Our New Social Value Consultancy

Introduction to Social Value

What Is Social Value?

Social value (SV) has always been a key part of the tender writing process, but even more so now with the changes made under the Procurement Act. In simple terms, SV refers to the additional economic, social and environmental benefits a supplier can deliver alongside the core requirements of a contract.  

Rather than focusing purely on cost and technical capability, contracting authorities are increasingly looking at the wider impact of a supplier’s work – how they contribute to local communities, how they encourage environmental benefits and increase job creation.  

These commitments must be specific, measurable and aligned with the priorities of the buyer, so it can be difficult to strike this balance and write a high-scoring response that is compelling, aligned and most importantly, achievable.

Why Social Value Is Now Essential

The rise of social value is closely tied to an increased scrutiny around public spending. Governments and public authorities are under growing pressure to ensure that procurement delivers long-term value, not just immediate outputs.  

As a result of this, social value now carries significant weight in bids, typically weighted between 10-30% of the overall score, sometimes higher depending on the sector and project. This means that even strong technical submissions can fall short without a credible and well-structured social value response.  

Many organisations use frameworks such as TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) for complete transparency and accountability. These frameworks allow suppliers to clearly define (and evidence) exactly what social value contributions they will deliver, how they will be measured and what impacts they will have.

Why Your Business Needs a Social Value Strategy

For businesses bidding in the public sector, a clear social value strategy is no longer optional, it’s a fundamental requirement.

Without a clear, structured social value strategy, organisations often rely on generic or unrealistic statements that are both unreachable and will not score well. Developing a strategy ensures that your social value commitments are:

• Relevant to the buyer’s priorities  

• Measurable and evidenced

• Achievable and aligned with your own company objectives  

A strong social value strategy not only improves bid performance but also strengthens your overall positioning as a responsible and forward-thinking supplier.

Creating a strong social value strategy will not only improve bid performance but will also strengthen your positioning as a responsible and trustworthy supplier.

The Future of Social Value

Social value has drastically grown in importance over recent years, and this significance will continue to increase. Buyers are becoming more critical with how they assess social value commitments, placing emphasis on measurable outcomes, transparency and long-term impact.

Social value will continue to look different for every organisation. When it comes to social value, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, which is why tailored social value responses are now essential.  

Any business that invests in developing a clear and credible approach will now be far better positioned to compete in the future.

Introducing Our Social Value Consultancy

Our Consultancy Approach

As social value requirements become more complex, many organisations are struggling to translate expectations into clear, high-scoring responses - our new consultancy service is designed to bridge that gap.

Our consultancy services are built around your business, they don’t just follow generic templates. We will provide a tailored service plan that assesses your current social value readiness and identifies any areas for improvement. This includes reviewing your existing approach, highlighting any missing frameworks or ISO standards, and advising on which opportunities you are best placed to pursue.

The goal is to help you develop measurable, evidenced commitments that align with buyer expectations and can be delivered realistically.

At BWS, we understand that SMEs and microbusinesses are under increasing pressure to deliver social value with minimal budgets and resources. Our consultancy approach is perfect for small businesses to maximise winning chances and think innovatively about social value reform and strategy.

Additionally, for those who don’t need a tailored service, our social value lead will be hosting webinars and offering workshops for client groups across any sector. This will walk you through the basics of social value, how to create a strategy, innovative ways to expand your social value contributions and how to best communicate this within a tender response.  

Consultancy Tiers

We offer structured levels of support depending on what stage of your social value journey you’re in. Each tier is designed to help businesses develop from understanding social value requirements through to embedding long-term, measurable impact across operations and bids.

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Tier 1: Readiness Audit

This tier is best suited for organisations needing a clear baseline before committing to a wider social value programme.

This tier includes:

• A structured Social Value ‘readiness’ audit

• Review of existing evidence, activity and data

• A readiness score and recommendations report

• Identification of immediate improvement opportunities

• Signposting to training, frameworks and data capture support

This service is ideal for organisations wanting to understand where they currently stand and what practical actions are needed to improve future bid performance.

Tier 2: Strategy and Support

Tier 2 is ideal for organisations requiring ongoing guidance to turn social value ambitions into a workable strategy.

This tier includes:

• Audit findings translated into a tailored action plan

• Social value strategy development aligned with buyer priorities

• Reporting and measurement framework creation

• Support identifying suitable charity and social enterprise partners

• Bid alignment and practical implementation support

• Regular consultancy check-ins and progress reviews

This approach helps businesses move beyond generic commitments and develop measurable, realistic and deliverable social value plans.

Tier 3: Growth and Partnership Model

This tier is for ambitious organisations seeking long-term growth, investment readiness or a more mature social value model.

This tier includes:

• Full social value roadmap and implementation planning

• Access to partnership and network opportunities

• Social investment and funding pathway support

• Training, mentoring and internal capability building

• Governance and structure support where relevant

• Measurable impact reporting and implementation reviews

This tier is designed to help organisations embed social value into company culture and commercial strategy, creating long-term sustainable impact and stronger procurement positioning.

Meet Alex: Leading Our Social Value Consultancy

Alex Mercer leads our social value consultancy, bringing over a decade of experience across both social value delivery and policy.

Alex worked for a national waste management contractor and charity, focusing on rehabilitation and social impact. This experience provided a strong foundation in understanding how social value is delivered in practice and how to measure impactful outcomes.

Public Sector Insight

Alex also brings valuable insight from experience connected to the Foreign Office, giving him a clear understanding of the pressures faced by government departments, particularly in relation to Treasury expectations and spending.

His work has been shaped by the principles of the Green Book, focusing on how to quantify and evidence social value.

Involvement in Social Value Reform

During the 2016–2018 period of social value reform, Alex worked alongside key figures such as Nathan Good and Guy Battle and other members of the National Taskforce on Social Value, which presented its findings to the All Party Parliamentary Group, which was headed up by Alex Sobel, MP.

Through this, he was involved in engagement, influencing discussions, and supporting the implementation of the social value principles that now ground tenders.

Why This Expertise Matters

Alex’s combination of delivery experience, policy understanding, and legal insight allows us to provide clients with expert guidance and create strategies that align with core procurement fundamentals.  

As social value continues to evolve, having the right expertise in place will be critical. Our approach is designed to help you move beyond compliance and build a social value strategy that is credible, competitive and capable of delivering real impact.

Get in Touch

For more details about our social value consultancy service, reach out to info@bidwritingservice.com. Stay tuned to learn more about our webinars and watch out for updates on how to get involved.