Understanding TOMs: A Simple Guide for Bid Teams

Social value has become one of the most important scoring areas in public sector procurement, yet many bid teams still feel unsure when it comes to TOMs.

If you’ve worked on public sector tenders recently, chances are you’ve seen references to TOMs within social value questions, evaluation criteria or procurement documents. But for many suppliers, the terminology can feel overly technical and difficult to apply in practice.

In reality, TOMs are designed to make social value simpler, more measurable and easier for buyers to evaluate.

This guide breaks down what TOMs are, why they matter, and how bid teams can use them to create stronger, more credible social value responses.

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What Are TOMs?

TOMs stands for:

• Themes
• Outcomes
• Measures

The framework was developed to help organisations structure, measure and report social value consistently across procurement and contract delivery.

Put simply, TOMs help buyers move away from vague promises and towards measurable commitments that demonstrate genuine impact.

Instead of generic statements like:

“We are committed to supporting local communities.”

Buyers increasingly want suppliers to explain:

• What they will deliver
• Who will benefit
• When delivery will happen
• How outcomes will be measured
• What evidence will be provided

TOMs provide the structure for doing exactly that.

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Breaking Down the TOMs Framework

1. Themes

Themes are the broad areas where social value activity is intended to create positive impact.

The four core Themes are:

• Employment
• Economy
• Community
• Planet

These Themes represent the wider priorities buyers are looking to support through procurement and contract delivery.

For example:

• Employment focuses on jobs, skills and workforce opportunities
• Economy focuses on local growth, SMEs and supply chains
• Community focuses on wellbeing, inclusion and social impact
• Planet focuses on environmental sustainability and carbon reduction

Themes effectively set the direction for the type of social value a buyer wants suppliers to deliver. This can help you to tailor your responses accordingly and make decisions about what companies to work for/with, based on alignment to your own social value initiatives.

2. Outcomes

Outcomes are the positive changes or benefits created within each Theme. They explain the impact the activity is intended to achieve.

For example:

Employment outcomes may include:

• Increased local employment
• More apprenticeship opportunities
• Improved skills development

Economy outcomes may include:

• Greater local supply chain spend
• Increased SME engagement
• Support for social enterprises

Community outcomes may include:

• Improved community wellbeing
• Better support for vulnerable groups
• Increased volunteering activity

Planet outcomes may include:

• Reduced carbon emissions
• Lower waste production
• Improved environmental sustainability

Outcomes focus on the real differences being made through the contract.

3. Measures

Measures are the specific metrics suppliers use to evidence the benefits achieved through those outcomes. This is where social value becomes measurable.

Measures allow buyers to understand:

• What activity will take place
• How impact will be quantified
• How delivery will be monitored
• What evidence will be reported

Examples of Measures include:

• Number of apprenticeships delivered
• Volunteer hours completed
• Percentage of local spend
• Number of work placements created
• Tonnes of carbon reduced

Measures help evaluators assess whether commitments are realistic, credible and capable of being delivered during the contract.

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Why TOMs Matter in Public Sector Procurement

Across many frameworks and tenders, social value now carries significant weighting, often between 10% and 40% of the overall score.

This means bid teams are now expected to demonstrate:

• Community impact
• Local economic benefit
• Environmental responsibility
• Inclusive employment opportunities
• Long-term social outcomes

For evaluators, TOMs make supplier commitments easier to compare and score fairly.

For suppliers, TOMs create an opportunity to differentiate themselves beyond price and technical delivery.

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What Makes a Strong TOMs Response?

A high-scoring social value response is usually clear, practical and easy to evaluate.

Strong responses typically include:

Clear Commitments

Avoid vague language.

Instead of:

“We will support local employment.”

Try:

“We will create two apprenticeship opportunities within the local authority area during year one of the contract.”

Local Relevance

Social value should be local to the buyer and reflect their community, priorities and challenges.

Before writing your response, review:

• Local authority plans
• Social value policies
• Economic priorities
• Climate commitments
• Community needs

The more tailored your response feels, the stronger it becomes.

Measurable Outcomes

Evaluators need to understand:

• What success looks like
• How progress will be tracked
• What evidence will be reported

Data builds credibility.

Contract-Specific Delivery

Strong responses explain how the contract itself creates additional social value.

Buyers want to see:

• What activity is new
• How delivery links to mobilisation
• Who owns delivery responsibility
• How outcomes will be managed throughout the contract

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Common TOMs Mistakes to Avoid

Using Generic Social Value Statements

Copy-and-paste responses never score well - buyers can quickly identify when commitments are not tailored to the contract.

Overpromising

Unrealistic commitments can damage trust and create delivery risks later. Only commit to activity your organisation can genuinely deliver and evidence.

Ignoring Measurement

If outcomes cannot be measured, buyers may question credibility.

Strong responses always explain:

• Targets
• Monitoring methods
• Reporting frequency
• Evidence collection

Treating Social Value Separately from the Bid

The best social value responses align directly with operational delivery. Social value should not only be embedded within your tender response, but embedded in your delivery strategy to ensure full alignment with the buyer

Social value should feel embedded within the contract, not added at the last minute.

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TOMs Are About More Than Tender Scores

While TOMs are commonly associated with bid writing, they also encourage organisations to think more strategically about social value overall.

Businesses that embed social value effectively often strengthen:

• Client relationships
• Brand reputation
• Employee engagement
• Local partnerships
• Competitive positioning

For many organisations, social value is becoming part of long-term business growth, not just procurement compliance. This is a strategy that should be adopted by more and more businesses to effectively consider how they are growing, what opportunities they are best suited to and what social value they should prioritise.

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Final Thoughts

TOMs are not designed to make tendering more complicated. They exist to help buyers assess social value more clearly and help suppliers demonstrate meaningful impact more effectively.

For bid teams, understanding TOMs properly can significantly strengthen social value responses and improve scoring opportunities.

The strongest responses are always specific, measurable, relevant, realistic and aligned with/local to the buyer.

At BWS, our Social Value Consultancy helps organisations strengthen social value strategies, improve TOMs responses and create measurable commitments aligned to buyer priorities.

If you want to improve how your organisation approaches social value in tenders, get in touch with our team to learn more: info@bidwritingservice.com