Abstract for: Modelling the Social Return on Investment (SROI) for Transportation Interventions in Low-Income Communities

Insufficient transportation negatively impacts health and well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations, due to restricted access to essential services. To address this issue, implementing transportation programs such as microtransit can provide rides to community members. This study aims to use Social Return on Investment (SROI) to predict the social returns generated by investing in microtransit programs in low-income regions, specifically in Holmes County, Mississippi, a rural area with a high poverty rate. By using stock and flow diagrams to simulate the SROI of a microtransit program, the study will identify stakeholders, map out outcomes, quantify outcomes in monetary terms, and create a diagram to forecast program costs, social benefits, and SROI ratio for 10 years. This research will extend the application of system dynamics to a new domain and provide insights into the value of reliable transportation options in solving transportation-related barriers to social determinants of health, benefiting vulnerable populations.