Envoy supported the team at the ECLT (Ending Child Labour in Tobacco) Foundation to implement the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, and to undertake SROIs for six programmes across Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi. This included training the team in SROI, advising on the development of the SROI approach, undertaking fieldwork, and developing the SROI calculations.

The SROIs explored the impact of different types of programmes, including those focused on directly removing children from child labour, and those that reduce the drivers of child labour through community investment. They explored the impact on reducing child labour, improving the life chances of those affected by child labour, and the impact on the economic status and the well-being of the community as a whole. ECLT have streamlined their programme strategy on the basis of the findings and conclusions of the SROIs.

The SROIs showed that:

• ECLT’s programmes demonstrate good value for money and create significant value,
• The programmes have a major impact on the life chances of those affected by child labour, and on the well-being of the wider community,
• Community investment programmes, such as the Village Savings and Loans Associations, have a particularly large – and immediate – impact on the community,
• The programmes have a significant impact on women and girls in particular,
• The programmes have SROI ratios of between 2:1 and 12:1, meaning that they create between $2 and $12 for every $1 invested.

The SROIs included qualitative and quantitative research with stakeholders across Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi. Research was conducted by the ECLT Foundation and Envoy Partnership, and supported by local translators.