In January 2016, ECT Charity launched the report Why Community Transport Matters, an amalgamation of two pieces of ground-breaking research led by ECT Charity to help community transport organisations around the UK to demonstrate their social value and the impact they have on health, wellbeing and communities.
First, we worked with Deloitte to produce Tackling Loneliness and Isolation through Community Transport, a major piece of research into the economic cost of loneliness and isolation and the potential for community transport schemes to make savings of between £0.4 billion and £1.1 billion a year for the public purse, as well as reducing pressure on public services and helping older people to remain active members of society.
The second study, A Practical Method for Measuring Community Transport Social Value, will help community transport organisations make a compelling case to commissioners on the value of their services. It was developed through the London Strategic Community Transport Forum (LSCTF).
Why Community Transport Matters brings together the highlights from both research initiatives, including a toolkit distilled from the Deloitte research, and an introduction to the practical measurement framework.
We are incredibly proud of the report, and hope that sharing these lessons learned goes some way in convincing CT’s to use the methodology to measure their own social value, as well as persuade commissioners and local authorities that we add value beyond the simple fulfilment of a contract.
