This guide introduces AI to social value professionals, exploring how local authorities and VCSE organisations can use generative AI tools responsibly to improve impact measurement and community outcomes.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly integrated into our personal and professional lives, with Generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT showcasing both its vast potential and significant risks.
This guide aims to introduce AI to professionals in social value, particularly within local authorities. It explores how AI can be leveraged for public good, addressing economic transformations, ethical challenges, and community impacts.
AI's promise lies in elevating human judgement rather than replacing it, helping local governments make more informed, empathetic, and impactful choices. By anchoring AI initiatives in the principles of social value and equity, we have the opportunity to shape a future where technology serves as a true partner in creating resilient, connected, and thriving communities.
Frequently asked questions
Expand a question to read the answer.
Generative AI tools can assist at several stages of social value work: drafting stakeholder survey questions, summarising qualitative feedback from consultations, identifying relevant financial proxies from large datasets, and producing first drafts of narrative sections in social value reports. They work best as a support for professional judgement rather than a replacement for it. The evidence base, the stakeholder relationships, and the accountability for conclusions must remain with the practitioner.
The principal risks are accuracy and accountability. Generative AI tools can produce plausible-sounding but incorrect proxy values, miscite sources, or misrepresent methodological guidance. In an SROI context, errors in proxy selection or attribution can significantly distort the reported social value figure. Any AI-assisted output should be checked against primary sources before it is included in a formal report. There is also a governance risk: if AI is used to generate claims that the organisation cannot independently verify, credibility with commissioners and funders may be damaged.
Yes. The 2026 edition of HM Treasury's Magenta Book, the government's central guidance on evaluation, addresses the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence in social research for the first time. It emphasises transparency about how AI has been used in an analysis and the importance of being able to scrutinise and explain AI-assisted outputs. Organisations using AI in funded programmes should familiarise themselves with this guidance.
Not in full. AI tools can reduce the time spent on certain tasks, such as literature searches, first-draft writing, and data formatting, but they cannot replicate the stakeholder engagement, contextual judgement, and professional accountability that underpin credible social value measurement. For organisations with limited in-house capacity, AI can be a useful supplement alongside platforms like the Social Value Engine, but the human expertise required to interpret findings, engage communities, and stand behind the results remains essential.
The full eBook linked above covers practical guidance for local authority and VCSE practitioners. For the official government perspective, the 2026 Magenta Book sets out principles for responsible AI use in social research. Social Value International also publishes guidance on applying its Principles in the context of emerging measurement technologies.
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