Social Value Portal

25/03/2026

📈 The Procurement Act is changing the role of Social Value in public procurement.

With £400bn spent annually through public procurement, this shift matters. More than 40,000 contract awards are set to expire in the next 12 months and will need to be retendered, at a time when the market is becoming more active and more competitive, with 9.4% more buyers and 12.7% more suppliers in play.

This is no longer just about cost, compliance, or what gets written into a tender response. It is about maximising public benefit, raising the bar on what contracts deliver, and giving Social Value greater weight in the conversations that shape procurement from the start.

In this session, Amy Hazlehurst, Anne McKinnon and Tim Rudin explore what this shift looks like in practice, from long-term value and stronger market transparency to the growing expectation that Social Value must be considered part of the job.

Watch the full session on demand: https://hubs.li/Q048ddLR0

24/03/2026

🧠 What if a shopping centre could play a role in preventing a mental health crisis?
At Birmingham’s Bullring & Grand Central, that’s already happening.

Following the pandemic, on-site teams were supporting people in distress; the issue wasn’t effort, but timing, with intervention often coming too late to change the outcome.

With a shifted approach, they moved away from reacting at crisis point to making support visible and accessible within everyday life.

In collaboration with Hammerson plc JLL Residential & Mitie people, Birmingham Mind's Wellbeing Hub now sits in the heart of the city centre, where anyone can walk in without an appointment or diagnosis, creating a space that removes the barriers many people face when seeking help.

📊 The impact thus far:

• 1,436+ intervention conversations
• 608 one-to-one support sessions
• 368 crisis drop-ins in 2025
• 99% would recommend the service
• 7% of visitors disclosed suicidal feelings

This illustrates early intervention Social Value delivered in a place people already pass through, showing how existing place-based environments can be used to support real outcomes.

👉 Full impact case study here: https://hubs.li/Q048220m0

20/03/2026

How can young people engage with Social Value?

Lauren Bennett says Social Value can start with the talents you already have.
🎵 Into music? Write a song that tells the story.
📁 Love organising? Bring people together through events.
🧠 Think strategically? Work with businesses to help shape better approaches.

For more ideas and in case you missed it - watch the full interview below!

19/03/2026

Environmental and social impact strategies are now expected. The focus is in how Social Value is being applied, at the intersection of procurement, community impact and corporate reporting:

📜 Procurement reform embeds Social Value into commercial scoring.
📊 Reporting without delivery is increasingly exposed under audit.
💷 Capability gaps show up in bid margins and governance reviews.
⏰ Sustainability teams are absorbing social impact expectations without formal infrastructure.

If Social Impact sits within your remit, building up your capability isn't a training request.

✅ It is risk management
✅ It protects revenue
✅ It strengthens governance
✅ It shapes your role and influence

Download our internal email template and position your development as a strategic investment.

👉 Free “Convince the boss” template here:

Our complete guide breaks down the Social Value Model and PPN 002, giving you the insights and strategies you need to stand out.

19/03/2026

Remember when everyone panicked about PPN002 deadlines?

The real work isn't in winning the tender. It's in proving you've delivered what you promised.

We've just launched our Social Value Model contract reporting features—built for businesses who need to report their Social Value delivery the way PPN002 requires.

📊 Report using Standard Reporting Metrics. All 33 SRMs set out in PPN002, aligned to central government missions and outcomes, enhanced with our evidence guidelines.

⚙️ Proxy values? Your choice. Switch them off to measure and report outcomes to your central government clients. Switch them on for annual Social Value reports, stakeholder updates and leadership briefings.

🔍 Get confidence in your data. Our Data Validation & Quality Assessment means your PPN002 data is reviewed by people who know Social Value, not just automated checks. Buyers trust it. You can defend it.

🧩 One platform, not five. Stop juggling spreadsheets and dashboards across different systems. Handle it all with the UK's leading Social Value standards: the Social Value TOM System™ and the Social Value Model in one platform.

📜 With the Procurement Act 2023 placing renewed emphasis on contract management, this is contract management done right.

Read more on the Social Value Portal blog: https://hubs.li/Q047vF3N0

16/03/2026

How can young people engage with Social Value?

Lauren Bennett says Social Value can start with the talents you already have.
🎵 Into music? Write a song that tells the story.
📁 Love organising? Bring people together through events.
🧠 Think strategically? Work with businesses to help shape better approaches.

For more ideas watch the full interview below!

13/03/2026

At the launch of Islington Council’s Affordable Workspaces Social Value Impact Report, this programme offers a powerful example of how local policy, partnership and place can come together to support businesses, skills and community prosperity.

Across the programme, affordable workspace providers and their tenants have helped deliver measurable impact including:

🔹 873 hours of volunteering
🔹 438 weeks of work placements
🔹 5,381 hours of expert business advice
🔹 22,399 hours of employment support and career mentoring
🔹 £488k spent through the local supply chain
🔹 £1.47m generated through recruitment of local residents

We were proud to support Islington Council by validating the Social Value data behind the report through the Social Value TOM System, ensuring the impact delivered across the programme is measurable, transparent and credible.

Through the Affordable Workspaces Programme, organisations and many creative tenants across the borough are helping turn underused spaces into thriving hubs for learning, creativity and entrepreneurship.

As Councillor Santiago Bell-Bradford put it:
"Hosting the event in this space showcases the impact we can achieve together and the real value Social Value brings to our community and residents"

12/03/2026

Churchill Group’s latest Social Value report shows what happens when employment, skills and environmental action are embedded into operations, not treated as add-ons.

Here are a few highlights from 2024–25:

👷 £275.7m from local employment
Jobs created within 10 miles of where work is delivered, strengthening local economies.

🤝 Pathways into work
Recruitment supporting care leavers and people experiencing long-term unemployment, alongside partnerships with organisations such as Northern Rights.

🎓 2,100 apprenticeship weeks delivered
Across 15 qualifications, alongside career support sessions and insight days for groups including neurodivergent young people and veterans.

🌍 Environmental progress
Over 38,000kg of plastic reduced and 625 volunteering hours supporting environmental improvement projects.

Congratulations to the Churchill Group team on a strong year of impact and moving beyond commitments into measurable delivery.

Read more here:

Churchill Group has published its latest social value report, which was created and validated by Soc...

12/03/2026

You are already the internal expert.
The question is: are you backed by expert-level capability?

Social Value is no longer an add-on function. It is audited, reported and commercially weighted.

Here’s what the market now looks like:

💷 Courses range from £359 to over £3,400, with varying levels of applied rigour.
📊 Boards expect measurable impact, not activity reporting.
📜 Capability building is increasingly embedded within procurement reform.

If you are responsible for outcomes, measurement and reporting, your development is not discretionary. It is risk management, margin protection and professional positioning.

Credibility in this space is accelerating careers and building purpose back into society.

We've analysed the leading Social Value courses to identify which genuinely build competence, confidence and defensible expertise.

👉 Full breakdown here:

Social Value Portal breaks down and reviews 5 of the best social value training courses and certificates

11/03/2026

Yesterday, together with partners and colleagues, we celebrated as L&Q announced £100 million in Social Value delivered through its supply chain partners.

Hearing from David Lewis, it was clear that when organisations collaborate and align business with purpose, the impact for communities can be significant.

We also heard powerful examples of how the major works investment programme delivered Social Value.

Durkan Homes shared how they are working with schools to make music more accessible for children, providing free instruments and creating opportunities that help build confidence, including for children with SEND.

United Infrastructure Ltd highlighted their work supporting rough sleepers, alongside community initiatives such as environmental gardening projects and R&B dance sessions.

These initiatives illustrate how Social Value moves beyond targets into tangible benefits for people, place and planet.

Congratulations to Sol Tannir and the team at Social Value Portal for helping organisations measure and strengthen this impact.

08/03/2026

Happy International Women’s Day 2026!

We’re proud to celebrate the women helping to push the Social Value economy forward and build a society grounded in equity and opportunity.

At Social Value Portal, women hold more than half of our senior leadership roles, and women make up the majority of our team overall. Their leadership, expertise and perspective continue to shape how Social Value is delivered across sectors.

We look forward to sharing more insights from the women across our team in the coming weeks. In the meantime, take a look at two inspiring stories from last year about representation and opportunity for women in construction.

NWCH’s “Have a Go” event
https://hubs.li/Q045RWSr0

Building Futures documentary
https://hubs.li/Q045RSCP0