Social Value Starts – and Ends – in the Community

Having delivered business cases for many economic development projects, I've come to realise that the best way for organisations to deliver social value is by working directly with the people and communities affected from the outset.  

At procurement stage there is an increasing focus on social value measures, which typically have at least a 10% weighting in tender evaluations. Authorities often base criteria around their own policy objectives. The best way for bidders to respond is by showing how they will work with real people, in real time, to deliver social value and achieve policy aims. This approach brings creativity, energy and colour to the process, with scope for a broad range of initiatives. 

Bouygues UK, a leading construction and property development specialist, routinely engages with local groups and grassroots organisations. Donna Griffiths, Head of Social Value for Wales and the South West, highlights that:  

“Social value is a key part of our work at Bouygues UK. Our company ethos is that by improving the conditions of the community we are working in, we can help to reduce inequality, improve wellbeing and inclusion and help to deliver prosperity.  To that end, we work with local colleges, companies, stakeholders and recruiters to give back as much as we can to the communities in which we are working. 

 

“Recognising the challenges faced by those who are long-term unemployed, we established an on-site employment hub at our Pentre Awel project in Llanelli, dedicated to providing pre-employment engagement. In addition we have engaged with art students at Coleg Sir Gar to design hoarding boards for the perimeter of the development. This project formed part of college students’ curriculum and each panel represents one of the Future Generations Act wellbeing goals, aligning to the overall ethos and purpose of the Pentre Awel development. We also work with local subcontractors, have appointed community ambassadors and, through the Cyfle Building Skills Shared Apprentice Scheme, have committed to supporting 10 mechanical and electrical apprentices.” 

For public bodies, any project using public funds must have a robust business case, aligning with Treasury Green Book principles. This shows that the best use is being made of resources available whilst ensuring social value – reflected via the calculation of socio-economic benefits – is maximised.  

Engagement specialists E.C.F. recognise the wealth of knowledge and insight that can be gained from different voices in the community. According to Managing Director, Oliver Deed: 

“The earlier you can engage the community the better. This process will help with your benchmarking and help to build the case for the socio-economic benefits your proposed project will generate. It is much harder for the funding body to turn down your request if it is backed up by a strong quantitative and qualitative evidence built through a robust community engagement process.” 

Various aspects of the business case can be strengthened through community-level input, including:  

• Strategic Case: residents and workers are experts in their area, offering firsthand knowledge of needs and priorities to support the “case for intervention”.  

• Options appraisal: there is immense knowledge and creativity within the community, which when harnessed can optimise the assessment of different interventions to achieve the best social outcome.  

• Economic Case: evidence gathered from the community (e.g. surveys) complements standard large-scale datasets, improving the accuracy and depth of the appraisal. 

• Management Case: proactive community liaison engenders support and cooperation, ultimately helping the project run more smoothly.  

For developers and investors, working with communities also makes good business sense. Delivering projects that align with community needs means creating something of long-term value which, ultimately, leads to better commercial outcomes. Donna Griffiths explains that for Bouygues UK, that means leaving some kind of legacy:  

“At Bouygues UK, each project holds potential for building the future, so our teams collaborate with clients and partners daily to ensure that our commitment to social value is realised. This can be anything from employment opportunities for those who have been in long term unemployment or volunteering our teams’ time to help local charities or voluntary organisations with a project.

 

Some of our team members at our ‘71/72 The Kingsway’ development in Swansea have used their own time to make a change. Members of our site team took part in a coastal clean-up working with Keep Wales Tidy, while others, noticing the number of homeless people around the site, created a Wall of Kindness on the project site, where second hand coats and jumpers were on hooks on the project hoarding to be picked up by the those in need. More than 250 items were donated thanks to this initiative.” 

Overall, the best approach to social value is to ensure communities are involved in shaping, co-designing and delivering schemes – from start to finish – to maximise positive impacts and achieve long-term, sustainable benefits.