SMI – Characteristics, added value and impact
The SMI project's overall purpose is to explore different ways of understanding, defining and operationalizing the concepts of distinctive characteristics, added value and impact in the context of non-profit organizations that deliver welfare services in Norway. A central aspect of the project is mapping and documenting how this is done. Furthermore, a contribution of the project is to develop and test several different measurement instruments that can document the special characteristics of non-profit actors and how it affects the added value and impact of non-profit actors as providers of health and social services. The SMI project is empirical and interdisciplinary. It alternates within the field of organizational and management theory, social work, healthcare, diaconia and history. The main research questions are as follows:
1. What are the third sectors service providers in the health and social care field's special characteristics, added value and impact?
2. How can the special characteristics, added value and impact of non-profit service providers in the health and social field be measured, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the various measurement tools?
The theoretical traditions that are linked to distinctive features are: (a) Theories about organizational identity, (b) theories about branding, (c) institutional theory and (d) strategy.
A service has added value when its perceived (utility) value exceeds the (utility) value of other services. Hence, the question becomes for whom the service has added value and compared to what. If everyone offers a service that has exactly the same value for relevant stakeholders, no added value is offered. If, on the other hand, the stakeholders perceive that the service stands out and offers something extra that they do not get from other providers, then it can be said that the service has added value.
The term impact refers to a result or an effect of something. To a certain extent, the relationship between added value and impact is like the chicken and the egg discussion: You cannot be absolutely sure which comes first; added value or impact. It is possible that a service has an impact in society because it has added value. But the opposite can also be possible, i.e. that a service has added value because it has an impact in society.
The project finances two PhD positions as well as two researcher positions in 20%