Comments on: Talking social returns at Skoll http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/ Blueprints For Change Mon, 12 May 2008 05:35:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: and conference center http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-9942 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 04:21:05 +0000 http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-9942 Q&#38;A: party funding What are the regulations around party donations? <a href="http://eteamz.active.com/personalloan/files/and-conference-center.html" title="and conference center" rel="nofollow">and conference center</a> are obliged to disclose donations of <a href="http://eteamz.active.com/personalloan/files/and-conference-center.html" title="and conference center" rel="nofollow">and conference center</a> than £5,000. Donations of more than £1,000 made to local party or constituency offices must also be disclosed. Parties are bound to spend no more than £20m on general election campaigning. Q&A: party funding
What are the regulations around party donations? and conference center are obliged to disclose donations of and conference center than £5,000. Donations of more than £1,000 made to local party or constituency offices must also be disclosed. Parties are bound to spend no more than £20m on general election campaigning.

]]> by: Jacqueline http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-156 Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:13:02 +0000 http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-156 Hi Ruth, First, greetings to you (so good to hear from you!) From my recollection Sir Cohen gave examples neither of social return nor scale. This is part of the problem - we want measures but are still far from understanding which ones convey the most important information. Regarding your $1 poverty line indicator, I agree that this isn't necessarily a strong metric. I am very concerned by the widening gap between rich and poor; one thing we know is that the relative difference between economic groups is much more important than the absolute level of poverty at the bottom. We know who we are in large part by who our neighbors are. In short, I believe we are a long way from specific measures - especially those that claim to be free of real bias. I believe the <a href="http://www.socialedge.org/worldforum.html" target="_blank">Skoll website</a> has video highlights from the conference, if you are interested in hearing remarks by Sir Cohen or other speakers. Hi Ruth,
First, greetings to you (so good to hear from you!) From my recollection Sir Cohen gave examples neither of social return nor scale. This is part of the problem - we want measures but are still far from understanding which ones convey the most important information. Regarding your $1 poverty line indicator, I agree that this isn’t necessarily a strong metric. I am very concerned by the widening gap between rich and poor; one thing we know is that the relative difference between economic groups is much more important than the absolute level of poverty at the bottom. We know who we are in large part by who our neighbors are. In short, I believe we are a long way from specific measures - especially those that claim to be free of real bias.

I believe the Skoll website has video highlights from the conference, if you are interested in hearing remarks by Sir Cohen or other speakers.

]]> by: Ruth Goodwin-Groen http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-128 Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:06:35 +0000 http://blog.acumenfund.org/2006/04/03/talking-social-returns-at-skoll/#comment-128 Hi Jaqueline, Were there any examples of the kind of social return metrics Cohen thought would work? For example in microfinance, some focus on getting people over the earning $1.00 a day mark to prove they have lifted clients out of "poverty", but other find this misses the point entirely. On the issue of scale, did he give examples of what he thought met his scale requirement? Again, in microfinance the easiest way to reach scale has been to piggy back of already large instutitions like the Unit Desas of BRI in Indonesia that has now been spun off - would that meet his requirement? Ruth Hi Jaqueline,
Were there any examples of the kind of social return metrics Cohen thought would work? For example in microfinance, some focus on getting people over the earning $1.00 a day mark to prove they have lifted clients out of “poverty”, but other find this misses the point entirely.

On the issue of scale, did he give examples of what he thought met his scale requirement? Again, in microfinance the easiest way to reach scale has been to piggy back of already large instutitions like the Unit Desas of BRI in Indonesia that has now been spun off - would that meet his requirement?
Ruth

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