Social Value Toolkit Report - Voluntary Sector North West

Z is additional benefit to the community,this maybe independent to the purpose ofcommissioning activity X. For example, thesocial value generated may be the use of alocal organisation to deliver the activity.This could help to contribute towardspartner agendas through the proposedframework.Understanding and addressing social valuein this way not only enables the identificationof social value and how it will help tocontribute to partner agendas, but it alsohelps to facilitate the move towards CAAand the Government’s Total Placeprogramme which focus funding on placesnot organisations.COMMISSIONINGACTIVITYCommissioning for anorganisation to provide anddeliver audiology equipment toG.P. practices and hospitalsBACKGROUNDLittle competition within themarket and the contract tendsto be awarded to large nationalcompanies who are competitiveon price.THEMATIC SOCIALVALUE EXAMPLES1. Income - none2. Employment - % of staffemployed who live in thearea3. Health - provider couldoffer work based healthpromotion to staff4. Education - provider couldtrain staff in vehicle safetyand advanceddriving to promote saferroads5. Housing - none6. Environment - providercould offer vehicles thatuse bio diesel7. Crime - noneThe table here gives some furtherexamples of social value.Commissioning for low-levelgardening support forvulnerable adultsIssues around healthinequalities and obesitywithin the area1. Income - none2. Employment - use ofvolunteers frommarginalised groups3. Health - increasedphysical activity levels andhealthy eating messages4. Education - none5. Housing - support tomaintain properties andgeneral housing stock6. Environment -production of freshvegetables in gardensmaintained7. Crime - reduction of socialisolation and increasedcommunity cohesion3.3 PRIORITISATIONTo maximise the benefit generated it is important that the factorsprioritised in existing local strategic papers and nationalguidelines are at the core of identifying the type of social value anylocal organisation would like to generate in its procurement. Atthis stage of the commissioning cycle it is important that thecommissioners can clearly articulate these priorities. Prioritiesshould be sourced from amongst other places the Local AreaAgreement and the national policy agenda. It is also important totake account of local needs assessments and public consultation.This will also have the benefit that they will typically be identifiedwith performance statistics from the national indicator set. Usingexisting priorities and indicators will ensure that commissionerswill have a common understanding and that the concept of socialvalue fits into the wider public services agenda.To know which outcomes should be measured and incentivised,commissioners require robust information about the needs ofservice users and communities. Furthermore, service users andcommunities should be actively involved in service design and,where possible, service delivery. The involvement of serviceusers and communities in this way, sometimes referred to as‘co-production’, ensures services are more responsive to needsand create better outcomes.