Social value has become one of the most significant evaluation criteria in health and social care procurement. Since the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and subsequent policy updates, commissioners routinely allocate 10-20% of tender evaluation scores to social value contributions—sometimes more.
For many care providers, this creates a frustrating paradox. You employ local people, support small businesses, invest in training, and engage with communities. You know your organisation delivers substantial social value. But translating this into quantifiable metrics that commissioners recognise feels like navigating a foreign language.
This guide provides a practical approach to measuring and articulating social value in care sector tenders covering the frameworks commissioners use, how to calculate key metrics, and how modern tools can make this process manageable.
What Is Social Value in Procurement?
Social value refers to the wider economic, social, and environmental benefits that organisations deliver beyond their core contractual obligations.
When a local authority commissions care services, they consider:
- Economic impact: Local employment, supplier spend, Real Living Wage commitment
- Social impact: Training and apprenticeships, community engagement, employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups
- Environmental impact: Carbon reduction, sustainable practices, waste minimisation
The question commissioners ask: “What positive difference does this organisation make to our community, beyond the service they’re directly contracted to provide?”
Why This Matters Now
Several policy developments have embedded social value into procurement:
- Procurement Policy Note 06/20 (2020): Made social value mandatory for central government contracts (minimum 10% weighting)
- National Procurement Policy Statement (2021): Extended requirements across the public sector
- Procurement Act 2023: Further embedded social value into procurement legislation
The result: Providers who can’t demonstrate and quantify social value systematically lose tender points—and contracts. This is no longer optional; it’s essential for competitive tendering.
The Challenge: Why Social Value Measurement Is Difficult
Despite delivering genuine social value, most care providers struggle with measurement for several reasons:
Inconsistent Frameworks
Different commissioners use different approaches:
- National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures)
- Local authority-specific frameworks
- Social Value Portal methodologies
- Bespoke evaluation criteria
Data Capture Problems
Social value measurement requires data many providers don’t routinely capture:
- Employee postcodes (for local employment calculations)
- Supplier locations and spend breakdowns
- Detailed training hours and investment
- Community engagement time and resources
- Environmental metrics
Quantification Complexity
Translating data into social value metrics requires understanding calculation methodologies knowledge most care providers lack.
Resource Constraints
Small and medium-sized providers typically lack dedicated business development staff, social value specialists, or time to develop robust measurement systems.
The result: Larger organisations with specialist resources gain systematic advantages, despite smaller providers often delivering equivalent or better social value.
Understanding Key Social Value Frameworks
National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures)
The most widely adopted standardised framework, developed by the Social Value Portal. National TOMs organises social value into themes with specific measures and monetary “proxy values.”
Key themes:
- Jobs: Creating employment, particularly for disadvantaged groups
- Growth: Supporting local businesses and economies
- Social: Tackling inequality, improving health and wellbeing
- Environment: Reducing carbon emissions, promoting sustainability
- Innovation: Improving service delivery
How it works: Each measure has a defined proxy value (e.g., creating one job for a disadvantaged person = £X social value). Providers calculate contributions using these standardised values.
Local Authority Frameworks
Many councils develop bespoke frameworks aligned with specific priorities:
- Local economic strategies
- Public health priorities
- Demographic needs
- Environmental targets
The challenge: These vary significantly between authorities, requiring research into each commissioner’s specific requirements.
Measuring Your Social Value: Practical Methods
Local Employment Impact
Basic calculation:
- Obtain employee postcodes
- Determine which fall within the commissioner’s geographic area
- Calculate: (Local employees ÷ Total employees) × 100 = Local employment %
Example:
- 45 employees total
- 38 live within local authority area
- Local employment rate: 84%
- Using National TOMs: 38 FTE × £26,000 (proxy value) = £988,000 social value
Enhanced: Identify employees from disadvantaged backgrounds (with consent) and apply higher proxy values for priority group employment.
Training Investment
Calculation:
- Total annual training spend (course fees, trainer costs, materials)
- Training hours delivered (employees × hours × hourly rate for time cost)
- Total investment = direct costs + time costs
Example:
- £15,000 direct training costs
- 450 training hours × £12/hour = £5,400
- Total training investment: £20,400
- Per employee (45 staff): £453 annually
- 8 staff achieved NVQ Level 3 qualifications
Local Supply Chain Impact
Calculation:
- Extract all supplier transactions (past 12 months)
- Identify supplier locations
- Calculate spend with local suppliers
- Local supply chain % = (Local spend ÷ Total spend) × 100
Example:
- Total annual spend: £450,000
- Local supplier spend: £185,000
- Local supply chain: 41%
- Includes 12 local SMEs and 2 voluntary organisations
Community Engagement
Quantitative approach:
- Track staff volunteer hours (company-supported activities)
- Calculate value: Hours × average staff hourly rate
- Record donations (financial, in-kind, facilities)
Example:
- 180 volunteer hours supporting local food bank and community events
- Value: 180 × £12 = £2,160
- Donated venue space: 6 community meetings
- Sponsored local youth football: £500
- Total community engagement value: £2,660+
Environmental Impact
Carbon emissions:
- Calculate vehicle mileage by fuel type
- Apply carbon emission factors (government conversion factors)
- Track year-on-year changes
Example:
- 45,000 vehicle miles annually
- Average emissions: 150g CO₂/km
- Total: ~11 tonnes CO₂
- Reduced 15% from previous year through route optimisation
Articulating Social Value in Tender Responses
Measuring social value is half the challenge—articulating it compellingly in tenders is equally important.
What Commissioners Want
Tender questions typically ask:
- Quantitative: “What percentage of your workforce lives locally?”
- Qualitative: “Describe your approach to social value”
- Commitment: “What social value will you deliver if awarded this contract?”
- Evidence: “Provide evidence of past social value delivery”
Your response must balance numbers (credibility) with narrative (engagement).
Structure for Strong Responses
1. Clear Commitment Open with your organisation’s social value principles.
Example: “Social value isn’t a procurement requirement for us—it’s integral to our mission. As a locally-rooted care provider, we believe excellent care delivery and positive community impact are inseparable.”
2. Quantified Evidence Support claims with specific data:
- “84% of our workforce lives within [local authority area]”
- “We invested £453 per employee in training last year”
- “41% of our supplier spend supports local businesses”
3. Story Behind Numbers Numbers demonstrate scale; stories demonstrate impact.
Example: “Our local employment approach created an opportunity for Sarah, a former service user’s family member, who completed her Care Certificate with us and now leads our dementia care team.”
4. Future Commitments Specify what you’ll deliver:
- Concrete commitments: “We will create 3 apprenticeships within the first year”
- Measurable targets: “We will maintain minimum 80% local employment”
- Improvement goals: “We will increase local supply chain spend from 41% to 50%”
5. Monitoring Approach Explain how you’ll track and report delivery:
- “We’ll provide quarterly social value reports using National TOMs”
- “We’ll assign a named Social Value Lead”
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
❌ Vague claims: “We strongly support local employment”
✅ Specific evidence: “84% of our 45 employees live within your local authority area”
❌ Business-as-usual: “We train our staff” (mandatory requirement)
✅ Additional value: “Beyond mandatory training, we invest £453 per employee annually in development qualifications”
❌ Unrealistic commitments: “We will employ 100% locally”
✅ Achievable commitments: “We will maintain 80%+ local employment”
How AI Streamlines Social Value Measurement
The process described above is time-intensive. Gathering data, performing calculations, and articulating findings can consume 10-15 hours per tender.
AI-Powered Social Value Tools
Modern AI platforms designed for care procurement can:
Automate Data Aggregation
- Extract employee postcodes from HR systems
- Analyse supplier locations from accounts data
- Compile training records automatically
- Calculate carbon emissions from fleet data
Perform Framework Calculations
- Apply National TOMs proxy values automatically
- Calculate local employment percentages
- Compute training investment per employee
- Determine supply chain ratios
Generate Tender-Ready Content
- Draft social value responses using your actual data
- Structure content according to evaluation criteria
- Ensure quantitative and qualitative balance
- Maintain consistency across tenders
Time Savings Example
Before AI (Manual):
- 4 hours: Employee data extraction and calculations
- 3 hours: Supplier spend analysis
- 2 hours: Training data compilation
- 1 hour: Social value calculations
- 5 hours: Writing tender responses
- Total: 15 hours
After AI Implementation:
- 15 minutes: Upload data sources
- 5 minutes: AI performs calculations
- 45 minutes: Review calculations
- 2 hours: Refine and personalise content
- Total: 3 hours
Time saved: 12 hours per tender
ELSA’s Social Value Metrics Feature
As part of ELSA, our AI-powered procurement platform for health and social care we’ve built dedicated social value measurement capabilities:
Automated Calculation Upload organisational data (employee records, supplier data, training logs). ELSA extracts relevant information and performs social value calculations using National TOMs or bespoke frameworks.
Intelligent Analysis ELSA identifies your strongest social value contributions, flags areas for improvement, and compares performance against sector benchmarks.
Tender-Ready Outputs Generate draft social value responses for specific tenders, ensuring quantitative and qualitative balance whilst maintaining consistency with your actual delivery.
Continuous Tracking Monitor metrics over time, track improvements, and maintain up-to-date evidence ready for tender opportunities.
The goal isn’t to replace human judgement—it’s to handle time-consuming data processing, allowing you to focus on articulating the genuine community impact your organisation delivers.
Building Your Social Value Measurement System
Whether using AI tools or manual processes, establish a systematic approach:
Phase 1: Data Foundations
- Identify what you need to capture (postcodes, supplier locations, training data)
- Set up data capture processes in HR and finance systems
- Assign a Social Value Lead
- Ensure GDPR compliance
Phase 2: Baseline Measurement
- Calculate current social value using historical data (past 12 months)
- Identify strongest metrics and data gaps
- Establish baseline figures for future comparison
- Document your methodology
Phase 3: Integration
- Fill data gaps
- Set improvement targets
- Integrate social value into strategic planning
- Build evidence library (case studies, testimonials, photographs)
Phase 4: Continuous Refinement
- Calculate metrics quarterly
- Track performance against targets
- Refine tender articulation based on results
- Build commissioner relationships around social value delivery
Social Value Beyond Procurement
Measuring social value delivers benefits beyond winning contracts:
Staff Recruitment: Organisations with clear social value missions attract and retain staff more effectively. Care workers want to work for organisations that genuinely contribute to communities.
Community Relationships: Understanding your impact creates opportunities for deeper community partnerships and collaborative initiatives.
Strategic Decisions: Social value data informs decisions about suppliers, investments, and partnerships weighing cost savings against community impact.
Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrating measurable social value supports engagement with local authorities, CQC, investors, and service users.
The Future of Social Value in Care Commissioning
Social value’s importance will continue growing:
Increased Weighting: Many commissioners are moving from 10% to 20-30% social value weighting—some use even higher percentages.
Sophisticated Measurement: Moving beyond simple metrics to outcome-based assessment. Not just “How many apprenticeships?” but “What career progression did they achieve?”
Technology-Enabled Transparency: Digital platforms for real-time social value monitoring will become standard, enabling commissioner visibility and public transparency.
Implication: Robust measurement systems will shift from “nice to have” to essential infrastructure for competitive tendering.
Conclusion: From Burden to Opportunity
Social value measurement often feels like another administrative burden. But reframing it as genuine opportunity changes how you approach it.
Every care provider delivers social value. You employ local people. You support communities. You invest in staff. You contribute to local economies. These aren’t abstract concepts—they’re daily realities of ethical, community-focused care organisations.
The challenge isn’t creating social value, you already do that. The challenge is measuring, evidencing, and articulating it effectively.
This is where systematic approaches and modern tools genuinely help. Not by manufacturing social value that doesn’t exist, but by ensuring the social value you genuinely deliver is visible, measurable, and compellingly communicated to commissioners.
For smaller and mid-sized providers particularly, effective social value measurement can be transformative—turning a potential disadvantage into competitive strength. Because community-rooted providers often deliver more genuine social value than larger chains—they just need the tools to demonstrate it effectively.
Whether you choose manual processes, invest in AI-powered tools like ELSA, or work with consultants, the investment pays dividends in improved tender success rates, clearer strategic thinking, stronger community relationships, and more purposeful organisational development.
Social value measurement isn’t just about winning tenders—it’s about understanding and amplifying the positive difference your organisation makes every day.
For broader context on how social value fits within digital transformation in health and social care, explore: The Future of Care is Digital: Navigating Innovation in Health and Social Care.
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