Social Value in UK Bids

Social value in procurement refers to the wider benefits a contract can deliver to society beyond its core commercial purpose. Since January 2021, under Procurement Policy Note 06/20 (PPN 06/20), central government departments must evaluate social value as part of the procurement process, with a minimum weighting of 10% of the total score.

Many local authorities and other public bodies have adopted similar approaches, often with higher weightings. This means that how you deliver social value can be the difference between winning and losing a bid.

The policy uses the Social Value Model, which organises social value into five themes: COVID-19 recovery, tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, driving equal opportunity, and improving wellbeing. Each theme has specific policy outcomes and reporting metrics.

The Social Value Model provides a structured framework for how social value should be evaluated. The five themes are:

• Theme 1: COVID-19 recovery — helping local communities recover from the pandemic, supporting organisations and businesses to manage and recover
• Theme 2: Tackling economic inequality — creating new businesses, jobs, and skills; increasing supply chain resilience; addressing skills gaps
• Theme 3: Fighting climate change — effective stewardship of the environment, reducing waste, achieving net zero
• Theme 4: Equal opportunity — reducing the disability employment gap, tackling workforce inequality, improving representation
• Theme 5: Wellbeing — improving health and wellbeing, community integration, influencing staff and supply chain

Not every theme will apply to every contract. The contracting authority will select the relevant themes and outcomes for each procurement. Your job is to respond specifically to the themes they have selected, with measurable commitments.

The most common mistake in social value responses is making generic promises. Evaluators score responses that are specific, measurable, relevant, and deliverable. Here is a practical approach:

1. Read the question carefully. Identify which Social Value Model themes are being evaluated and what specific outcomes the buyer is looking for.
2. Make commitments you can deliver. Don't promise to create 50 apprenticeships if your business has 10 employees. Be ambitious but realistic.
3. Quantify where possible. "We will provide 20 hours of mentoring to local school leavers in the first year" is far stronger than "We will support local education".
4. Link to the contract. Show how your social value commitments relate to the delivery of the contract, not to general CSR activities.
5. Include a delivery plan. Show how you will implement, monitor, and report on your commitments. Include timelines and responsible individuals.

Remember that social value commitments made in your bid become contractual obligations. Only promise what you can genuinely deliver.

Evaluators see the same mistakes repeatedly. Avoid these:

• Copy-pasting your CSR policy — evaluators want contract-specific commitments, not a general corporate responsibility statement
• Making unmeasurable promises — "We will support the community" scores poorly; "We will deliver 100 hours of free IT training to local residents in year one" scores well
• Ignoring the scoring criteria — if the buyer has asked for Theme 2 and Theme 3, don't write about Theme 5
• Overpromising — commitments you cannot deliver will damage your reputation and may result in contract performance issues
• Not evidencing past delivery — if you have previously delivered social value on similar contracts, include the evidence

Use our Bid Compliance Checklist tool to verify your response meets the stated requirements before submission.