Procuring for social value: Why we should begin with the end
How can public procurement drive meaningful change rather than getting lost in bureaucracy and box-ticking? Drawing on live polling insights from the recent Government Property Conference in London, Kieran Ronnie and Chris Law explore how to deliver real social value through bold, outcome-driven strategies and stronger collaboration across supply chains.
Social value in procurement is evolving. With the release of the latest National Procurement Policy Statement, and the accompanying Procurement Policy Notes (PPN001 & PPN002) introducing a new Social Value Model aligned to the UK Government Missions, the timing couldn’t be better to reassess how we approach social value in practice. While the legislative framework is strong, the challenge remains: how do we ensure maximum impact rather than just compliance?
At our recent seminar at the Government Property Conference, held in London, we used live polling to gauge government and private sector delegates on their social value journey. The results were telling — while most participants rated the quality of social value in their contracts as “average” (44 percent), over a third (34 percent) ranked it as poor or very poor, compared to just 24 percent who rated it positively.
A lack of resources was the most common challenge (21 percent) reinforcing that current structures and delivery approaches are not always equipped to achieve meaningful impact. However, culture (15 percent), bureaucracy (12 percent), and leadership buy-in (9 percent) emerged as key barriers to embedding social value, highlighting the need for stronger support from decision makers to focus on delivery.
The case for starting at the end
Too often, social value starts with the “how” — focusing on inputs, activities and outputs such as the number of apprenticeships offered or volunteer hours logged. Procurement frameworks frequently emphasise measurable commitments, making it tempting to focus on visible and easily quantifiable metrics rather than the bigger picture.
While these figures are a common starting point, social value planning should be guided by the end goal — the “what” and “why.” This means understanding key social value drivers and ensuring procurement strategies align with the broader end goal:
- What long-term outcomes are we aiming to achieve?
- How does this procurement contribute to broader social goals, such as reducing inequality or enhancing local economic resilience?
- Are we measuring success based on activities or on real, lasting change?
Using the new Social Value Model, buyers should seek to understand how suppliers will contribute to the Missions and Outcomes — the desired end objective — be it kickstarting economic growth or breaking down barriers to opportunity. By setting out their desired “what” and “why”, suppliers can then develop social value activity that contributes to the overall goal, whilst having the flexibility of delivery depending on contract type or location.
A simple example illustrates this shift. Consider two procurement bids:
- Supplier A offers 100 volunteer hours, 5 new local jobs and 2 apprenticeships.
- Supplier B offers 80 training hours, a degree apprenticeship, 4 local jobs (all at a living wage) and targeted upskilling.
At first glance, Supplier A appears stronger based on volume. However, if the goal is social mobility, Supplier B delivers more impact. Training and upskilling help workers move into higher-paying jobs. A degree apprenticeship creates long-term career progression, while guaranteeing the Real Living Wage ensures economic stability. By focusing on outcomes, rather than ticking off social value inputs, procurement decisions can better serve long-term community needs. These can then be developed into meaningful metrics as part of contract management.
The missing link in social value delivery
One of the strongest themes from our live poll was the importance of collaboration, both within organisations and across supply chains. When supply chain partners align around shared priorities, the impact of social value initiatives grows exponentially.
Traditional procurement models often involve disconnected suppliers, hundreds of clients, and fragmented frameworks with little strategic cohesion. This leads to inconsistent measurement, limited long-term impact, and missed opportunities for meaningful change. In contrast, an allianced delivery model brings suppliers together to tackle common challenges, use uniform metrics and drive joint delivery.
An example of this is the Crown Commercial Services (CSS) Construction Professional Services (CPS) Social Value Focus Group chaired by AECOM on behalf of CCS, and convening a range of public sector authorities and suppliers. This group is actively working to embed this thinking, promoting ways that procurement frameworks can facilitate long-term, strategic collaboration rather than isolated, one-off buying initiatives.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estate, which has used the CCS CPS framework to form a supplier alliance, structures its procurement strategy to align supplier objectives, enabling a more cohesive and measurable approach to social value. This model supports initiatives like Forests With Impact, an industry-led social enterprise we are proud to be a founding member of, which is delivering tangible environmental social benefits; creating jobs, enhancing biodiversity, and driving community-led sustainability efforts. Having the clarity of MoJ’s “what” and “why” on developing prisoners and prison leavers employability provides us with the clarity to deliver and support innovative solutions such as Forests with Impact.
When supply chain partners are aligned, procurement moves beyond transactional commitments to deliver legacy outcomes, for example, accessible and sustainable careers for local people, improved community wellbeing and integration, and a fair and equitable transition to net zero.
Unlocking impact through outcomes and collaboration
By taking an outcomes-first approach, we can shift the dial from “average” social value integration to truly transformative impact. Our live poll revealed a key insight: while the challenges were often similar — resource constraints, bureaucracy and leadership buy-in — the strengths were far more diverse. From local recruitment and SME contracting to wellbeing, community and legacy building, it is clear that organisations have a desire to create meaningful, lasting impact. To achieve this, an outcomes-led approach is transformative. One that recognises these unique strengths but actively brings them together through collaboration to maximise social value.
With the latest updates to the UK’s National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) and clearer guidelines on social value, the tools are in place. The real challenge now is how we use them.
Originally published Feb 28, 2025
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