Social Value Training

Social Value Training and Consultancy for Public Sector Bids

At Thornton & Lowe, we offer bespoke social value training and consultancy services, tailored specifically to your organisation's needs and challenges. Our expert-led sessions help organisations navigate the complexities of social value, ensuring that your bids not only meet the required criteria but stand out for their meaningful contributions to the community.

We also offer outsourced social value bid writing services to ensure that your proposals are both compliant with the latest requirements and stand out in a crowded field. Whether you're looking to improve your existing strategy or need a complete overhaul, our experts can support you through every stage of the bid process. We also provide outsourced procurement consultancy for public and third-sector organisations to help you establish effective social value strategies and ensure compliance with evolving procurement requirements.

Why Social Value Matters in Public Sector Bids

In today's competitive tendering environment, demonstrating social value is a key factor in securing public sector contracts. Local authorities, such as Salford City Council, now require bidders to show how their proposals will benefit the community beyond just financial cost. This means providing real, measurable social impact, like improving local employment opportunities, promoting skills development, or supporting environmental sustainability.

The shift towards incorporating social value in tenders stems from various legislative measures, including the Social Value Act, as well as the Public Procurement. Both require public organisations to consider social value when awarding contracts. As a result, integrating social value into your bidding process has become an essential element of a successful proposal.

What We Offer: Tailored Social Value Training & Consultancy

Our bespoke social value training is designed to help your organisation develop a comprehensive strategy for delivering social value in bids. We ensure that your approach is both quantifiable and impactful, so you can clearly communicate your contributions to local authorities and public bodies.

We also offer outsourced social value bid writing services to ensure that your proposals are both compliant with the latest requirements and stand out in a crowded field. Whether you're looking to improve your existing strategy or need a complete overhaul, our experts can support you through every stage of the bid process.

Social Value Training for Suppliers

For suppliers bidding for public sector contracts, understanding and demonstrating social value can make a significant difference in your tender submissions. Our Supplier Social Value Training is designed to help you:

Understand what social value is and why it is increasingly important when tendering for public sector or government contracts.
Articulate social value in your bid responses in a way that is measurable and impactful.
Demonstrate your additionality - showing how your offering goes above and beyond the core contractual requirements.
Quantify your impact - learn to use relevant metrics and frameworks to back up your social value claims.
Align your offering with client priorities - ensuring you are addressing specific social value outcomes that the buyer is seeking.

This training is ideal for businesses aiming to enhance their bid competitiveness, particularly when working with public sector clients or third-sector organisations, where social value is increasingly weighted in the procurement process.

Interested in outsourced bid writing to strengthen your tender responses? Learn more about our outsourced Bid Writing Services.

Social Value Training for Procurement Teams

For procurement teams within public sector organisations, embedding social value into your procurement documents is essential for achieving long-term impact. Our Procurement Social Value Training will guide you through:

How to create social value strategies that align with your organisation’s procurement goals.
Embedding social value into tender documents, ensuring it is clear and measurable.
Evaluating social value outcomes effectively, both at the bid stage and throughout the contract lifecycle.
Monitoring and reporting social value, so that its impact can be tracked and communicated.
Creating a framework for accountability to ensure suppliers deliver on their commitments.

This training ensures that public sector procurement teams are equipped to embed social value in every aspect of their procurement process, driving measurable and meaningful outcomes for the community.

We also offer tailored outsourced procurement consultancy for public and third-sector organisations.

Key Elements to Consider When Incorporating Social Value

Whether you are a supplier bidding for work or a procurement team managing tenders, there are several key elements to keep in mind when incorporating social value into the procurement process:

Alignment with Local Needs - Ensure that the social value outcomes you propose are relevant to the specific community or sector you’re serving.
Additionality - Demonstrate how your offering goes beyond the minimum contractual requirements.
Measurability - Develop clear, quantifiable targets to measure the success of your social value initiatives.
Impact Reporting - Create a system for tracking and reporting on social value throughout the contract lifecycle.
Monitoring and Verification - Implement strategies to monitor social value delivery and verify outcomes, ensuring transparency and accountability.

How We Can Help

Our team at Thornton & Lowe can help you build a social value strategy that aligns with your business goals and meets the expectations of public sector clients. Whether you need training on social value, assistance with bid writing, or help in setting up effective measurement frameworks, we’ve got you covered.

For more details on our bid and tender training courses, see here.

Social Value Tips & Guidance

Social value is no longer a "nice-to-have" in public sector tenders – it’s a key evaluation factor! Whether you're a supplier aiming to craft a competitive bid or a procurement team building the right frameworks, delivering meaningful social value can be your edge. Here are some practical insights to help you approach social value in a way that truly benefits the community, your contract, and your reputation.

Get Inside the Client’s Mindset

It's tempting to go broad with your social value responses, but to really hit the mark, you need to understand the client’s specific goals. Dive into their published social value strategies, past reports, and local priorities. For example, if you're bidding for a local government contract, look at their economic development plans or local skills strategies. Tailor your approach to directly align with what they’re prioritising, whether it's job creation, sustainability, or community health.

Think Beyond the Contract

A key part of any successful social value response is demonstrating that your commitments are additional – that’s to say, beyond what you’re contractually required to do. It could be something as simple as offering volunteer hours or donating goods to local causes. For instance, if you’re contracted to provide training, you might go the extra mile by offering mentoring or career guidance workshops to local communities. Always keep this in mind: what extra will you offer to make a real difference?

Be Clear & Measurable

Clarity and measurable commitments are what turn vague promises into impactful social value. For both suppliers and procurement teams, the SMART approach is indispensable. It's essential that you break down each promise: who’s involved, when it’ll happen, how you’ll measure it, and why it matters. Instead of saying, "We’ll offer training," say, "We’ll train 50 local apprentices in construction, tracked through regular progress reports and outcome reviews." This not only makes it concrete but shows you have the systems in place to deliver.

Keep It Real – Don’t Overstretch

Offering realistic social value is just as important as offering measurable outcomes. If you promise too much and fail to deliver, it’s not only damaging to your reputation but could also impact contract renewal opportunities. Take time to assess the scale of your commitments and balance them with contract size and duration. A common pitfall is offering social value that’s too broad or unrealistic given your resources. Keep your social value offerings proportional to the contract’s scope and your company’s capacity to deliver.

Show Credibility Through Evidence

Talk is cheap – but evidence of previous success goes a long way. If you’ve previously delivered social value initiatives, make sure you provide case studies, data, and feedback that demonstrates your impact. Before-and-after stats, pictures, and testimonials from local beneficiaries can give your response the authenticity it needs. For example, if you're pledging to reduce waste through recycling initiatives, show how you've successfully done this before, with specific outcomes.

Measure & Report – Don’t Skip This Step

For any social value response to be credible, you must detail how you’ll track and report progress. It's about more than just saying you'll deliver – it’s about showing your client that you have a structured plan in place. Whether it’s quarterly reporting, local economic impact tracking, or skills development outcomes, give your client full visibility into your journey. A strong report mechanism ensures transparency and adds weight to your commitment.

Focus on Local Impact

No matter the size of your contract, focusing on the local community is a critical aspect of any successful social value response. A good place to start is by assessing local needs. This could be as simple as reviewing local statistics (unemployment rates, local skills shortages) or speaking with community groups. As a supplier, your job is to show you understand these needs and how your actions will directly benefit the community. Think about local employment, working with local SMEs, or supporting local charities.

Engage Your Team and Network

Social value isn’t just a one-off activity – it requires the buy-in from your entire team, especially when it comes to implementation. If you're a supplier, this means ensuring that everyone – from staff to subcontractors – is aware of their role in delivering the commitments made. Procurement teams, likewise, need to establish clear accountability frameworks for their suppliers, ensuring that social value commitments are not only made but actively delivered throughout the contract.

Avoid Over-Claiming

Over-claiming social value can seriously damage your reputation. If you’re claiming an initiative as part of your social value that doesn’t directly relate to your contract or isn’t actually additional, it’ll be flagged during the evaluation process. Stay clear of general corporate social responsibility statements, and instead, focus on specific, deliverable initiatives. It’s tempting to promise the world, but staying grounded in what’s achievable will give your bid integrity and reduce the risk of disqualification.

Success in social value tendering comes down to a realistic, clear, and measurable approach. For suppliers, this means crafting responses that are not just generic pledges but tailored, well-thought-out commitments. For procurement teams, it’s about making sure that social value is baked into your tender criteria in a way that drives genuine positive impact. Always remember that clarity, specificity, and evidence are the cornerstones of a great social value bid response.