Social impacts of work integration social enterprise in Hong Kong – workfare and beyond

Abstract

In 2017, there are over six hundreds social enterprises in Hong Kong. Among them, approximately 70% are work integration social enterprises (WISEs) primarily aiming at creating employment and/or providing vocational training for the disadvantaged groups. Impact assessment of these WISEs is a growing concern in the society. In this article, the authors review major types of impact assessment approaches and three categories are delineated – outcome-based, structured-based and process-based approaches. Through the application of one particular outcome-based approach, Social Return on Investment (SROI), onto four invited local WISEs, the social impacts induced by selected WISEs and their significances are discussed.