The real estate sector plays a defining role in shaping the places where people live, work and connect. That influence brings a responsibility to respond to the persistent challenges of poverty, deprivation and inequality – issues highlighted again in the 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation.
Social Value remains one of the sector’s most powerful levers for meaningful change, whether by creating employment pathways, improving wellbeing, or strengthening communities through the spaces and services they rely on.
But impact only happens when organisations understand what communities truly need. Without that clarity, even well-intentioned initiatives risk missing the mark.
This is exactly the challenge our Local Needs Analysis (LNA) – Dynamic Data Hub was designed to address. And we’re proud to share that this work has been recognised with Property Week’s Tech Innovation Award for Best Community and Social Impact Technology.
Social Value Portal’s Head of Local Needs Analysis Tessa Alcorn (left) and Chief Strategy Officer Anna McChesney-Gordon (right), with the Award!
The judges summed up what makes the Hub distinctive:
The strength of this entry lies in its ability to bridge data and delivery. It’s not just mapping deprivation or highlighting need; it’s offering a route to real-world impact, with users able to align interventions to local priorities.
From insight to action
Our Local Needs Analysis Hub brings together two critical components:
- A live, granular picture of community needs – drawing on more than 15,000 data points from the IMD, ONS, Public Health England and others to uncover the real issues affecting neighbourhoods.
- A framework of actionable, reportable measures – directly connected to the Social Value TOM System™ and the UK Government’s Social Value Model, enabling teams to move from insight to targeted intervention.
With interactive dashboards, mapping tools and self-service access spanning 300+ local authorities, the Hub helps organisations design, deliver and measure Social Value in a way that genuinely reflects local priorities. It also supports equity and accessibility through consistent metrics, open public access and complimentary access for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises).
This is resulting is measurable impact across the sector. Landsec, for example, used the Hub to shape the Social Value strategy for 55 Old Broad Street, with projected outcomes of £598 million in Social Value – 277% of construction costs.
Social Value Portal’s research and recommendations were invaluable in helping Landsec develop a public benefits offer for Old Broad Street that was rooted in local needs. It has added a certain powerful context to the current activity on site that would not have been possible without this degree of local understanding.
Kate Honey, Group Community Advocacy Lead at Landsec
And in this interview, Waltham Forest Council's Social Investment Lead Adrian Williams shares the benefits that Local Needs Analysis has had for his team's work:
A motivating moment for Social Value
Anna McChesney-Gordon, Chief Strategy Officer at Social Value Portal, whose team supports businesses and public bodies across the UK with Local Needs Analysis, said:
This award recognises the impact that the Local Needs Analysis Dynamic Data Hub is having in helping organisations create real, tangible improvements to people’s lives. We’re proud of the team behind this innovation, and of the partners who are using it every day to make better decisions for communities.
Anna McChesney-Gordon, Chief Strategy Officer, Social Value Portal
Big challenges remain across the country, but this recognition strengthens our commitment at Social Value Portal to help the sector meet them with clarity, purpose, and confidence.
See what the Local Needs Analysis – Dynamic Data Hub can do
If you want to understand local needs, target your efforts more effectively, and deliver Social Value that truly makes a difference, find out more about Local Needs Analysis:
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