How Social Value Can Improve Tender Scores and Win Contracts

Across public sector procurement, social value has evolved from a supplementary consideration into a significant scoring criterion that can directly influence contract awards. In many tenders, social value now accounts for between 20% and 40% of the total evaluation score, meaning it can have just as much impact as your technical proposal or pricing strategy.

The organisations that understand this are winning more work, whereas the organisations that treat social value as an afterthought are increasingly finding themselves left behind.

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What Is Social Value?

At its simplest, social value is the positive impact your organisation creates beyond delivering the core contract. It focuses on the wider benefits your business brings to communities, local economies, people and the environment.

This could include:

• Creating employment opportunities
• Supporting apprenticeships and skills development
• Reducing carbon emissions
• Working with local suppliers
• Supporting charities and community groups
• Improving diversity and inclusion
• Delivering environmental initiatives
• Investing in local communities

The key point is that buyers are no longer evaluating suppliers solely on what they deliver - they are also assessing the differences those suppliers will make. For more information on the scope and significance of social value in tendering, consult our other blog posts here.

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Why Buyers Are Increasingly Prioritising Social Value

Public sector organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate value for money. However, value is no longer measured solely in pounds and pence. Contracting authorities are expected to consider how their procurement decisions contribute to broader social, economic and environmental outcomes.

As a result, buyers increasingly want suppliers that can:

• Strengthen local economies
• Create sustainable employment
• Support community wellbeing
• Reduce environmental impact
• Deliver measurable long-term benefits

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How Social Value Improves Tender Scores

Many suppliers focus heavily on technical responses and pricing while allocating minimal attention to social value, but this is often where valuable marks are lost. Strong social value responses can improve scores by demonstrating the following:

Relevance

Buyers want to see commitments that align directly with their priorities, so generic statements rarely score well.

For example, a housing association may prioritise employment and skills opportunities for local residents, while a local authority may focus more heavily on environmental sustainability and community wellbeing.

The strongest responses clearly demonstrate an understanding of the buyer's objectives.

Credibility

Evaluators want confidence that commitments will actually be delivered.

Evidence within responses can include:

• Clear delivery plans
• Named responsibilities
• Realistic targets
• Previous examples of success
• Reporting mechanisms

The more credible your commitments appear, the more confidence buyers have in awarding marks.

Measurability

Piggy-backing off credibility, is measurability. This is one of the biggest reasons social value responses currently underperform - it's not enough to tell your evaluators what you're going to do, you need to tell them the exact outcomes they will see throughout the contract term.

Strong submissions include measurable commitments such as:

• Number of apprenticeships created
• Volunteer hours delivered
• Tonnes of carbon reduced
• Local spending commitments
• Training opportunities provided

If it cannot be measured, it becomes difficult for buyers to evaluate and trust.

Added Value

The highest-scoring responses often demonstrate benefits that go beyond minimum expectations. Buyers want to see genuine investment in outcomes rather than recycled commitments that appear in every tender submission.

Innovation is key here - even if you're still testing out new methods or have innovative ideas that have not been fully implemented yet, including them in your responses could bulk up your added value sections.

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Common Social Value Mistakes That Cost Marks

After reviewing hundreds of tenders, several recurring mistakes continue to appear.

Using Generic Responses

Many organisations submit the same social value response regardless of the contract, but many suppliers don't realise that buyers can spot this immediately. Strong responses are tailored to the specific opportunity - it demonstrates that you understand the contract scope and proves why you're the best fit.

Making Unrealistic Commitments

Overpromising may sound impressive initially, but evaluators often recognise when commitments are unrealistic. Practical, achievable actions usually score better than ambitious promises with no delivery plan. Buyers know which organisations will end up costing them more money in the long run.

Focusing on Activities Instead of Outcomes

A common mistake is listing activities without explaining the benefit.

For example:

"We will attend local careers fairs."

This would be a much better response with added outcomes:

"We will attend four local careers fairs annually, engaging with approximately 200 students and creating pathways into employment and apprenticeships."

The outcome is what creates value, credibility and trust.

Failing to Provide Evidence

In a similar vein to the above, buyers increasingly want proof. Supporting claims with examples, case studies, metrics and existing initiatives can significantly strengthen a response.

These details are the key to developing a relationship with the buyer - it tells them exactly what you're doing, exactly how you're doing it and what exact results you're achieving.

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Building Social Value Into Your Business Strategy

As with most tender components, the strongest social value responses are rarely created during the final days of a tender submission. Instead, they are built from activities already embedded within the organisation and months, if not years, of proven results and process development.

Businesses that consistently achieve high social value scores typically have:

• A defined social value strategy
• Clear measurement and reporting processes
• Established community partnerships
• Environmental initiatives already in place
• Evidence libraries containing case studies and impact data
• Internal ownership of social value delivery

This not only improves tender scores but also makes bid writing significantly easier. Instead of creating commitments from scratch, organisations can draw upon existing programmes and evidence, which are easily slotted into responses to build credibility and increase winning chances.

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Social Value Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage

As procurement becomes increasingly competitive, many suppliers find themselves offering similar technical solutions and comparable pricing. However, social value is often where organisations can differentiate themselves.

Different organisations will have different priorities and initiatives. Choosing social value components that best fit with your organisation's ethos and structure will make it easy for buyers to understand what you believe in, how you're making a difference and how you'll fit within their contract scope.

A well-developed social value strategy will:

• Improve tender evaluation scores
• Strengthen competitive positioning
• Enhance brand reputation
• Create stronger stakeholder relationships
• Support long-term business growth
• Increase contract win rates

In many procurements, social value is no longer the section that supports the bid, it is the section that helps win it.

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How BWS Can Help

At Bid Writing Service, we know that social value should be a business strategy, not an added bonus. So, we help organisations move beyond simply completing social value questions.

Our Social Value Consultancy supports businesses to:

• Develop social value strategies
• Strengthen tender responses
• Build evidence libraries
• Measure and report impact
• Align commitments with buyer priorities
• Embed social value across their organisation

Whether you need support for a specific bid or a long-term social value strategy, our team can help you turn social value into a genuine competitive advantage.  For more information on our personalised consultancy services, get in touch on info@bidwritingservice.com.

Additionally, you can read our practical guide to TOMs and social value measurement here.

‍When social value is planned properly, measured effectively and communicated clearly, it becomes far more than a tender requirement. It becomes a contract-winning tool.