Social value

‘Social value’ is one way that we get additional value from the contracts that the Council lets.

‘Social value’ is one way that we create more social benefits from Council contracts. It is when our contractors go above and beyond their legal and contractual requirements, to make Solihull a better place where everyone has an equal chance to be healthier, happier, safer and more prosperous.

Organisations delivering additional value within the borough, but not through a contract with the council, is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Council is also encouraging the delivery of CSR in Solihull.

What is social value? 

The Council use the national Sustainable Procurement Taskforce definition of social value as:

“A process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services and works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.”

What is Solihull’s approach to social value?

Each year, the Council spends £200m through commissioning and procuring goods and services. We need to ensure that we work with responsible contractors to meet the needs of our communities. We want to create positive outcomes for society, beyond the initial requirements of our contracts. 

We also want our public services to be delivered by organisations that value:

  • the environment
  • our communities
  • the wellbeing of their employees

We will incorporate social value requirements into the procurement exercise where it is appropriate to do so.

Social value must be delivered within 15 miles of Solihull Town Centre. This document lists all postcodes within that area.

How do we include this in our contracts?

We currently include a social value element of between 5 and 20% in all contracts we have with suppliers that are over £50k. More detail of this is included in our Social Value policy.

How do we measure social value?

We measure the social value created on our contracts using the national TOMs Framework. We use the TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) to measure and assess the social value element of the contract submission.

The TOMs measure delivery of social value under the following headings:

  • Promoting local skills and employment (Jobs)
  • Supporting growth of responsible regional business (Business)
  • Creating healthier, safer and more resilient communities (Social)
  • Protecting and improving our environment (Environment)
  • Promoting social innovation (Innovation)

Social Value/Corporate Social Responsibility Guides

Evaluation and monitoring

We use the Social Value Portal to track and assess the social value in contracts on or above the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) value.

Contracts below this value are evaluated and monitored by officers within the Council.

Toolkit

We have developed a Social Value Toolkit to help support suppliers with this process.

Data

To understand more about the makeup of the borough, please use the following data maps:

Match my Project

Match my Project (MMP) is a free service that enables businesses, whether this be through social value obligations or CSR objectives, to post their offers of support and for community organisations and not for profit organisations including schools to post their requests.

The aim is to match the two together to deliver positive community benefits and create longer-term business and community relationships.

We also hold quarterly face-to-face matching events around Solihull to support this project.

To help sign up to the portal, please use the following guides:

Infographic

Each year the Council is measuring how much Social Value has been generated for the borough.

For any queries in relation to social value please email socialvalue@solihull.gov.uk.

Case studies list

Our case studies show how we have applied social value to our past projects: