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Literaturangaben. - Zsfassungen der Beitr. in engl. Sprache

Assessing impact of social investments in scientific literatureThe article presents the results of research on the assessing impact of social investments presented in the scientific literature. The aim is to analyze the theoretical aspects and the results of empirical research on the impact of social investment. The article presents the reasons for undertaking the impact of social in­vestments' analysis, pointing to the need to validate the effectiveness of actions, to justify public spending and to convince policy makers of the investment implementation' necessity. The difficulties involved in assessing the impact of social investment in areas: methodology of assessing impact, time perspective and investment functioning in a specific socio-economic context are presented. The conducted analyzes allowed to demonstrate that the assessment of social investment is ambiguous — both the positive impact of invest­ment especially in the labor market and development of human capital and its limited impact, mainly in the fight against poverty can be shown. The results of the research presented in this article were obtained in the framework of the scientific research project Innovative Social Investment Strenghtening Communities in Europe InnoSi, financed by the European Commission from the Horizon 2020 Program.

Policy towards the higher education financing in PolandThe article provides an analysis of the issue related to public and private financing of higher education in Poland. The arguments for the systems of public, private, or mixed financing of studies are compared here with the European models of financing higher education. This paper analyses the Polish system of financing education in the context of both legal bases and the reality in the operation of higher education institutions. The analysis indicates that the system of financing public higher education is in fact dual, i.e. it consists of paid studies and tuition free studies. The fact that almost half of the students pay for their education triggers a question whether education is really free and whether everyone has equal access to education. The analysis of the costs incurred by the students and the possibilities to gain financial support indicates a significant percentage of private expenditures in financing higher education.The mixed system of financing higher education in Poland and the existence of public and non-public higher schools prove that the entities providing higher education services as well as the flows of funds for higher schools are diversified. Thus, the citizens can use public education services but often they are obliged to pay for the service.

Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the on-going debate about the best way to measure the economic effectiveness of public policies, as well to explore the possibility of using the social return on investment (SROI) method as one of the indicators.


Design/methodology/approach
This study combines the SROI method with the case study analysis and comparative study. The paper presents the process of economic evaluation with the use of the SROI methodology and its results, along with methodological and evaluation observations.


Findings
This study confirms some assumptions based both on the subject literature, as well as, on own experience related to the implementation of the evaluation, the author also points out dilemmas related to the use of SROI analysis and the possibility of using it to measure the effectiveness of social innovation projects.


Research limitations/implications
The study contains several practical suggestions on the advantages and disadvantages of the SROI method in the evaluation of particular public policy intervention.


Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the use of SROI analysis of social innovation projects implemented in the frames of public policies.


Originality/value
The authors' ambition is to provide practical suggestions on the advantages and disadvantages of the SROI method in the evaluation of particular public policy intervention and to contribute to the discussion about the possible space for comparing the results of economic evaluation based on the SROI method. Furthermore, it is different than most approaches to SROI analysis as the authors combine this method with the case study analysis and comparative study.

Applying Social Return on Investment SROI to measure the effectiveness of social projectsThe article presents the results of research on the possibility of applying the Social Return on Investment SROI methodology for the valuation of the economic results of social projects. The aim of the article is to present the possibility of using the SROI analysis as an indicator for measurement of the effectiveness of social projectsIn this context, the hypothesis has been put that the Social Return on Investment SROI can be a useful tool for evaluating and forecasting the effectiveness of a social project. The article presents the research results obtained in the frames of the research project: "Innovative Social Investment Strength­ening Communities in Europe" InnoSi, funded by the European Commission Programme Horizon 2020.

Abstract
The aim of the article is to present a case study of the implementation of innovative social investment in the area of social inclusion. The case study analysed, namely the project Assistance from "A" to "Z" — Professional activation of homeless people from Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society, refers to the social and vocational integration of homeless people at the municipal level in Poland. The authors hypothesize that innovative social investments are key to the success of the policy of social inclusion, which requires new, innovative ideas to empower people at risk of exclusion.
The article uses the case study method and the method of desk research, in which an analysis of the strategy documents, source materials and activities was carried out. The results were subjected to critical analysis, using the achievements of research in the field of social investment, social innovation and social inclusion policy. The paper is the result of partial studies carried out within the framework of the research project Innovative Social Investment: Strengthening communities in Europe (InnoSI), financed by the EU Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020.
As a result, one has to consider the question "What works?". The analysis showed the accompaniment method to be the most effective tool in the project's actions and one which may be disseminated as a recommendation for social investment. The question "How?" brought evidence that the existing set of activities and their sequence (integrity and complexity) was appropriate, necessary and effective from the perspective of beneficiaries, the Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society and stakeholders. Considering the question "In what circumstances?", the key element was related to the leadership offered by the Wroclaw Circle St. Brother Albert Aid Society, which was running the implementation of the project. As a conclusion, one can formulate the cautious thesis that the outcomes can to some extent be generalized, particularly at the level of other local entities in Poland or in other countries/regions of Central and Eastern Europe, which have a similar welfare model (e.g. the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia).