Supporting Standards & Beliefs

How do the Six Values support social benefit Creation?

Whilst our Six Values can stand alone to underpin social benefit creation, they also underpin existing behavioural standards for individuals. Further, they support the accreditations used by organisations to demonstrate their good ethical standing and purpose centred action.

Is there a single definition of Values that is applicable to everyone?

We do not believe that there is, nor do we advocate that there should be. As we don’t think that a single guide or measurement model can capture the social benefits created by the spectrum of human activities.

For just as each of us, as individuals, need space to follow our own faith and beliefs, organisations, industries and sectors need discretion to develop their own models. This diversity allows us all to best reflect the intricacies of what drives our actions: our purpose, priorities, causes and concerns.

Do I have to substitute the Six Values for what I already believe?

No, the Six Values are not beliefs in themselves. It’s best to think about them as ‘badges’ or themes, by which existing beliefs can be ‘labelled’, so that we can all focus on what is common between us, rather than what makes us different.

The diagram below illustrates the commonality between diverse sectors, when connections are made to our shared Values.
Whilst the Values, organisations and standards used within the diagram are intended as simple examples only, hopefully they do show how we are all ‘wired into’ a collective network for benefit creation.

How do the Six Values link other approaches together? Our Six Values aim to provide an anchor to which all approaches can be tethered, as they represent the ‘back to basics’ first principles, which are common to all standards. And this ‘anchoring’ is not just about identifying our shared Values. Fundamentally, it is about creating appreciation of the Values of others, in the context of our understanding of our own Values and the rich diversity of human activities. We all have more in common than we think. View details of the different standards and approaches to social value and community benefit creation in our directory.