The power of social value in procurement

Social value is about making sure that what you buy creates additional benefits for society and here I set out how blue light sector organisations can build social value and sustainability into procurement.

Before starting any procurement, you should think carefully about how the goods or services you’re going to buy – and the way you are going to buy them – will secure social value.

What is social value? 

The Social Value Act 2012 states that all public bodies must consider how what they are proposing to buy might improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing. The legal requirements of the act are limited, and many public organisations choose to go further than just ‘considering’ social value, actively applying the principles across their procurement activities. 

Central government bodies must also comply with the requirements contained in Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/20. 

Within the blue light sector, a social value theme could include tackling climate change – through the optimisation and use of low/zero carbon vehicles to combat air pollution – or  supporting broader community engagement and education on fire prevention.

Early preparation is key

Consider social value as early as possible, ideally during the pre-procurement phase. The decisions you make during this stage will be integral to the final contract. 

Consult with your key stakeholders, supply market, and users, to reach a common understanding of what relevant social value might look like. Many suppliers want to deliver social value effectively and will be happy to discuss this with you. 

The procurement will be more successful if you have a clear understanding of what your social value ‘ask’ is. Use this when drafting your specification and evaluation questions to avoid any sense that social value is arbitrary. 

Be specific about the outcomes you’d like bidders to focus on – whether that’s creating new jobs, protecting the environment or tackling inequality. 

How to evaluate bids for social value 

CCS has discussed ‘how to evaluate bids’ as part of our Procurement Essentials series. The core principles are the same for social value, but the following specific advice applies:

1. Get your questions right

Writing a great social value award question is a skill. While you can ask as many questions as you want, often one straightforward question in plain English is sufficient. The most effective social value questions are forward-looking and have a clear link to the contract deliverables.  

An example of a ‘fighting climate change’ focussed question could be: ‘Detail how you will influence staff, suppliers, customers and communities through the delivery of the contract to support environmental protection and reduce single use plastics”.

Include clear evaluation criteria so that suppliers know what you’re looking for in a response. Ideally, you should choose evaluators who have some understanding of the topic. 

The Government Commercial Function has produced quick reference guidance on model evaluation questions, criteria and reporting metrics aligned to PPN 06/20. 

2. Outcomes over outputs 

Social value should always be evaluated for quality and not quantity. A large, national company might have the capacity to create an apprenticeship whereas a smaller business may partner with other local organisations to create specialist training, using their unique skills. Evaluating proposals based on how well they contribute to the desired outcome, rather than on how much they promise, levels the playing field.

3. Consider your weightings

PPN 06/20 requires central government departments to evaluate social value, applying a minimum overall weighting of 10%. For other public bodies this can vary. A higher percentage won’t necessarily drive more social value, so balance your weightings carefully. See Using the social value model for further guidance on this.

For logistics contracts, weighting could be geared towards the net zero carbon elements of the Social Value Model themes. Tender criteria could focus on themes such as low/zero emissions vehicles, delivery consolidations, or last mile innovations. 

Monitoring

Following evaluation, the social value deliverables should be built into the contract in readiness for managing them throughout its lifecycle. Having clearly defined reporting criteria enables you to effectively measure the social value impact of your contract. 

Finally, remember that social value doesn’t automatically happen after contract award – so be consistent in collecting, recording and monitoring performance against KPIs. 

Learn more about social value

Visit our social value webpage or get in touch with our expert team to find out more about social value and how it’s embedded into our agreements. 

Don’t forget, you can find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure. 

To read similar articles, check out our Sustainability channel.