Social value is becoming a priority for many clients in tendering. The Social Value Act 2012 requires public sector suppliers to consider how they can secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits in the local community in which they will be working. As a result, most tenders now include a relatively weighty question on this.
Social value tender questions can appear daunting, but once you begin to understand importance of social value, they become a lot easier.
Areas of Social Value to consider when responding to a tender:
- Economic – this could include offering employment, training programmes & apprenticeships to the local community. Supporting local SME’s and boosting local economic growth.
- Environmental – using local supply chains, minimising waste and using energy-efficient equipment all helps in reducing your carbon footprint.
- Social – think about promoting staff well-being, supporting local charities and community investment projects and helping community groups most in need.
Our 3 Top Tips to Tackling Social Value:
Understand Your Client’s Social Value Policies
It is important to research and develop a deep understanding of your client’s social value policies and strategies to ensure your offer aligns with your client’s needs.
Make Specific Commitments
Quantities, values and dates, what you will do, when you will do it and how you will measure and report your achievement.
Important – Be sure to make commitments you can keep.
Develop Innovative Solutions
Think outside the box in order to stand out from your competitors. The type, scale and value of a project will all affect the level of social value impact you can achieve. Be sure that the primary benefit has some legacy value -meaning longevity and sustainability leading to wider opportunities within the local community.
Summary
Social value is about going above and beyond the norm to ensure the local communities you will be working in will benefit from long lasting and sustainable legacies. Social value strategies should be embedded within your company culture through education and training, in order to promote positive economic, environmental and social impact.
Further Support
Struggling with social value questions when tendering? Our specialist bid team are here to help you to develop effective and sustainable social value strategies.
Get in touch enquires@thebidbase.com
Find out more: https://thebidbase.com/specialist-services/
