Introduction

Foreword

We are delighted to publish Gloucestershire County Council’s first Social Value Toolkit. This Toolkit is aimed primarily at bidders aiming to win work with Gloucestershire County Council, and suppliers who are delivering contracts for the Council and have Social Value commitments, but it may be of interest to any organisation working within the county with an interest in responsible business and sustainability. 

This Toolkit is intended to sit alongside the tender pack. For full details of the scoring methodology for Social Value on an individual procurement, you must refer to the Social Value Appendix within the Invitation to Tender document. Bidders must address any queries relating to a specific tender through the Council’s eprocurement portal. 

What is Social Value? 

 Social Value looks at the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of an area and how it can be improved through the Council’s activities. Our Social Value Policy focuses primarily on our commercial activities. We ask suppliers to consider the additional benefits that can be achieved in the delivery of the Council’s contractual agreements.

We are seeking to encourage effective collaboration between the public sector, third sector and private enterprise, delivering innovation and positive outcomes for local people.

This could be through tackling climate change, staff volunteering, pro-bono expert business advice, supporting local community projects, career and skill development, and much more.

You can read more on the Government’s page on the Social Value Act which came into force in 2013: Social Value Act: information and resources - GOV.UK

How do we measure Social Value?

The Council uses the TOM System (Themes, Outcomes and Measures) via Social Value Portal to evaluate bidders’ Social Value offers and monitor progress through contract management.

From the full range of TOMs available, we have selected measures which are most closely aligned to Council priorities and local needs.

Measures from this list will be available for bidders to choose from on tenders which fall within the scope of the Social Value Policy so that as many of GCC’s contracts as possible deliver the Social Value outcomes needed in Gloucestershire. We use the TOMs to provide a menu of options for bidders – you don’t need to commit to all of them but rather should choose which ones you want to offer, bearing in mind that will be contractually required to deliver the commitments you make if you are successful in your bid. 

We try to tailor the Social Value requirements to the contract, so not all of the TOMs listed in this Toolkit will necessarily be available on a tender. 

You can find more information about using Social Value Portal in the tender documents (Social Value Appendix). 

Alongside other systems, bidders and suppliers can also use whatimpact – The National Social Value Marketplace to develop locally relevant social value partnerships and evidence outcomes in line with TOMs and Social Value Model measures.

Cost of reporting on Social Value Portal

There is no charge for bidders to access the Social Value Portal for the purpose of responding to a tender. 

There is a charge, however, for the successful Bidder(s) who is/are subsequently awarded the contract based on the fees (excluding VAT) listed below:

Management Fees (excluding VAT):

*0.2% in year one, then 0.15% of total contract value per annum.

Key principles

The Social Value delivered on our contracts must be:

• Delivered within Gloucestershire County.
• Additional to the core requirements of the contract.
• Specific to this contract – i.e. not ‘claiming’ a wider corporate initiative you already intended to deliver to be Social Value on this contract.

How to use this toolkit

It can be challenging to know how and where to target your Social Value offer, particularly for organisations that are not local. The purpose of the GCC Social Value Toolkit is to provide additional guidance on local needs within Gloucestershire and Council priorities, and help support delivery of Social Value which will make a genuine difference. It is also to advise you on how we want you to work with us, particularly with teams that are actively seeking to engage with employers and businesses.

The Toolkit is structured based on the TOM System. For each theme, we have provided a summary how it links to GCC strategic priorities. Under individual measures, where possible, we have provided links to resources and signposted ways to find local partners.

We intend to update this toolkit annually and are open to feedback on whether it is a useful resource and how it could be further developed.

Contract management

Social Value targets are contractual commitments for a supplier and must be delivered during the life of the contract. We take a proactive approach to contract management. Suppliers are expected to report on delivery on a quarterly basis via Social Value Portal. Access to training and support will be provided via the Social Value Portal through their support team, monthly training sessions and help centre which is available 24/7 to help with meeting the reporting requirements.

Progress on contracts is reported internally via the Social Value Steering Group to ensure that we have internal governance and oversight of suppliers who are failing to deliver.

There may be genuine and justifiable reasons for the non-delivery of a Social Value offer from the winning contractor. In these circumstances Gloucestershire County Council will initially seek to engage with the winning contractor to determine what issues are impeding Social Value delivery. It will expect the winning Bidder to have a coherent rectification strategy. This could include other Social Value proposals to an equivalent £ Social Value figure, if these also meet Gloucestershire County Council’s criteria.

We want to support suppliers to deliver Social Value, which is why this toolkit highlights teams within the Council and external organisations that you can reach out to, who may be able to help with delivering your commitments.

whatimpact's National Social Value Marketplace

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