A BID WRITERS’ BLOG
A question that often comes up is “what is Social Value all about and does it have any bearing on the outcome of a tender?”
And that is a very important question as public sector tenders nearly all include a social value question. And in the “quality submission” the answer to that question can be up to 10 per cent of the total “score”.
So to paraphrase that first question – “What is Social Value” – put simply it means what will you or your company do to support the local community and the local economy.
Sometimes the Social Value question – or questions – will give some specific hints as to what the buyer is looking for and will ask for your response to some very specific questions. But more often it is just “What measurable activities will you have to support our social value priorities?”
And one important clue is in the question as they refer to their Social Value priorities. So look on their website to see just what those priorities are.
Typical priorities could include:
• Developing employment opportunities
• Actions to reduce anti-social behaviour
• Supporting local charities
• A commitment towards a net zero economy
……..and many more.
So it is important that you study these priorities and see how and where you can support them – then spell this out in your response.
Sometimes you may even be asked to complete a matrix with specific values placed on areas of Social Value. So much per apprenticeship, so much for each work experience placement, so much for each community workshop and so on.
But if you make commitments in your bid – you must deliver them and your performance against your promises will certainly be monitored and analysed!
Offering apprenticeships to local young people will always score well but you should not commit to these without thoroughly researching the implications. But offering work placements or speaking about employer expectations in schools and colleges is something that is achievable even for the smallest companies.
Offering to host workshops that can help unemployed members of the community in to work is a popular Social Value activity. Topics can include CV writing, how to prepare for a job interview and what to say during the interview itself and where to look for jobs.
Advertising your own vacancies locally is always a positive point.
Supporting local charities is something else that may be relevant – either allowing your employees time off work to volunteer or even running fund raising events.
An issue which – unfortunately – comes up regularly is that of youth crime and anti-social behaviour. So supporting youth sports teams, youth clubs and even youth boxing programs like “Gloves Up – Knives Down” will generally score well.
“Buying Local” supports the local economy where you will be delivering the contract – even if you tend to purchase direct from major chains or manufacturers, collecting goods from local depots or outlets will help.
Finally there is the whole “Green Agenda”. This is often considered to be part of a Social Value question.
So having a policy regarding your move towards a net zero operation is important. Indeed for larger Public Sector contracts having such a policy – with measurable outcomes – is a legal requirement.
But moving towards electric or hybrid vehicles, avoiding waste to land fill and running your own premises on a low carbon basis will all count in your favour.
I will address this issue in more detail in a later blog.
