Consultant
Abbey Jones
Abbey Jones is a Consultant at RealWorth, specialising in community engagement and valuing the social impact of people and place.
Following a career in the world of corporate law, Abbey moved into social value to make a difference to people and communities. Since joining RealWorth, Abbey has worked with clients across the spectrum of the built environment to embed social value at every stage of a development, from the strategy and stakeholder engagement stage to measurement and evaluation, including Social Return on Investment analysis. Abbey has a personal interest in social impact driven by community engagement and collaboration across the public, private and third sector, and works to implement this across all of her projects.
In her free time, Abbey contributes to building her own community by volunteering as a Project Leader at Foodcycle, providing free meals to local residents. She is also a Co-Chair of Greater Manchester B Local, where she works with other pro-social businesses to drive an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy in the North West. Most recently, Abbey has been appointed to the Liverpool City Region Policy Panel for Women’s Equity where she will review the impact of various policies on women and girls across the Liverpool City Region.
My projects
a-r-c-s: Evaluating the Social Impact of Lower Stable Street
In 2024, a-r-c-s commissioned RealWorth to evaluate the social impact of its activities over a 12-month period using the Social Return on Investment approach. The study assessed how a-r-c-s distinctive model – flexible turnover-based rents, community driven programming, and free event space – supports inclusive growth and cultural participation in King’s Cross.
Case study
Everton in the Community: Impact Evaluation
As Everton Football Club’s official charity, Everton in the Community (EitC) is one of the UK's top sporting charities, considered one of the Premier League’s leading community schemes due to the quality and reach of its various programmes.
Since its work on the new stadium in 2019, RealWorth has been retained as EitC’s social value consultant, measuring its impact on a bi-annual basis to evaluate and demonstrate the social value EitC is creating across Merseyside.
EitC has used RealWorth’s social value reports to show a range of stakeholders (including project partners and, government departments, and funders) how EitC benefits the people and communities it operates in.
The Social Hub: Evaluating the Social Impact of Cross-European Portfolio
The Social Hub (TSH) brand provides hotels, student accommodation and co-working spaces, creating a more connected community. Adding to 21 locations around Europe, TSH wants to improve its social, economic and environmental performance across Europe and has developed plans to upgrade and expand its sites.
To support the assessment of current sites and future plans, TSH contacted RealWorth to demonstrate the social value of different sites across Europe, RealWorth measured and analysed the social change caused by projects and programmes using Social Return On Investment (SROI).
This analysis assisted the TSH sites in demonstrating the benefits of existing sites to its stakeholders and host cities by creating a range of social impact activities. The analysis indicated that the planned improvements could enhance the social value that these locations have brought to their surrounding areas. To date, RealWorth have worked with TSH across multiple sites in Spain, the Netherlands and Scotland.
Case study