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Methodology & Evidence

Where every number actually comes from.

My Impact uses the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework, accredited Social Value Engine proxies, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to convert everyday acts of contribution into a defensible monetary figure. This page explains how, in plain English at the top, with the technical detail beneath.

About My Impact →

In plain English

The four-line version, before the detail.

  1. We use published proxy research and the Social Value Engine. Activity values are estimates sourced from external research; the separate £15/hour personal-growth assumption is illustrative, not a published NCVO rate.
  2. Each activity is tagged to one UN SDG. One activity, one Goal, no double counting across Goals.
  3. We add four pillars. Activity impact, time at the National Living Wage, donations, and a personal-growth premium. We always show the breakdown so funders can see what's claimed.
  4. Today, contributions are self-reported. Org-side hours verification is on the roadmap and will give every record a verified status.

The technical detail

For funders, partners, and journalists.

Evidence pack

One PDF with every reference your team needs.

The evidence pack bundles the methodology summary, the four formulas, field-evidence quotes from our pilot trials, advisory group bios, and the full citations list, formatted for funder, partner, and journalist reading.

Pack contents

•Plain-English methodology summary
•Four-pillar formulas with worked examples
•Field-evidence quotes from pilot users
•Advisory group, chaired by David Emerson CBE
•Full citations list with sources and years

Citations

Sources and verification notes.

  1. Social Value Engine — social value measurement platform.
  2. HM Treasury, The Green Book: appraisal and evaluation in central government (publication page; current and previous editions).
  3. Social Value International, Principles of Social Value.
  4. GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates; £12.21/hour for ages 21+ in 2025/26.
  5. HMRC, rates and allowances: Landfill Tax (standard rate £126.15/tonne from April 2025).
  6. Greater Manchester Combined Authority, cost-benefit analysis and Unit Cost Database (downloadable workbook; current version published November 2025). Activity proxies may cite an earlier edition; the linked page hosts the latest workbook and methodology.
  7. PSSRU, Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2022: A Manual (Kent Academic Repository, DOI 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.100519). Cited for informal-carer replacement costs.
  8. Sport England, Social value and return on investment of sport and physical activity (model and Active Lives data; results first published 2024). Cited for physical-activity and children's wellbeing proxies.
  9. NCVO, Time Well Spent 2023: Volunteer experience and impact, section 5 (27 June 2023). Describes reported benefits, not the £15/hour personal-growth rate used in our illustrative calculation.
  10. Volunteer Scotland and State of Life, The social value of volunteering in Scotland — Technical Report (2025, PDF). Cited for volunteer wellbeing proxies.
  11. FareShare, Impact Report (September 2023, PDF). The activity-library £185/visit figure attributed to a 2018 report is not verified by this later report.
  12. The Wildlife Trusts, Network for Nature Annual Report Year 1 (May 2022, PDF). The activity-library attribution says 2025; the publisher's Year 1 report is dated 2022. The £9.50/hour proxy has not been verified against this report.
  13. Pro Bono Economics, Our assets, our future: the economics, outcomes and sustainability of assets in community ownership (2017, via Power to Change project page). The activity-library £5,176/person attribution has not been verified against this report.
  14. Action for Children, impact and evaluation overview. The cited Wheatley Children's Centre evaluation (2023) and £3,159/child proxy could not be located publicly; this overview is not that evaluation.
  15. NEF Consulting for Refuge, Social Return on Investment: updated SROI model (16 March 2021, PDF). The activity library attributes its social-connection proxy to this model; the £8,040/person figure has not been verified against the report.
  16. United Nations, The 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Last updated: 24 September 2026