Five social values based on SROI standards set by Social Value Thailand Association include free co-learning space at Samyan Mitrtown that serves 600,000 people/year
Samyan CO-OP in collaboration with partners KASIKORNBANK PCL and the Social Value Thailand Association, will remain committed to continuously providing free-of-charge learning space for all to support sustainable lifelong learning. KASIKORNBANK PCL has been Samyan CO-OP’s partner since the opening.
Samyan CO-OP’s key achievements as of May 31, 2022 include:
- Over 120,000 registered members: school and university students account for 60% while 40% is general public
- 50,000 monthly average users (before Covid-19 lockdown)
- Over 250 workshops including academic and career development training sessions with over 12,000 participants
- Creating an impactful community of individuals, organisations and agencies that give back to society
To measure its social impact, Samyan CO-OP was given a Social Return on Investment (SROI) assessment by the Social Value Thailand Association (SVTH), an international entity promoting sustainable Social Value creation through partnerships with different sectors in Thailand according to the ESG Index that covers social, environmental, and economic aspects. SVTH evaluated that every 1 THB of Samyan CO-OP spending yields 3.5 THB social impact in these five key social returns:
- User value: Improving members’ life quality. The learning space is convenient for holding effective meetings giving users greater determination, work efficiency and mental health.
- Community value: Creating value in improving the community nearby by providing comfortable, safe and free-of-charge learning space for people of all ages in hope of building a strong learning community.
- Business partner value: Help build good relationships between business partners and members. Through Samyan CO-OP application, business partners get to understand customer behaviours and needs, thus creating greater brand awareness.
- Content partner value: Increasing opportunities for organising events and content sharing to benefit target audiences. The learning space is open for all to hold trainings, workshops and talks free of charge.
- Space value: Creating value for Samyan CO-OP brand awareness through communications and activities. This broadens the user base to include various groups of communities creating a sustainable business.
“Samyan CO-OP believes the co-learning space supports knowledge sharing and better quality of life,” comments Ms. Piyawan Soinoi, Director of Samyan CO-OP operated by Frasers Property Commercial (Thailand). “It aims to develop users’ potential, from youngsters to the working population. Thanks to good support from our partner KASIKORNBANK which shares the same vision as Frasers Property group of giving back to society, the co-learning space achieved a good SROI assessment conducted by SVTH. The success testifies to our objective of establishing and developing Samyan CO-OP to become a sustainable learning space for everyone in the community.”
Ms. Thitiporn Sirisrisakunchai, Senior Director of Business Solution Integration Chapter, KASIKORNBANK PCL, said: “Our commitment to being a key player in developing creative and learning spaces in the digital world is shown in our cooperation with Samyan Mitrtown on Samyan CO-OP. We have made this into a public space for all-comers to do activities together, exchange ideas and perceptions and have rich learning experiences. Samyan CO-OP has become a new meeting place; a fully integrated learning space in the heart of the city. The space corresponds with the essential skills required today in terms of learning, working and living, including self-learning, creative thinking, and technological skills and so on.”
Regarding social returns, Ms. Sakulthip Kiratiphantawong, Secretary-General of the Social Value Thailand Association (SVTH), said: “Organisations, all over the world, are paying attention to measuring social values and impacts through the Social Return on Investment: SROI framework. The goal is to promote and stimulate operations and investments that deliver economic, social and environmental benefits. In Thailand, we are still in the early stages of raising awareness and understanding of the framework among public, private and social sectors. We are still learning about developing and improving organisations’ awareness of their impact performance on society. As such, Samyan CO-OP initiative is a major step forward in fostering understanding which is having a ripple effect on Thai society.”