How SMEs can help redefine social responsibility in local communities
Emma Gooderham, Commercial Director at Cloud Getaway explores how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can champion social value and make an impact to their local communities.
Over the last three years, social value has become a significant part of public procurement. While it used to be considered as ‘nice to have’, this no longer the case. Now to win government work, SMEs must set out how they will deliver on government social value priorities.
While private sector businesses are recognising that their decisions have a significant impact on the wider world, for the public sector it’s the law. This means all organisations are required to look beyond the financial cost of a contract and consider how the services they commission will improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area. Under the social value model, a minimum of 10% weighting is given to social value delivery when awarding central government contracts and it’s expected that this figure will only grow with time.
Be the change you want to see
If we look behind the phrase ‘social value’, there is a wealth of thinking and good intentions around how supplier and buyer relationships can make an impact to local communities. Many businesses already engage with their communities and don’t recognise the value they’re creating.
The requirements can feel daunting but it’s important to point out that social value is scored on the impact of initiatives, not on the size of the projects – and this can give SMEs a head start. Tangible, defined activities, delivered with local partners, are key to providing concrete evidence of your commitment. Whether your business employs local people, offers apprenticeships, uses environmentally friendly techniques or local suppliers, your position in the local community can be a real benefit. Especially against some of the larger suppliers who won’t have the same level of commitment to the local community or the power to tailor their approach.
An SME can measure its social value in a simple way with the National TOMs framework. It’s a tool that we use to help quantify the social value that our company generates and is a resource that SMEs can use to measure and maximise social value.
The National TOMs stands for themes, outcomes and measures, and provides a standardised measure for social value across the UK. The measures investigate jobs, growth, social, environment and innovation to determine a company’s wider social impact and most importantly, allows for data-driven decisions to be made to increase social value.
Having a well-established framework like TOMs means that businesses can provide evidence and verify their social value efforts. The process is a thorough one and generates findings which can be used to support social value strategies, regardless of the sector you work in.
Every business has value to offer
Creating a strong social value bid doesn’t rely on the size of your business. Every company has value to offer and there is significant interest in businesses who have a positive impact on society, the economy and the environment. In fact, last year one in three Gen-Z workers rejected job offers because of an employer’s social value commitments not aligning with their own.
Make sure you are recording all the social value activities you do. For example, this could be upskilling employees, supporting local heritage and culture, promoting sustainable practices in the community, or supporting volunteering. Doing so will help you to grasp the impact your business is making and enhance the decisions that align with these goals and values. It will also help you to understand where you share the same priorities as the public sector organisations you are looking to work with. Many organisations, especially local authorities, publish their social, environmental or charitable agendas online. Having this visibility will make it easier to demonstrate where both organisations align in your response.
Adding value
Winning public sector contracts can be challenging and time consuming but understanding the value of a procurement and clearly evidencing how you can deliver that value should be the guiding principle. At its heart, social value is designed to ensure that the needs of the community and environment are considered, alongside other values such as financial and productivity gains. Social value will become more important, and we must all learn to embrace it. It’s much more than just a figure on a page. It is a commitment to create an impact in everything you do and the difference your work has on both individuals and communities.
Images: John Cameron and Nina Strehl
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