Return on Program Management Investment (ROMI)

Throughout the summer of 2017, many companies seem to be focused on the ROI of program management investment (ROMI). This would include investment in people, technology and communications (among other things) toward achieving community investment, volunteering and giving objectives.

All LBG Canada companies tend to watch program management costs closely.  At the same time, companies seek to be known in community, and to allocate cash, time volunteered and in-kind contributions as effectively as possible.  In order to provide additional insights to answer ‘what is the ROI’ questions, data analysis conducted by SiMPACT on behalf of LBG Canada companies has brought forward some really interesting results.

Figure 1. illustrates that companies investing more in program management tend to be more able to mobilize stakeholders toward contributing to community programming goals. The end result is that the overall value of company footprint in community increases as a result of stakeholder participation, other than by increased corporate investment.

Figure 2. illustrates projects the average amount that stakeholders of LBG Canada companies contributed for every $1 invested in program management (i.e. people and tools responsible for stakeholder involvement) from 2006-2016. The red line illustrates the overall company average for that 10-year period. As illustrated, every year, companies generate more value in in stakeholder return than they invest in program management.  This means that for companies seeking to increase their footprint, investment in program management is essential.

The new LBG Canada DATA STORIES series has been designed to assist. Please contact Bryan at bryan@simpactsg.com, Arundel at arundel@simpactsg.com or Stephanie at stephanie@simpactsg.com to further inform your thinking on your community investment team’s ROMI.