Social Value in Bids and Beyond

The UK Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 was established to support government aspirations for, ‘maximum value for every pound spent on public services’ and called on procurers to better target innovative service models through social value. 

If a relevant authority wants to enter into contracts, it must assess how this work can improve the well-being of the local area through Social Value commitments made by contractors. Although a UK law, it was developed alongside similar legislation in Europe.

When it started, Social Value was mandated to have a minimum weighting in tenders of 10%. We have seen this increase, sometimes up to 23%. My experience is that Social Value is becoming one of the key areas an assessor can differentiate between the proposals submitted, and it increasingly is a reason for not winning a contract. 

Having worked on various central government and Network Rail tenders across the UK nations, it is clear procurers are becoming more sophisticated in what they expect from Social Value offers. No longer is committing to X apprenticeships and painting the Scouts’ hut good enough – it should be this and much more. 

These clients want marketing-leading, if not market breaking, commitments and ideas. They are looking for contractors who will lead them in what is possible. It is not enough to mention ‘plans to’ engage with communities. Tenderers need to show they have completed local research, found key community groups and/or charities, and ideally had initial discussions on support needs. 

The strongest social value offers:

• Show existing work, or a practical plan, to consult with both key internal and external stakeholders to provide a meaningful project-wide social value delivery plan.
• Have clear and realistic aims, milestones and targets. Possibly using third-party measuring tools, backed by internal measures and reporting. 
• Deliver value for money by optimising external local and national funding streams. This shows a commitment to Social Value initiatives outside of individual projects, it is more embedded within the company’s business strategy.
• Have supply chain processes to encourage Social Value engagement e.g. a community of practice. 
• Joined-up thinking and delivery between the company’s procurement team and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Environment and Stakeholder Engagement Leads.
• Co-design unique Social Value projects with the relevant local community.
• Routes to promote good practice to create a positive ripple effect that inspires more organisations to take part in Social Value initiatives. 

The plus-side for companies is that not only do these activities fulfil corporate social responsibility needs as well as win contracts. And a company that shows commitment to doing something socially valuable has reduced employee turnover (saving on average £38k in recruitment and time to productivity cost per person), happier teams, and attracts the brightest new talent. Social Value is a win for companies regardless of sector or location.

*Main photo by Charlie Firth