Space Enhances the Value of Economics and Society

Social Impact Assessment: SIA is the study of the social value or the social amendment which is occurred by the commencement of the project and the invaluable tools in creating reciprocal education between the project facilitator and the beneficiary. By mutually investigating the result of the project after the implementation whether it is an economic, social, or environmental effect. Not only is Social Impact Assessment a scheme that allows the outcome to be recognized, but it is also a critical indicator in deciding the ongoing project. 

Social Return on Investment: SROI is used to measure the social outcomes comprising economic, social, and environmental aspects by using the social impact from various perspectives assessed to calculate the monetized value. Afterward, the previous result will be applied to compare with the financial value or the budget employed during the execution to illustrate how the project or activity has produced benefits to the profit-to-cost ratio. For instance, a 1:2 ratio demonstrates that every 1 baht of the investment enhances social value by 2 baht. Be that as it may, the beneficiary’s contribution must be taken into consideration when assessing the Social Return on Investment by sharing opinions and specifying the scope and tangible overall operations. 

Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation by GISTDA, as Thailand’s leading institution in space technology and geoinformatics has estimated the increased tendency of economic and social added value from the execution of 41 programs and activities during the fiscal year 2020 by external experts. In the meantime, with an expectation that information available from the evaluation will portray the practical scope of the plan or projects that can be exercised for the next fiscal year to escalate the work efficiency and compensate back to the stakeholders - thriving the organization to the higher level. 

Social Impact Assessment and Social Return on Investment’s data collection procedure will be conducted by specifically choosing only those involved or who participated in the GISTDA’s project in the fiscal year 2020. The data collection will be held through focus groups and in-depth interviews. Besides, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data using basic statistics, such as frequency and percentage is indispensable. 

The outcome mapping assessment consists of inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, or impacts. The concept of deadweight by emphasizing the changes in the activities, other supportive factors that influence the accomplishment, and the decrease or constant flow of accomplishment, then find the representative money to estimate the Social Return on Investment Ration or SROI. 

Criteria used to be manipulated in estimating a project’s valuation such as the latest adoption of data, technology, or process from GISTDA to generate work efficiency, cost-effectiveness, defect control, and overall economic value. Additionally, executing data or GISTDA’s technology with the research or developing innovation as well as GISTDA’s knowledge deliverable. 

The study revealed that the economic and social added value of 32 projects in the fiscal year 2020 and 9 supporting projects had a total value of 3,086.50 million baht. Social Return on Investment ratio or SROI is 1:1.50 which implies that for every 1 baht of GISTDA’s project operating budget, it will generate a return in the form of socio-economic value or create social value for 1.50 baht, indicating that the project resulting from GISTDA's investment in the past fiscal year 2020 have created value that is genuinely beneficial to society and worth the investment.

In retrospect, it was found that the economic and social valuation results of projects and plans of GISTDA have been showing a tendency to increase every year. From 2016 to 2020, the total value is approximately 569.85 million baht, 2,528.54 million baht, 2,691.72 million baht, 2,823.08 million baht, and 3,086.50 million baht, respectively. Acknowledging that applying space technology and geographic information to different angles led to the continuous improvement of Thai society including the development of GISTDA’s project that reflects the demand of actual users from various sectors.  

Likewise, GISTDA also assessed the cost-effectiveness of some 2021 projects based on the CIPP Model to assess project success. Furthermore, considering the results of the assessment of the Social Return on Investment or SROI and the results of the overall project success assessment, such as the Project for the Situation Management System for the Covid-19 Outbreak, round 2, the Crisis Management System Development Project and Spatial Forest fire solutions, and a holistic geo-informatics value creation project implementation plan.

The results of the study indicated that all three projects had an assessment of Social Return on Investment of 1:2.54, 1:2.21, and 1:6.42, correspondingly. It was considered that all three projects were worthwhile to be implemented. Moreover, the overall project evaluation results of the three projects were scored 96, 94, and 92 respectively out of 100.

The numbers delivered are based on the assessment from external experts; it portrays what it is like to be an invaluable organization. As a result of every stakeholder, both internal GISTDA employees and related external participants, it reinforces how space technology and geoinformatics play the most critical role in driving Thai society for the past two decades. At the end of the day, GISTDA will continue to devote itself to the Thai people and improve the quality of Thai society through advanced innovation from space and geoinformatics. 

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