Social Value Engine About social value What is

Social Value Engine About social value

What is the SVE? • Developed over a 5 -year period by Rose Regeneration and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. • An online tool accredited by Social Value UK that systemises the process of measuring social value– particularly to help VCS and public sector organisations – to forecast, plan and evaluate activities. • 200+ peer-reviewed financial proxies, derived from reliable sources and regularly updated. • Scope to customise and/or add new financial proxies. • A description of how a project creates value and a ratio that states how much social value (in £) is created for every £ of investment. • ‘Place based’: providing an overview of how activities are making a place better to live in and the community more sustainable.

Some of our current users Barnsley Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council City of York Council Dumfries & Galloway Council Framework Housing Association Humber & Wolds RCC Humberside PCC Leeds Community Foundation Leicestershire & Rutland RCC Lincolnshire CVS / VCS: social prescribing Lindum Construction Group Northumberland County Council Rural Community Network NI South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Supporting Communities NI Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire

About Social Value What is it? Where does it come from? Why is it important? How has it been applied? Are there any limitations? When can I measure? Where next?

What is it? We mean value not in its narrow financial sense but in its true sense – recognising the importance of social, environmental and economic wellbeing across our communities and in our lives, Chris White, former MP & Social Value Ambassador. Social value is the quantification of the relative importance that people place on the changes they experience in their lives…Examples of social value might be the value we experience from increasing our confidence, or from living next to a community park. These things are important to us, but are not commonly expressed or measured in the same way that financial value is, Social Value UK.

Where does it come from? Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 • A way of thinking about how scarce resources are allocated and used. • It involves looking beyond the price of each individual contract and looking at what collective benefit to a community there is when a public body chooses to award a contract. • Social value asks the question ‘If £ 1 is spent on the delivery of services, can that same £ 1 be used to also produce wider benefit to the community? ’ • The Bill asks public bodies by law – for the first time – to consider the ways that it most benefits society as part of each decision. • It applies to Local Authorities, Government departments, NHS, fire and rescue services and housing associations - on contracts above £ 111, 676 for Government and £ 172, 514 for other bodies. • It applies to all public services contracts and those public services contracts with only an element of goods or works. But it encourages all public bodies to consider social value in their contracts. • The Act sits alongside other procurement laws (value-for-money: how this is calculated, whole life cycle requirements).

Best Value Duty Statutory guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government setting out some reasonable expectations of the way Local Authorities should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses. The guidance makes clear that Councils should consider social value when considering service provision, and for services above specified procurement thresholds at the pre-procurement stage. Authorities can also apply social value more widely than this, and the guidance recommends it be used for other contracts below the threshold or for goods and works. = Saving money, doing things well and thinking about the different ways you are helping the local community through the services you provide.

Why is it important? • Knowing what works and understanding why – what positive or negative change is happening in people’s lives as a result of policy and decisions? • Developing a ‘moving picture’ of the distance travelled – knowing what outcomes are being achieved over a sustained period of time rather than just counting outputs and meeting targets. • Providing a more rounded view – it doesn’t remove having to make difficult decisions but it can help us balance economic, social and environmental trade-offs. = The quality of the outcomes and not being driven by inertia or short -term pressures. = Ensuring money is directed at projects/programmes that most benefit society and improve people’s lives.

How has it been applied? Lord Young’s review in February 2015 found: • Where the Act had been taken up it had encouraged a more holistic approach to commissioning (quality = best value & cost savings). • But incorporation of social value into actual procurement was low. Three barriers: 1. Mixed awareness/clarification of the Act: what is social value? Will it increase bureaucracy? 2. Inconsistent practice in its application: how and when do we include it in the procurement process? 3. No agreed standards for measuring: how do we quantify the social outcomes we are seeking to embed?

Power to Change research (2017): what have community businesses made of the SVA? Community businesses were universally positive about the aims and principles of the Act, but it hasn’t yet led to a step change in commissioning. Four overall barriers: 1. Budget and resource cuts are leaving Councils with less time to consider how to implement the Act. 2. Councils are minded to go with larger contractors rather than smaller, local organisations. 3. Lack of Government guidance on collecting data and monitoring progress. Three barriers community businesses face: i. Struggle to respond to larger tenders on tight timescales (even as a consortia). ii. Lack of expertise to respond to tenders having previously relied on grants. iii. Pressures on Councils mean they can have less time to engage with local stakeholders and provide guidance on procurement. = Government should bring down the £ 172, 514 threshold for local public bodies and take a place based approach

HM Treasury: The Green Book (2018) • • The Green Book provides guidance on how to appraise policies, programmes and projects – before, during or after implementation. The term ‘social value’ is used in the latest guidance to describe how Government can improve social welfare or wellbeing = measuring the net measure of total welfare resulting from an option or intervention. A clear rationale for an intervention should be used to identify the objectives or outcomes that the Government wishes to meet. Making a business case for spending should take account of “what is the net value to society (the social value) of the intervention compared to continuing with business as usual? ” By this, Government means what would have taken place in the absence of the intervention? Generating options and the appraisal of these options should take account of: money, affordability, achievability and the delivery of social value. The preferred option should provide the best balance of costs, benefits, risks and unmonetisable factors. Monitor and evaluate the intervention’s design, implementation and outcomes.

New Government Procurement Measures (Summer 2019) Government departments will be required in their procurements to consider social values, including: • Helping access for small businesses; • Helping access for businesses from under-represented groups; • Increased representation of disabled people in the workplace; • Reducing environmental impact; • Pilots will run where Government is outsourcing a service for the first time; and • ‘Living Will’ – how public services will continue in the event of a company’s failure. = Government will be reviewing and enhancing its ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ and scalingup the ‘Gov. Tech Catalyst Programme’ to ensure good ideas and technology are assessed more quickly.

Are there any limitations? • If you don’t already have good outcomes data collection systems in place it can be time consuming first time round. • Having a narrow focus on monetisation and the ratio – it’s about value not money but using money as a common unit can influence the financial proxies people use and the ratio this leads to [e. g. an investment of £ 1. 00 delivers £ 3. 00 of social value]. This ratio is only meaningful as part of a wider narrative about the difference a project has made. Ratios will also differ between capital & revenue, one off and longer term projects. • Some outcomes cannot be easily associated with a financial proxy / monetary value (e. g. improved family relationship). • Social value is a developing area…but the engine systemises outcomes so people are using the same proxies and it also focuses on the sustainability of a place.

When can I measure? For your project, programme, activities, whole organisation and/or partnership work: Evaluative: conducted retrospectively and based on actual outcomes that have already taken place. Forecast: predicts how much value will be created if your activities meet their intended outcomes. Mid-term: to understand your impact so far and the data/evidence you need to collect to demonstrate your outcomes over the remainder of the activity. = With less funding/resources, applying social value to deliver more bang for your buck. = A tool to help you decide where to invest, assess performance and/or highlight added value.

Useful Resources • Social Value Engine: https: //socialvalueengine. com/ • Social Value UK: http: //www. socialvalueuk. org/ • Cabinet Office information and resources https: //www. gov. uk/government/publications/social-value-actinformation-and-resources/social-value-act-information-and-resources • HM Treasury The Green Book https: //assets. publishing. service. gov. uk/government/uploads/system/uplo ads/attachment_data/file/685903/The_Green_Book. pdf • Lord Young’s Social Value Act Review https: //www. gov. uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_d ata/file/403748/Social_Value_Act_review_report_150212. pdf • Power to Change community businesses & SVA research http: //www. powertochange. org. uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SVApolicy-recommendations. pdf

Contact Email: socialvalueengine@eastriding. gov. uk Telephone: 01482 391682