Social Value Commitments

Social Value Commitments (SVCs) present a massive opportunity to drive digital inclusion. For procurers, they are a great source of funding. For suppliers, they provide a natural fit for a huge range of bids. Properly planned and implemented, they deliver genuine impact as well as a wealth of benefits to everyone involved.

Social Value Commitments: the theory

What are SVCs?

SVCs are legal requirements in UK public sector tendering.

When government bodies - including central departments, the NHS and local authorities - purchase goods and services, the suppliers must commit some of the budget (a minimum of 10%) to projects that bring wider social, economic or environmental benefits. it is a legal requirement that the SVC is taken into account as part of the overall bid.
An example of an SVC might be a telecoms company bidding for an NHS project that includes a commitment to delivering digital skills training via a range of mechanisms to a range of beneficiaries.
SVCs must meet specific criteria, and there are standardised frameworks for measuring their value. The most common looks at themes, outcomes and values (TOMs) and contains proxy financial values to enable consistent valuations of social impact. There's lots more on the detail of how bids are evaluated in our guide below.

Public sector procurement is worth around £434bn a year. So SVCs have the potential to make a huge digital inclusion difference if leveraged correctly, and understanding what they are and how they are evaluated is crucial.

Some, but not all, suppliers have really taken this on board, and have for example, DI specialists sitting in their bid teams. Lots of public bodies (procurers) struggle to find capacity to understand the mechanisms of SVC and exploit their full potential. It's patchy and varies depending on the organisation and the individual.

How do SVCs fit with digital inclusion?

SVCs must map to the Government's five core missions (which cover areas like growth, opportunity and the NHS). We think digital inclusion should be considered in all social value bids, as a basic strategic requirement, because you can’t meet any of the missions if citizens aren't digitally included. More pragmatically, so many people in so many areas need help with digital skills that it fits into a huge range of bids.
They can be delivered in multiple ways - from the simple to the complex. For example, with digital skills, some local authorities use SVCs as a way to fund membership of the Digital Champions Network or use staff from the supplier as volunteer Champions. Some connect across several areas of the council including data and devices as part of their commitment (as O2 Business do in Manchester, more on this below). Others work with partners (like us) to set up and run DI networks and training.
When it works best for both suppliers and procurers - is when it is more than a one-off project and is aligned with wider CSR/ ESG goals and a long term DI commitment. It brings new connections, perspectives and opportunities to both sides, from the bottom to the top of the organisation.

Combing SVCs with ESG & CSR

In-depth, downloadable guide:

"Digital inclusion and social value commitments in detail: exploring mechanisms for business and industry to deliver change"

This report looks in detail at how bids work and are evaluated, and includes interviews/ case-studies with two suppliers, both running DI-based SVCs in different ways.

It's useful for anyone interested in how SVCs and DI can work together.

Read the summary and access the full guide

Social Value Commitments: in practice

What we offer

We've been running SVCs for corporate clients since 2022. We think it is a great and growing opportunity - so we talk a lot with our public sector clients about how best they can use it and we've written consultation papers for Government about it. We support suppliers and procurers to understand:

How the SVC bidding structure works and how DI-based projects fit into it.
The range and breadth of opportunities.
How to evaluate the impact of projects through a tailored framework.

And we work as partners to:

Run SVC projects.
Grow and evolve SVC projects for maximum benefit for everyone in involved.

An SVC in action: Let's Get Digital

A good practical example of SVCs in action are the three we run for tech consultant Capgemini, under the Let's Get Digital umbrella. Two are for government departments and one for Sellafield Six. They all have slightly different remits (for example one is targeted at increasing skills for work) but run along broadly the same lines. They support each other and the wider, long term commitments Capgemini have made to combat digital exclusion.

How it works: A local co-ordinator helps community organisations understand digital exclusion and provides them with tools to tackle it. Some organisations just want more understanding of the issues and to be networked and connected to resources in their area; some want to put their staff/ volunteers through basic DI training, via our Inspire course. Others want to run Digital Champion projects, via the Digital Champions Network and to weave DI through their offer. As everyone starts at different levels, we aim to increase their digital inclusion maturity wherever they are on the journey.

We work closely with Capgemini to measure the project and consult on how it can grow and improve year on year.

From LGD

LGD started in West Cumbria in 2022 and has since been joined by sister projects in Newcastle and Durham. These pages give an idea of the kind activity going on in each area

The projects side

From Capgemini

We've been working together for more than 5 years on a growing and evolving programme. This outline from their Head of DI shows how long term commitments can bring great benefits.

The suppliers's side