[Last modified: July 2021]

Social value in procurement refers to the way that your business positively impacts the community and environment. When tendering for public sector contracts, it is imperative to demonstrate how you provide social value.

A new social value model has recently been launched with the aim of;

• Creating new jobs and promoting skills;
• Encouraging economic growth;
• Tackling climate change, and;
• Levelling up the UK.

The changes mean that central government will be required to go beyond the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. These new measures will come into effect on the 1^st of January 2021.

How will the new model be used?

The new social value in procurement model will be used by government bodies to assess the social impact of suppliers. From January 2021, a 10% weighting will be placed on social value in your quality responses, when bidding for central government contracts.

When evaluating your bid writing, government departments will use the new model to score potential suppliers. This scoring will focus on the wider, positive impact that your business will provide whilst delivering the contract.

The new model also means more value for money for the UK taxpayer.

The Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barren said:

“This hugely positive change will ensure taxpayers’ money supports levelling up across the country, encouraging businesses to give back to their communities and offering more opportunities for our dedicated charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups. This way we can ensure government contracts are helping to tackle economic inequality and support our recovery.”

Social value in tender responses will be assessed based on;

• How your organisation supports COVID-19 recovery;
• How you are creating new businesses, jobs and skills to tackle economic inequality;
• The environmental considerations you take to help fight climate change and reduce waste, and;
• The equal opportunity policies you implement and adhere to within your organisation.

Levelling the playing field

This new social value in procurement model will help to level the playing field between large corporations and SMEs. The new system will apply tests that all bidders are capable of meeting, regardless of their size.

Cabinet Minister, Julia Lopez, said:

“Government has tremendous buying power, spending £49bn each year on vital public services. Value to the taxpayer should lie at the heart of our procurement decisions.

Too often, however, ‘value’ has been narrowly defined by price without taking into account other important factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the care they show the environment in their business practices or the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain.

We want to see a greater variety of companies deliver government contracts, from every corner of our country – not just because that benefits local economies and communities but because it helps diversify our risk, create a more resilient supplier base and deliver some of our critical priorities.

If we can use government’s buying power to drive that broader value, the better our chances of levelling up our country and investing in our people as part of our COVID recovery.”  

Consistency across public sector organisations

With a vast number of government departments across the UK, consistency is vital for ensuring equal opportunities for all suppliers. Therefore, commercial teams, working within these departments, will be expected to complete specific training. This training will focus on implementing the new model and deriving the maximum social value from contracts.

Chair of the Social Value Policy Unit at the Federation of Small Businesses, Arnab Dutt, said:

“I welcome the announcement of social value procurement as an important step forward for public sector supply chains. Its focus on addressing economic inequality, the climate emergency and societal wellbeing is a 21^st century agenda.

Social value has the potential to be transformational in bringing opportunity to all parts of our county and the many small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.

The Federation of Small Businesses continues to help shape the policy of a dynamic ecosystem for our UK SMEs in collaboration with the public sector, acknowledging that the government’s SME growth agenda and social value policy go hand in hand.”

In summary

The new social value in procurement model will challenge and encourage suppliers to think beyond their own, internal objectives. In the future, suppliers will need to consider the impact of their organisation on the wider community and environment. The actions they then implement will need to be demonstrable in order to be successful when tendering for contracts.

The model will also challenge government authorities to choose the best supplier based on more than just price. They will need to assess the positive impacts of their chosen supplier and ensure that they maximise taxpayers’ money. In turn, this also means that suppliers of different sizes can be compared more fairly. Large corporations and SMEs alike will be measured against the same initiatives.

Further support

Do you need support with tendering process or how to win a tender? Get in touch with our team for a free consultation. Simply call, email or upload your tender specification.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.

The post Changes to social value in procurement will create more opportunities for SMEs appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Last updated: Dec 17, 2021 @ 9:49 am

The world has entered new territory following the spread of COVID-19. Individuals, communities and businesses must rapidly respond to local and global news and changes. These changes affect every part of our lives and livelihoods – these are unprecedented times.

At Hudson, we are doing everything we can to support our clients going forward into this new landscape. We will continue to do so – we are in this for the long haul. Our team at Hudson will do all we can to adapt, thrive, and ensure our clients can too.

Making the future matter now

In times like these, it is essential to maintain a positive approach to the future. The choices and actions that business owners take now will affect their future prospects. Let’s make those prospects good ones – not just for businesses, but for our communities.

Key workers play an essential role in the fight against coronavirus, and the public sector fully recognises this. Communities supporting each other makes sense, now more so than ever. Council tenders will seek out businesses who add real social value to their work during these difficult times.

For now and in the coming weeks, we are in a unique situation where proximity to others is limited. The government, health officials and individuals are coming together to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Ultimately, when a resolution is found, businesses will be in a unique situation.

Councils and public sector bodies will look for businesses who championed social value during this time. Turning this crisis into an opportunity to make a difference to communities is essential. Doing so will benefit our wellbeing, our community relationships and our economy in ways previously unimagined.

What can I do?

Many people will have heard of the term ‘social value’. Put simply, social value is the positive social impact that businesses have in society. We create this impact directly and purposefully through our business practices. This impact can be generated in the form of:

• Policies and procedures
• Spending
• Training
• Volunteering
• Mentoring
• Community engagement

We can deliver positive social impact through delivering public sector and council tenders.

By doing so, we create a positive impact in terms of wellbeing, resilience and other factors. It makes business sense to support communities. In turn, communities will increase engagement with businesses long-term. The challenge here is doing so within the current limitations we have. It is challenging – but not impossible.

Where do I start?

There are four key areas of social value which we can contribute to. These are:

1. Economic impact. This considers:

• Employability, work placements and recruitment
• Training opportunities, apprenticeships and upskilling
• Graduate schemes
• Volunteering
• Using local resources

2. Environmental impact. This considers:

• Sustainability
• Carbon footprint
• Energy reduction
• Minimising waste
• ISO 14001
• Embodied carbon
• Passivhaus

3. Community impact. This considers:

• Supporting charities
• Supporting local and cultural heritage
• Community groups

4. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This considers:

• All of the above
• A region’s Strategic Economic Plan
• Policies
• Supply chain management

How these apply to your organisation is sector dependent. Each sector will have its own unique opportunities and challenges to do the above. In procurement, buyers will prioritise certain matters. For example, council tenders who need cleaning services may prioritise the environment. On the other hand, those who need HR services may prioritise community and economic impact.

How do I know what to look for?

The key here is to identify where your organisation can make a difference and implement this in your bid management strategy.  This way, you can judge what buyers may look for within your sector. You can do this in a number of ways:

1. As a business owner, self-reflection. Is there anything you have been overlooking that you could improve?
2. Ask your team. Feedback is essential. Take comments on board, particularly if several people are providing the same feedback. Similarly, if a team member has an innovative idea, consider it.
3. Review your policies and procedures through an internal audit.
4. Produce a Social Value Action Plan. Map out what you are doing now, and what you will do in future.
5. Listen to past experience. If you have tendered before, don’t ignore issues where you may have tripped up in past submissions. Do you have the certification, policies or evidence the buyer asked for? If not, don’t ignore it. Implement those changes. It will benefit your social value responses further down the line.

What council tenders & public sector contracts are there?

In the coming weeks, public sector and council tenders will request services including:

• Facilities Tenders.

These include cleaning contracts for schools, offices, hospitals, social housing and more. These are essential and will be in high demand. Councils will seek to protect their staff and individuals as much as possible from illness. Other contracts may involve manned security or building repairs.

• Logistics Tenders.

This can involve contracts for vehicle hire, transport and deliveries. They might involve courier services or storage. Effective logistics which limit physical proximity will be essential in upcoming contracts.

• Hospitality Tenders.

These tenders can involve catering contract services and laundry service contracts. These are essential to ensuring key workers whom council tenders may serve are supported.

• HR Tenders.

Opportunities here might include contracts for recruitment, HR or restructure planning. New opportunities may arise in the form of virtual and offsite staff. Swift changes in how we must communicate with colleagues digitally can stimulate new types of council tenders.

Going forward, councils and public sector bodies will seek businesses who demonstrated social value in the face of adversity. When tendering, they will ask how you delivered social value during the crisis. The critical question will be:

How did your business go over and above what was asked, whilst delivering what was needed?

Of course, buyers will be mindful of the impact on businesses. Organisations must keep a balance between supporting others and staying afloat. It is critical to reflect on your organisation’s ability to support others. We must be proactive, innovative and pragmatic to meet these challenges.

Delivering social value is critically dependent on our ability to maintain business, first and foremost. Businesses without essential plans in place to tackle the crisis will lack the capacity to deliver social value. Reflection now is essential for future delivery. It is useful to reflect on aspects such as:

• How do I keep my staff safe from COVID-19 to do their job? Is it possible at this stage?
• Do I have the finances in place to deliver? If not, have I looked at available support?
• How will the impact of COVID-19 change the way my service is delivered in future?

How do I move forward?

In these uncertain times, there has been huge support from communities across the country. Individuals and businesses are rallying to volunteer across the UK. They are providing services such as deliveries, driving and phone calls.

1. Even if your organisation does not have the resources, the best asset you have is time. Make some time.
2. As an organisation, you can engage with your local community through volunteering and advice.
3. When business is slow, use this time wisely to develop your policies and procedures. Can you implement current needs into future policy?
4. Develop your training and mentoring programmes to respond to the new social and economic climate. Refine and hone how you do things not just now, but for the future.
5. Be adaptable. Demonstrate this in facts and figures.
6. Use social media. It can be an easy trap to fall under the radar – don’t. Communicate with your clients. Demonstrate that you are taking positive steps forward. Engage with your community through social media. This uncertain time highlights now more than ever that we are all human. If you have good news or have achieved something locally, let people know. Celebrate the successes of others, let them know that your organisation cares.

By doing so, you will have a bank of social value evidence for council tenders in future.

How can we help with your Council Bid?

To support you, at Hudson Succeed we offer our Tender Mentor service. This is for businesses who want to ensure the bid they have produced is the best it can be. Here, we will externally review and advise on all aspects of your written submission. This way, you can be sure that your responses – including social value – will be persuasive and engaging. Through this service, we will mark your bid against scoring criteria, in advance of submission. If you have done your research, produced your draft and are looking for bespoke consultation, get in touch.

Council Tenders – Looking to the future

Businesses are in a unique and intimidating position during the COVID-19 pandemic. When we look outwardly at news reports, the situation seems bleak. It is so important to look inwardly – at our team members, local communities and business practices. We can find ways of helping our communities. Our approach must be a mindset of not just mitigation, but planning for an optimistic future.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.

The post Council Tenders and the Community appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Last updated: Jun 7, 2022 @ 3:50 pm

What is social value in tendering?

Social value and tendering now seem to go together as a pair. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 became law on 8^th March 2012. The law requires public sector organisations to consider the potential for suppliers to deliver services that enhance the area and people with whom they will be working.

These services can focus on improvements to areas such as:

• Social
• Environmental
• Economic
• General wellbeing.

A new social value model was launched meaning the central government will be required to go beyond the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. These new measures came into effect on the 1^st of January 2021. It was launched with the aim of;

• Creating new jobs and promoting skills;
• Encouraging economic growth;
• Supporting COVID-19 recovery;
• Tackling climate change, and;
• Levelling up the UK.

Thanks to this act, there is an obligatory emphasis on social value questions in tenders and PQQs. This demonstrates the increasingly important link between social value and tendering.

Why is it important?

Public sector organisations inviting tenders for work over £180K are now obliged to ask potential suppliers about social value. It is now more important than ever to be aware of what it means. You must now demonstrate an understanding of social value into your bid responses.

Levelling the playing field

This new social value procurement model will help to level the playing field between large corporations and SMEs. The new system will apply tests that all bidders are capable of meeting, regardless of their size.

Cabinet Minister, Julia Lopez, said:

“Government has tremendous buying power, spending £49bn each year on vital public services. Value to the taxpayer should lie at the heart of our procurement decisions.

Too often, however, ‘value’ has been narrowly defined by price without taking into account other important factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the care they show the environment in their business practices or the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain.

We want to see a greater variety of companies deliver government contracts, from every corner of our country – not just because that benefits local economies and communities but because it helps diversify our risk, create a more resilient supplier base and deliver some of our critical priorities.

If we can use government’s buying power to drive that broader value, the better our chances of levelling up our country and investing in our people as part of our COVID recovery.”  

Consistency across public sector organisations

With a vast number of government departments across the UK, consistency is vital for ensuring equal opportunities for all suppliers. Therefore, commercial teams, working within these departments, will be expected to complete specific training. This training will focus on implementing the new model and deriving the maximum social value from contracts.

Chair of the Social Value Policy Unit at the Federation of Small Businesses, Arnab Dutt, said:

“I welcome the announcement of social value procurement as an important step forward for public sector supply chains. Its focus on addressing economic inequality, the climate emergency and societal wellbeing is a 21^st century agenda.

Social value has the potential to be transformational in bringing opportunity to all parts of our county and the many small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.

The Federation of Small Businesses continues to help shape the policy of a dynamic ecosystem for our UK SMEs in collaboration with the public sector, acknowledging that the government’s SME growth agenda and social value policy go hand in hand.”

What might a buyer want to see?

It is important to note that when considering social value and tendering, the value you describe doesn’t just have to be “social” related. You can demonstrate environmental, benevolent, economic or employment-related values. For example, broadly speaking, the below are all examples of social value in one form or another:

Benevolent:

• Charitable donations
• Allowing your employees voluntary days
• Team building days at charities/non-profit organisations
• Sponsored events
• Supporting local charities in other ways.

Social:

• Upskilling employees
• Rewards and benefits schemes for employees
• Encouraging and participating in community schemes
• Ethical supply chains – i.e. Fair Trade
• Engaging with local community groups such as sports clubs, schools and social groups.
• Community engagement – mobilising and involving the community.
• Promoting social integration.
• Providing/facilitating opportunities for disabled people
• Supporting local heritage and culture.

Employment:

• Having flexible working and lieu days
• Mindfulness, counselling and therapy sessions in the workplace
• Introducing additional learning opportunities in the workplace to enhance employees’ careers.

Economic:

• Extra employment opportunities
• Recruiting locally
• Introducing work experience and apprenticeship opportunities
• Engendering additional value for money by introducing cost-saving techniques
• Local investment
• Taking people out of unemployment.

Environmental:

• Reducing carbon footprint
• Introducing processes to monitor energy and water usage
• Promoting sustainable practices in the community
• Using environmentally-friendly techniques and supplies
• Efficient use of equipment, people and resources.
• Picking suppliers who can supply multiple products and services to cut down on transport costs and times.

How will the new model be used?

The new social value in the procurement model will be used by government bodies to assess the social impact of suppliers. From January 2021, a 10% weighting is placed on social value in your quality responses, when bidding for central government contracts.

When evaluating tender responses, government departments will use the new model to score potential suppliers. This scoring will focus on the wider, positive impact that your business will provide whilst delivering the contract.

The new model also means more value for money for the UK taxpayer.

The Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barren said:

“This hugely positive change will ensure taxpayers’ money supports levelling up across the country, encouraging businesses to give back to their communities and offering more opportunities for our dedicated charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups. This way we can ensure government contracts are helping to tackle economic inequality and support our recovery.”

Social value in tender responses will be assessed based on;

• How your organisation supports COVID-19 recovery;
• How you are creating new businesses, jobs and skills to tackle economic inequality;
• The environmental considerations you take to help fight climate change and reduce waste, and;
• The equal opportunity policies you implement and adhere to within your organisation.

Why might a buyer want to see an awareness of social value in a bid? 

Social value in tendering is about going above and beyond. Buyers want to see achievable ways for suppliers to make a positive impact on their surroundings if they win the bid. Buyers don’t just want suppliers who can successfully deliver the work, but who are able to offer the whole package.

Our 4 top tips for demonstrating social value:

1. Do your research

Many public sector organisations, especially local authorities, publish specific social, environmental or charitable agendas. This is usually in the form of strategic economic or social plans, for example, the North East LEP Strategic Economic Plan. This may be included as part of the tender or may be available on the public sector body website. It’s important to do your reading and ensure you demonstrate that you share the same priorities, in your response. 

2. Specificity

Don’t be vague. Make tangible commitments and include:

• Figures
• Dates
• Places
• Names
• Precise objectives and targets where possible.

For example, “We are committed to continuing our process of reducing our carbon footprint and aim to have this reduced by 45% from its current level by the end of the contact in June 2022.”

3. Understand what is required of you

It is important not to presume you know what the buyer wants to hear. Instead, digest the demands of the question and respond accordingly. Don’t, for example, get caught up in writing about adding value through making charitable donations if the question is asking you to detail how you will enhance social value through introducing additional employment/work experience opportunities.

4. Commitments

Make commitments you can keep. We have seen many cases of suppliers making promises they cannot keep. Since buyers expect suppliers to adhere to the promises they make, this can often lead to trouble.

In summary

The new social value in procurement model will challenge and encourage suppliers to think beyond their own, internal objectives. In the future, suppliers will need to consider the impact of their organisation on the wider community and environment. The actions they then implement will need to be demonstrable in order to be successful in public sector tendering.

The model will also challenge government authorities to choose the best supplier based on more than just price. They will need to assess the positive impacts of their chosen supplier and ensure that they maximise taxpayers’ money. In turn, this also means that suppliers of different sizes can be compared more fairly. Large corporations and SMEs alike will be measured against the same initiatives.

Further support

If you’re struggling with social value or need help understanding a buyer’s requirements, our dedicated team are here to help. Get in touch with our team for a free consultation. Simply call, email or upload your tender specification.

Our Bid Writers can help you when tendering for contracts. They can advise you on writing winning bids and give you more information about the tendering process in general.

For more information, visit Tender VLE for the latest in tendering and procurement masterclasses.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.

The post Social Value and Tendering – Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Tender Consultants.