Setting up for success: partnering to deliver social value in West Cumbria
Social value initiatives can play a powerful role in how infrastructure programmes support the communities around them — from education and skills development to strong local partnerships. When clients and their supply chain work in partnership with the local community, those benefits can go even further.
In West Cumbria, we’re working with Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) to deliver social value commitments through its Integrated Design and Engineering Framework (IDEF). While the work is still at an early stage, the focus has been on setting strong foundations — shaping the plan collaboratively, targeting support where it can have the greatest impact and working closely with organisations across the programme.
Here, Tracy Badham, Social Responsibility Manager at NWS, and Nicola Gorrill, Social Value Lead at AECOM, discuss how that approach is taking shape.
Tell us about how you came up with the social value plan.
“We started by reviewing the tender commitments and ensuring they were clear. From there, the focus was on understanding what was already happening locally and where we could add the most value.
Certain communities in West Cumbria already have a lot of school engagement activity, so it was important that we complemented that rather than duplicating it. We looked at the data and local landscape to identify where to focus our efforts. For example, because of the work at the Low-Level Waste Repository (LLWR) at Drigg, in West Cumbria, we agreed to focus activity in the South Copeland area. Millom in particular is more remote, so focusing engagement here helps ensure support reaches communities closest to the LLWR site, including the Millom primary school cluster. This helped shape a targeted plan focused on where support could make the greatest difference.
It began with strong collaboration. Yes, there was a tender document, but there was recognition that the plan needed flexibility. That collaborative approach has shaped the relationship from the outset.
How does having someone embedded locally strengthen the partnership?
It makes a huge difference having someone with their boots on the ground in the area you’re working in. Nicola lives in West Cumbria and immediately understood what we were trying to achieve.
We never felt like we were pulling her to become part of the journey — she was front and centre. In some cases, she’s represented us in meetings when we couldn’t be there. That’s really powerful — to have that confidence in a supplier.
How has collaboration shaped the way social value is delivered in practice?
A good example is how we’ve worked alongside other suppliers and the Centre for Leadership Performance, which facilitates many of the workshops. Rather than approaching schools separately, we’ve coordinated our activity and worked as one team. That way, schools have a clearer, more joined-up offer.
There are no egos. Ultimately, we’re here to give young people some inspiration and help support the curriculum. We don’t have elbows out — we have our arms open, so to speak.
Social value is an area we shouldn’t be competitive about. It serves a much better purpose to work together — because ultimately the community will get the best from you.
Nicola, how has your experience on other programmes influenced your approach here?
One key lesson from working on major programmes such as the Great Grid Partnership (GGP) is the importance of focus. Social value can cover a lot of ground, but real impact comes from understanding what matters locally and aligning activity around that.
That experience helps when stepping into frameworks like IDEF — making sure what we deliver is proportionate to the programme and focused where it can have the greatest impact for the community. And the learning works both ways — the delivery experience from IDEF also feeds into what we’re doing on other programmes.
How are you setting the social value plan up for success going forward?
For us, it starts with building strong relationships in South Copeland, particularly with the primary school sector around Millom. We’re still at the early stages, but that local engagement is an important foundation for the work ahead.
We’re also using a social value measurement tool called Thrive, which allows us to track delivery against the commitments set out in the plan. Suppliers log activity against agreed metrics, helping us track progress and understand the value created. In the short time the contract has been live, AECOM has already delivered 199 volunteering hours — equating to more than £7,500 in social value.
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