Level 1 Certificate (Associate Exam)

The level one certificate accredits you to be an Associate Practitioner and is the first step on the practitioner pathway to become certified in SROI practice. This certification is accredited by Social Value International.

This certification is only available to SVA members and it is strongly recommended that you complete a training course prior to sitting the exam. The cost is $370+GST, but there is a discount available if you complete it within 2 months of a SROI practitioner training course – use code certify at the checkout.

Exam Logistics

Once you have registered and paid, you will be sent a link to the website which hosts the exam. You will be able to complete this at a time that suits you on your own computer or device.

Registration includes submission of the following documents:

• Personal Statement of Interest in Social Value and Impact Management
• Terms and Conditions of Application
• SVI Practitioner Commitment to Good Practice

The exam is split into 6 sections mirroring the modules of the SROI Practitioner Training

• Section 1 – Key concepts and purpose of the SVI Framework
• Section 2 – Identifying stakeholders and outcomes (Principles 1,2 and 4)
• Section 3 – Measuring the amount of changes (Principles 2 and 4)
• Section 4 – Valuing changes to outcomes (Principle 3)
• Section 5 – From outcomes to impact, how to avoid overclaiming (Principle 5)
• Section 6 – Reporting & embedding social value into decision making (Principle 6 and 7)

These sections also align to the stages of doing an SROI analysis and reflect a typical ‘impact management cycle’ therefore can be seen as a sequential and practical way to go through the principles. As each principle is raised, the exam includes the following types of questions:

1. What is the purpose of this principle? What does it do?
2. Definition of some key terms (testing some basic technical understanding)
3. What does application of this principle look like in practice (testing some technical and practical understanding of the principle)

Level 1 Associate Practitioner status does not require applicants to make any calculations. All questions are either multiple choice, True/False or ‘fill in the gaps’. One point is available for each question. A pass mark of at least 70% is required in each section.

The questions are a mixture with approximately 80% of exam marks testing for the overall understanding of the principles and SVI propositions and 20% of exam marks are earned via responses to more technical questions about the application of the principles. The time limit for this exam is 90 minutes.

In Summary

• Level 1 Associate Practitioner status shows: The applicant has demonstrated theoretical competence in social value and impact management in line with the SVI Framework.
• Assessment Criteria:
  • Successful completion of online Social Value and Impact Management exam.
  • Signed copy of Social Value Commitment to Good Practice.
  • Personal statement of interest and commitment to Social Value, Impact Management and social impact assessment or SROI.
• Valid for: 2 years.
• Opportunities for progression:
  • Can progress to become a Level 2 Accredited Practitioner or Level 3 Advanced Practitioner.
  • Eligibility for delivering short Social Value, Impact Management or SROI courses accredited by SVI