Relationships Australia Victoria wins Excellence in Social Impact Measurement Award

Since their inception in 2014, the SIMNA Awards have celebrated outstanding efforts in evidencing social change across Australia.

The Excellence Award recognises initiatives that demonstrate best practices in social impact measurement and serve as a benchmark for others. Judged by experts in the field, the award considers high-quality measurement, its use in decision-making, and adherence to the 8 Principles of Social Value.

The judges noted that RAV’s social impact measurement ‘demonstrates excellence across all criteria’ and RAV ‘should be congratulated for their highly strategic, rigorous, and evidence-based approach to social impact measurement.’

A commitment to evidence-based impact

Sandra Opoku, RAV’s Senior Manager Evaluation and Social Impact, described the recognition as an ‘absolute honour and a testament to RAV’s hard work and dedication over several years to embed outcome measurement practices that demonstrate the value and impact of our services.’

RAV has been on a journey recently to:

• develop tailored and evidence-based program logics and an organisational theory of change
• launch our inaugural Social Impact Report and Theory of Change animation in 2023
• integrate routine outcome measurement into practice, enabling detailed reporting in 2024 on client-assessed data across 4 key outcome domains.

These efforts revealed significant improvements in clients’ subjective wellbeing across all domains after service delivery, showcasing the transformative impact of our services.

Setting the standard for social impact

Our rigorous approach has not only provided detailed analysis and case studies through our 2024 Social Impact Report but also informed a cost-benefit analysis of our family dispute resolution services. The analysis revealed benefits worth 20 times the cost, further underlining the value of our work.

‘RAV’s approach to evaluating social impact and outcomes within their cost benefit analysis is an expert example of what a well-informed, evidence-based and effectively structured evaluation approach can achieve,’ the SIMNA judges said.

Leading by example

The SIMNA judges commended RAV for setting a benchmark in the field, saying, ‘This investment and dedication demonstrate leading by example and will likely inspire social impact methodologies that peer organisations can adopt and adapt.’

RAV's award-winning efforts highlight how a robust approach to social impact measurement can not only drive internal improvements but also contribute to broader sector change.

Learn more

To explore our Social Impact Report and Theory of Change animation, visit our dedicated Social Impact website. For more information on the 2024 SIMNA Awards winners and runners-up, visit the SIMNA website.