By Hannah Corbett, Head of Communications

If like me you’ve never met an economist, let alone worked with one, you might assume they are academics who sit with their head in the clouds crunching the numbers. What do they do all day? How could they possibly be helpful for those of us working for small and medium charities and social enterprises? 

I’ve spent 15 years supporting charities and social enterprises and recently joined Pro Bono Economics (PBE) as the new Head of Communications. I’d never met or worked with an economist before joining PBE. Here’s what I discovered: 

Many economists care about society. They want their research and analysis to make a positive difference in the world. It’s not just research for the sake of some nice charts or clever methods. They are very grounded in what’s going on in the world and are equally passionate about social impact.  

Economists at PBE use ‘cost-benefit-analysis’ or CBA.  CBA is a theory and research method used to measure the value for money of a social, environmental issue or policy area.  Economists use it to help charities and social enterprises assign a monetary value to the improvements they are making to society – a priority for the Treasury and local authorities.  For example, say you’re a charity that aims to improve children’s wellbeing in Birmingham, they can help you work out the monetary value of the long-term benefits of better children’s mental health for every £1 spent.  This kind of information is invaluable when you’re advocating for a cause, a change in policy or indeed proving your impact as part of your fundraising efforts. 

They are a type of researcher, but not quite the same. Economics is a research discipline, and many economists use macro trends to make assumptions about the future. Sadly, they cannot predict the future, but they can and do make conclusions based on recognised economic assumptions.  Both general researchers and economists understand the magnitude of economic impacts ie. the change in resources due to a given intervention, service or policy.   

They are also surprisingly good communicators. And are keen to make their work as accessible and useful to civil society as possible. That’s one of the reasons PBE was set up in the first place – to get more economists involved in civil society to help improve and show its value to the media, society and government. 

They are great to work with. Methodical, caring, super inquisitive, and keen to do useful, meaningful work. Having an economist on board can be a powerful addition to limited resources. 

A good example of an economist in action is how we helped Working Families. This small charity provides free legal advice to working parents and carers on their rights at work and in-work benefits entitlements.   

Through PBE’s Data First Aid service, our volunteer economist used PowerBI to analyse and combine their existing legal advice service data and regional data to make distinctions about their service users.  The data analysis helped Working Families calculate the percentage of their helpline users from lower-income households which is a key reporting metric for the charity and its funders.   

The findings are widely used across the charity – in external communications, impact reporting, key stakeholder meetings and are integral in charity-wide presentations and large funding applications.  

We have over 500 economists across government, regulators, social and private sectors, eager to give their experience and knowledge for FREE. Yes, you heard it right – for FREE.

So, if you’re a small charity wanting to work out your monetary value to support your fundraising and advocacy work, then you should consider getting a volunteer economist on board. Register for our free Data First Aid service and / or sign up for one of the Unlocking Impact Workshops. 

Right now, we are particularly interested in supporting charities working in these areas: 

Connections, community, and loneliness 

Housing and homelessness 

Children and young people’s mental health  

So, contact Will and Nadine – and see what an economist can do for your charity today.