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SWPA were delighted to be joined by clients, suppliers and industry experts at our second Social Value conference on 12^th June. The agenda was designed to provoke meaningful discussion amongst attendees, showcase some of the fabulous initiatives taking place in the South West region and gain further insights into how framework providers can further facilitate the social value output, through procurement activity.

The morning session featured an interactive roundtable, facilitated by LHC Procurement Group’s (LHC PG) Head of Transformation, Deon Barnard, which yielded some very interesting insights. To focus our thoughts, an interactive survey was carried out, asking a series of quick-fire questions exploring what social value meant to the audience, what their organisational priorities were and how much weighting was being designated to social value within tenders.  

It was clear that above all else, attendees valued the importance of individuals, community, equality and the desire to utilise social value to leave a lasting positive impact. The main organisational priorities remained the same as last year, with employment and skills at the forefront, followed by health and wellbeing, and improving community spaces. This comes as no surprise given that the average age of a construction worker in the South West is 55, along with the requirement for 32,400 new jobs in the region alone over the next 5 years (https://www.buildingplymouth.co.uk/about/why).

When asked about weightings in tenders, over 54% of attendees said that this fell within the 5% to 10% bracket, with 23% assigning a weighting of 10% or over. It was extremely positive to see that social value is playing an increasingly bigger role in procurement processes.

How and what do you feel has changed in your organisation in terms of social value delivery in the past 12 months?

The first question in the roundtable discussion sought to explore key organisational changes, regarding social value delivery over the previous 12 months. There was a consensus amongst the groups that social value was being afforded a much greater focus and was being considered a much higher priority, which was fantastic to hear. Social value was described as shifting from being “invisible to visible”, which seems surprising, particularly because the Social Value Act (2012) was introduced over a decade ago. However, the shift in focus over the last few years is undeniable and a hugely positive step forward.

It was clear that both clients and suppliers alike have been proactive in restructuring teams, setting up task forces and recruiting specific roles within their organisations to support social value delivery. This means that previously limited resources in this area are growing at considerable pace. Many people alluded to an increase in specific meetings to discuss social value, as well as additional agenda items to facilitate the measurement, reporting and tracking of social value initiatives.  The feedback suggested that social value discussions around the key areas of skills, sustainability, the economic crisis, quality housing and decarbonisation were very much leading initiatives.

It was great to hear about increased levels of resident engagement, as well as engagement with community groups and larger charities. Activities included resident engagement events, community activities and focus groups, ensuring resident contribution to key decisions relating to the impact on their communities. This kind of approach is exactly what we need to ensure lasting impact is achieved; it was great to hear that this was happening in the region.

Several organisations revealed that they had developed their own social value strategies, demonstrating clear commitment which cascade through all functions in the workplace. Having a social value strategy is such a positive step forward and a catalyst for cultural change. LHC PG, have followed suit here, recently publishing our own social value strategy (https://www.lhcprocure.org.uk/social-value/). 

As feedback was shared in the room, the potential for collaboration across sectors became abundantly clear and lead to some interesting discussions throughout the day about how we, as an industry, can work together to deliver tangible, long-lasting benefits, beyond “just talking” and token inclusion in tenders. There has been considerable change in the last 12 months and significant efforts are clearly being made, both regionally and nationally, to truly realise the benefits that social value can accomplish.

Last year you told us that measuring social value in contracts was complicated and time consuming. Has this improved and if so, how?

The next part of the discussion focussed on social value measurement. It was clear that whilst there had been some improvement in this area, some still felt that the process could be complicated, time consuming and difficult.

Some were using well known tools such as HACT and the Social Value Portal (TOMs), however, it was clear that these on their own did not provide a “one-size fits all” solution. Clients explained that they can find it difficult to identify and incorporate relevant measures into tenders, which can be all the more challenging for lower value projects and service contracts. There has been much talk about proportionality in the industry of late and about setting fair expectations on suppliers, in particular, SMEs. It was also noted that the majority of attendees were keen to ensure that social value management facilitated the effective delivery of commitments proposed during tenders, and that it was not simply an “add on” to contracts.

Feedback from some of the suppliers suggested that the delivery of social value can be challenging for SMEs with limited resources. The wide and varied targets and priority areas of different clients, in different localities can be difficult to navigate if not supported by the clients and communities themselves.

Both clients and suppliers were in agreement that further guidance was required, on what should be measured and how, to ensure that everyone is working on a level playing field. There is no doubt that the measuring of social value brings huge benefits, however the whole process of doing so is evidently still in need of improvement. A number of comments were made about measurement in financial terms and while this certainly has a role to play in social value reporting, there was consensus in the room that the most important and meaningful measurement and feedback needs to emphasise the lasting impact on the reality of communities and individuals within them. The qualitative reporting of stories and experiences has a much greater impact than quantitative statistics alone.

Some clients and suppliers, including Rollalong, Magna Housing and Wilshire Council who presented on the day, have opted to develop bespoke measurement tools, including dashboards, where they can embed the commitments outlined in the tender process and track delivery against these throughout project delivery. Other clients shared that they are tracking, but that it was still a very manual process, largely using spreadsheets.

What was abundantly clear was the requirement for clear objectives from the outset, as well as the need for clarity and where possible, consistency in approach. In terms of procurement, social value should not be something incorporated to simply “tick a box” for compliance, but should be guided by early engagement, stakeholder collaboration and a collective desire to enhance communities and quality of life.

With the LHC Social Value Strategy in mind, what else could LHC/SWPA be doing to support you to meet the social value needs of the region?

When asked what “we” can do, as a framework provider, to support effective delivery of social value, the main themes centred around the need for more resources and guidance. LHC PG, along with its regional business units, delivering contracts across the entire public sector, is in a prime position to be able to showcase best practice.

In addition, more showcasing of projects where best practice is being demonstrated are useful, to enable others to learn from. Additionally, revisiting older projects to ascertain if a legacy had truly been achieved, was also suggested. One group even proposed the formulation of some sort of league table, to allow for greater transparency of value delivered. Another good idea was for us to formulate an index of resources.

Attendees were keen to have more opportunities, like the SWPA Social Value Conference, to enable cross-sector conversations and create long-term partnerships at both a regional and national level. The desire for regionally focussed guidance was also highlighted, to address regional priorities and challenges in a meaningful and informed way.

The inclusion of two of the community groups supported by SWPA’s Community Benefit Fund, Roots Community Enhancement and Silver Salisbury, was well received on the day and attendees suggested that we could be doing more in this area. There is a very real opportunity to connect our clients and suppliers with location specific communities and activities, ensuring social value outputs are being targeted exactly where they are needed. SWPA reported that they had supported over 50 community groups with their fund, all of whom would be able to do so much more with wider industry support.

One of the larger areas of interest focussed on measuring activity. Clients and suppliers were keen for LHC PG to provide monitoring tools, enabling consistent measurement and tracking across projects. It was further suggested that clients and suppliers would be willing to collaborate with us to achieve this. Education and skills, two of the main regional priorities, were highlighted again with attendees encouraging SWPA and LHC PG to develop stronger links with skills initiatives, schools and colleges to further address the skills gap in the region and wider industry.

Conclusion

We were really grateful that all attendees contributed to the roundtable discussion. It was positive to hear that social value was playing a much larger role and is being embedded into organisational cultures with support from senior management and new social value, ESG and community focussed roles. Whilst it must be acknowledged that some are still finding measurement and tracking challenging, huge strides forward are clearly being made. The education and skills sector remains the top regional priority and something that absolutely needs to be addressed through social value outputs. SWPA were pleased to receive lots of interesting suggestions from the group about how we can provide additional support and look forward to delivering on some of these over the coming months.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions around how to measure social value or would like to discuss potential options, please do get in touch with the local SWPA team.