Abstract
The paper presents the results of a research project the principal aim of which has been to elaborate and test a measurement tool for non-profit organisations (NPOs) called SAVE (Social Added Value Evaluation) operating in the welfare area (social and health services). The basic idea is to select a sample of 12 NPOs (six organisations of volunteers and six social cooperatives) dealing with services for disabled people, elderly, physical impaired, mental illness, youth, families with problems, etc., and to carry out an in-depth sociological analysis, using the case study model of social and organisational inquiry. NPOs are regarded as special organisations because they have a triple bottom line: an economic one, a social one (volunteers, workers, users, clients, etc.) and an environmental one (local community), reflecting their various stakeholders. Our hypothesis is that NPOs are characterized by two main features: the capacity to produce relational goods and their ability in generating social capital in the community.
We will never find a purpose for our nation nor for our personal satisfaction in the mere search for economic well-being, in endlessly amassing terrestrial goods.
We cannot measure the national spirit on the basis of the Dow-Jones, nor can we measure the achievements of our country on the basis of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.
It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programmes which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials.
It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.
It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”
Speech by Robert Kennedy, 18 March 1968, University of Kansas.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The definition of relational good is adopted from the Italian sociologist Pierpaolo Donati, and it has been developed in a scientific research program of more than 30 years. It refers to a good or service that holds the following characteristics: (a) it is a good where the production, distribution and consuming require the involvement of both the producer and the user; (b) it is a good that can be enjoyed only by and through the social relation; (c) the quality of the good is embedded in the social relation. The relational good differs both from the public and the private goods. See: Donati P. (a cura di) 1996, pp. 37–39.
- 2.
On the concept of social capital there is nowadays a wide bibliography. For a review of the principal approaches and an original version of the concept see Donati 2007; Donati and Tronca 2008; Colozzi 2005. These are some of the main definitions around which the scientific debate did develop.
Pierre Bourdieu (1980, 1986): “[social capital is] the sum of resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.”
James Coleman (1988, 1990): “Social capital is defined by its function. It is not a single entity, but a variety of different entities having two characteristics in common: They all consist of some aspect of social structure, and they facilitate certain actions of individuals who are within the structure. Like other forms of capital, social capital is productive, making possible the achievement of certain ends that would not be attainable in its absence.”
Robert Putnam (1993, 1995, 1995a): “social capital … refers to features of social organisation, such as trust, norms, and networks, that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions.”
References
Barman, E. (2007). What is the bottom line for nonprofit organization? A history of measurement in the British Voluntary Sector. In Voluntas, no. 2/2007, London.
Bassi, A., & Colozzi, I. (2009). Leaders of nonprofit (third sector) organizations in Italy: Cultures of three types of organizations. International Leadership Journal, 1(3/4), Spring/Summer 2009.
Bassi, A. (2010). La mosaïque coopérative. Stratégies de réseaux de la coopération sociale à ravenne, in Xabier Itcaina (sous la direction de), La politique du lien, Les nouvelles dynamiques territoriales de l’économie sociale et solidaire, aux Presse Universitaire de Rennes, pp. 109–126.
Bassi, A. (2011). The social added value of third sector organizations. EMES conferences selected papers series. ECSP-R11–28. http://www.emes.net/index.php?id=538.
Bassi, A. (2012). Another brick in the wall. Housing policy as a means to social integration: the role of nonprofit organizations. A case study in the municipality of Ravenna-Italy, in Juan-Luis Klein (sous la direction de), Pour une nouvelle mondialisation: le défi d’innover, Presses de l’Université du Québec (Social Innovation Séries), Montréal, Canada.
Bertin, G., Sonda, G., & Palutan, C. (2008). Definire e valutare la qualità nelle imprese sociali. Percorso metodologico e strumenti di analisi, Quaderni di RESTORE no. 6, Trento, 2008.
Bourdieu, P. (1980). Le Capital Social: note provisoires. In Acte de la recherche en sciences sociales, no. 3.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood Press.
Coleman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.
Coleman, J. (1990). Foundation of social theory. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Colozzi, I. (2005). Cosa sono i beni relazionali: un confronto fra approcci economici e approccio sociologico. Sociologia, 2, 13–20.
Colozzi, I. (2006). Terzo settore e valutazione di qualità. Misurare la produzione di beni relazionali. Lavoro Sociale, 6(3), 411–419.
Colozzi, I., & Bassi, A. (2003). Da terzo settore a imprese sociali. Carocci Faber: Introduzione all’analisi delle organizzazioni non profit.
Donati, P. (1996). Che cos’è il terzo settore: cultura, normatività, organizzazione, ruolo societario. In P. Donati (Ed.), Sociologia del Terzo settore. Roma: NIS-La Nuova Italia Scientifica.
Donati, P. (1997). L’analisi sociologica del terzo settore: introdurre la distinzione relazionale terzo settore/privato sociale. In G. Rossi (Ed.), Terzo settore, stato e mercato nella trasformazione delle politiche sociali in Europa. Milano: Franco Angeli.
Donati, P. (2007). L’approccio relazionale al capitale sociale. In P. Donati (Ed.), Il capitale sociale. L’approccio relazionale, numero monografico della rivista “Sociologia e Politiche Sociali” (10th ed., Vol. 1). Milano: Franco Angeli.
Donati, P. (2008). Introduzione. Il capitale sociale come qualità della società civile. In P. Donati & L. Tronca (Eds.), Il capitale sociale degli italiani. Milano: Franco Angeli.
Durkheim, E. (1911). Giudizi di valore e giudizi di realtà. In E. Durkheim, Sociologia e Filosofia (a cura di) Bouclé C. (1924).
Enciclopedia dell’Economia (2001). Milano: Garzanti.
Godbout, J. T. (1992). L’Esprit du don. Paris: Edition La Découverte.
Hertz, N. (2002). The silent takeover. Global capitalism and the death of democracy. London: Arrow.
Hertz, N. (2006). I.O.U. The debt threat and why we must defuse it. London: Harper Perennial.
Kendall, J., & Knapp, M. (2000). Measuring the performance of voluntary organizations. Public Management Review, 2(1), 105–132.
Klein, N. (2007). The shock doctrine: The rise of disaster capitalism. New York: Picador.
Latouche, S. (2004). Survivre au développement. De la décolonisation de l’imaginaire économique à la construction d’une société alternative, Vol. II Petit traité de la décroissance sereine, Editions Mille et une Nuits, Paris.
Mulgan, G. (2010). Measuring social value. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 8(3), 38–43.
Nef-New Economic Foundation. (2009). A bit rich: Calculating the real value to society of different professions, Nef, London.
Nyssens, M. (Ed.). (2006). Social enterprise – At the crossroads of market public policies and civil society. London/New York: Routledge.
Patel, R. (2009). The value of nothing. How to reshape market society and redefine democracy. London: Portobello.
Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. New York: Free Press.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. How to reinvent capitalism and unleash a wave of innovation and growth. Harvard Business Review, January–February 2011, 89, 2–17.
Putnam, R. (1993). Making democracy work. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Trad. It., La tradizione civica nelle regioni Italiane, Mondadori, Milano.
Putnam, R. (1993a). The Prosperous community: Social capital and public life. The American Prospect, 4(13), 1–11.
Putnam, R. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6, 65–78.
Putnam, R. (1995a). The strange disappearance of civic America. The American Prospect, 28(4), 664–683.
Rey Garcia, M. (2008). Evaluating the organizational performance and social impact of third sector organizations: A new functional realm of nonprofit marketing. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference of ISTR (Working Papers Volume. www.istr.org).
Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J.-P. (2009). Report by the commission on the measurement of economic performance and social progress, Paris.
Weber, M. (1995). Economia e Società (Vol. I). Milano: Edizioni di Comunità.
Westall, A. (2009). Value and the third sector. Working paper on ideas for future research. Third Sector Research Centre, Working paper 25.
Zingarelli, N. (2012). lo Zingarelli 2012, Vocabolario della lingua italiana. Bologna: Zanichelli.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bassi, A. (2012). How to Measure the Intangibles? Towards a System of Indicators (S.A.V.E.) for the Measurement of the Performance of Social Enterprises. In: Franz, HW., Hochgerner, J., Howaldt, J. (eds) Challenge Social Innovation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32879-4_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32879-4_20
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-32878-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-32879-4
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)