Utilité sociale/Social Impact

"There is no single, consensual definition definition of social value. However, it is possible to distinguish two approaches. The first, which is simplistic and subsidiary, is deduced from legislation on the taxation of associations and subsidised employment. An initiative or activity is deemed to be socially useful if it meets social needs that are not covered by the market or public authorities, and is aimed at people in need of integration or who are socially vulnerable.

The second, more general definition refers to the capacity of an economic organisation with a social purpose to carry out its project and/or fulfil its mission effectively and to make the most of the external effects of its actions.

This definition does not specify a priori the criteria for social value, as a project produces multidimensional effects. Jean Gadrey distinguishes five components:

• economic (efficiency, social costs avoided, new activities, response to unmet needs, etc.),
• social (inclusion, equal access, diversity, social cohesion, etc.),
• political (co-construction of the general interest, active citizenship, popular education, participatory democracy),
• ecological and territorial (activities and jobs that cannot be relocated, short circuits, etc.).

In France, the concept of social impact differs from that of social value in that it considers the results and impacts of an activity independently of the intentions and values of those responsible for it, its purpose, its modes of governance and the status of the organisation that implements it. In the context of social impact, it is no longer a question of associations differentiating themselves from the private for-profit sector, but of following its organisational contours in order to maximise the often quite specific effects of their activity, often without observing the co-lateral secondary effects or externalities. It is often the systemic and/or cross-disciplinary dimen- sion that is lost in the impact approach. Impacts tend to be confused with results as soon as the external evaluation attributes them to the company's actions alone and homogenises them through a monetary and quantitative assessment."

Equivalent concepts

Utilité sociale, social impact

History of the concept

"The term "utilité sociale (social value)" emerged in France in the late 1990s in the non-profit sector, and at the time it referred to the need for non-profit organisations managing services to highlight their contribution to society and their contribution to the "general interest (intérêt général)".

• Demonstrating the social value of their actions and results became a growing requirement of public authorities and citizens alike, as the non-profit nature (or limited profitability) and disinterested management of voluntary organisations no longer sufficed to justify specific public funding.
• In the 2000s, social value was claimed by many actors and institutions as: a marker of a non-statutory approach' to the SSE field (e.g. the APES progress approach); a label for solidarity-based, fair trade and ecological practices (e.g. fair trade); a criterion for a new company status (e.g. the SCIC); a funding criterion for calls for projects from local authorities or foundations; a subject of research and an evaluation method.

After the financial-economic crisis of 2008, the need of impact evaluation methods both by for profit and SSE organizations was stressed. The concept of social impact gradually spread and came to compete with that of social value under the influence of new players (social entrepreneurs), financiers (foundations, private investors), new public measures (e.g. social impact contracts), international bodies (e.g. the OECD's social impact task force), consultancy firms (e.g. KPMG) and business schools (e.g. the social entrepreneurship chair at Essec)."

Public policies associated with this issue

In France, three public policies have shaped the public authorities' approach to social value: taxation of associations; subsidised employment policies and the law on the social economy (2014). Article 2 of this law broadens the criteria for social value: "providing, through their activity, support for people in vulnerable situations", plus "fighting inequality", "educating citizens", strengthening "territorial cohesion", "sustainable development" and "international solidarity".

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