‘We’ve just revised our mission, and it’s about creating a future where value reflects purpose beyond profit,’ she explains. ‘We looking to support and enable individuals, organisations, communities, in embedding the principles of social value in all structures, so that whenever we’re looking at what is valuable, we’re not just thinking about money as the bottom line.’
Parasram became CEO of Social Value UK five years ago, laying the foundations for registering it as an Institute last year. She decided an institute was needed to help organisations understand how they were impacting social value. ‘Organisations can create it, they can destroy it, they can optimise it. And some organisations didn’t entirely know how to navigate the landscape. We wanted to identify how to do that on a really pragmatic basis and to support organisations, individuals and communities.’
The Institute guides and trains organisations and its members are often hired to help projects prioritise social value. ‘In the past, you might have seen home builders deciding a particular area requires a swimming pool and then consulting with people as to how they’re going to build it,’ says Parasram. ‘Whereas what they will often do as a result of our intervention is ask the local community, what is it that you need? And then be accountable to the community all the way through the project to deliver something that will be a legacy for that community.’
Parasram has been on a mission to create opportunities for education and networking, planning roundtables in conjunction with universities, and a conference in Birmingham in October. ‘We’re also excited about the working groups we’ve created consisting of skilled experts in their field who will focus on key areas within the sector,’ she says. ‘One of the things I really wanted to do as CEO was bring organisations and the whole community together through these working groups. This is the culmination of all of the work I’ve been doing.’
As the Institute stands on the cusp of great things, Parasram is looking to stand down as CEO. ‘I’ve invested my heart, my soul, my all into building the Institute. But I’ve always wanted to work myself out of a job and to be able to say, look, the Institute is now made up of you, you who are in the working groups, the volunteers, all of the people who make up this wonderful community, and I want to see it thrive and grow.’
