn more about SROI at http://www.socialventures.com.au/ advice/sroi-training/
SVA Quarterly Snapshot Here’s the latest from SVA, as taken from the SVA Quarterly website (http://www.socialventures.com.au/ sva-quarterly/). The value of a peer operated service Insights from SVA’s analysis of peeroperated mental health services, which reveals why this approach is so valuable to those accessing the service and the local mental health system. Social procurement success: what it takes Vanguard Laundry Services, the most recent social enterprise created by Luke Terry in Toowoomba, exemplifies how to benefit from social procurement opportunities. The hidden business of social enterprises Having a social purpose does not exempt an enterprise from the essentials of business; even if it’s hard to see you must have a sound business engine at the core. If focus is so good for not-forprofits, why do so few do it? Is your organisation focused? If not, what’s getting in the way? Discover the three common obstacles to focus and how to overcome them.
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