What makes a Social Value strategy truly effective?
In this interview, Ed Lang, our Head of Strategic Advisory, shares practical steps for getting started, insights into where industries are making real progress, and how to embed Social Value by design — not as a bolt-on.
Watch the full interview below:
Or scroll down to read the interview!
If you're an organisation thinking about developing a Social Value strategy, a really good first step is to gain clarity on why you want to do it, and crucially, why now. For example, maybe you've lost a couple of important bids recently and realised you've fallen behind the market. Maybe you’ve got lots of activity happening in different places, and the time is right to bring it all together under one umbrella.
It’s probably a mixture of things, but knowing your ‘why’, and putting it on paper and agreeing it with a group of stakeholders, is really important.
The next step we recommend, once you’ve defined your why, is a bit of discovery. Gather some intelligence. If you've lost a few key bids, think about what’s important to your customers and stakeholders. Go and find those past bids across your departments and do some analysis. What Social Value questions are you being asked? Hopefully, you’ll start to see some trends emerge.
The next area to consider is your organisation as a whole. What are your capabilities? What do you stand for? You’ve probably already got this in some shape or form, but try to look at it with a fresh perspective.
Finally, look at what’s important to society that relates to your organisation and sector. If you can gather intelligence that sits across these three buckets, that’s a great foundation to start exploring what’s next.
💡 Learn more about building a Social Value strategy with our in-depth guide
There are three industries that come to mind.
The first is engineering. The industry is very aware there’s a risk of a shortfall of engineers, so they’re thinking about how to get more young people into the sector. That’s a clear avenue to focus their Social Value efforts.
The second is the health sector. As we all know, there are clear issues like health inequality, among others. So there are tangible things organisations can address.
The third is the IT sector. There are some clear societal issues around digital inclusion and digital poverty. As a sector, they can really come together to think about how to address those specific issues.
💡 Social Value in healthcare: How Roche Diagnostic is creating generational impact
Often we see organisations wanting to do great things, and they do, but they treat Social Value as a bolt-on or afterthought. Over time, that can create friction. It might feel like a burden, and it’s not sustainable.
So instead, think about how to embed it by design. Look at the goods, works, and services you deliver. That’s where a system like the TOM System comes in. It gives you a list of tangible actions to look through.
Start small. If you’ve got a new bid or a new project, don’t try to tackle your whole organisation at once. Focus on that one project. Break down the steps and ask: how can we design in Social Value from the start, in a way that’s relevant to what the project aims to achieve?
To make your Social Value bid stand out and be memorable for the evaluator – while still hitting all the criteria – you’ve got to start by making it visionary. That’s really important, and there’s no reason why any bid can’t have a sprinkle of vision.
Then, show you really understand the questions being asked. Why are they being asked? What’s the connection to your industry, the nature of the contract, or the context of the place where the work will happen? Demonstrate that understanding, because those questions will have some importance.
Next, commit to action. Think about the different phases of the contract and how Social Value can be designed into each one, not just treated as a collection of activities at the end. It should be weaved in throughout.
Finally, instil confidence. Show the evaluator you’ve got a solid plan, a good track record, and that you’ve thought about who will deliver what, and how you’ll follow through on the commitments you’ve made.
💡 Access our complete bidder's guide: Win more Bids
Ed's team of experts have helped dozens of businesses design robust, impactful Social Value strategies.
I can’t speak highly enough of Social Value Portal: it’s the best experience I’ve had with an external business. We now have a five-year plan to strengthen employee engagement and retention. We want to make a real difference to communities, and its essential to bring all our people along on the journey with us.
Emily Gardiner, Director of HR and Communications, T Brown Group
To learn how we could help your organisation, download our Social Value Strategy guide below.