How charities can demonstrate social value to commissioners
Annamarie Hassall
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The way public services are commissioned is undergoing considerable change, but charities pitched into competition for funding with private companies have a possible advantage - as long as they can demonstrate the additional social values they provide above and beyond the primary aims of a project.
Recent legislation has brought these issues into the spotlight. The government's Open Public Services agenda aims to create a level playing field and a greater diversity of providers, so that charities, social enterprises, and smalland medium-sized businesses will be able to influence and deliver local services.
Opening up the process
Similarly, reforms from Lord Young scheduled for 2015 aim to increase the participation of small businesses and charities in service delivery. There are also new European Union procurement rules that have the potential to open up the commissioning process to the voluntary and community sector (VCS).
All these measures should support the intentions behind the Social Value Act 2012, which requires local authorities to consider how the procurement of a service can improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area.
Given this landscape, children's charities are increasingly bidding for public sector contracts.
But the current economic climate means that competition is fierce and public bodies may still concentrate on cost rather than long-term value for money.
It is therefore essential that charities know how to articulate the additional social value they provide, so they can convince public bodies of their merits and participate fully in the commissioning process.
Take for example, City West Housing Trust, a not-for-profit organisation owning 14,600 homes in the North West.
A social value audit showed it delivered £2.3m of social value through schemes training young people for the construction sector, as well as initiatives to improve the appearances of local neighbourhoods.
But quantifying social value is not always easy and there are few examples of social value from the children's sector. But the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (Leap) project is a great opportunity for the voluntary sector to work with commissioners and statutory services to build the evidence of its social value.
Led by the NCB, Leap aims to transform the lives of babies, young children and their families in the London borough of Lambeth. It takes a proactive approach to co-producing, which is based on the experience that the VCS and local community work together to plan, shape and reach a stronger and more sustainable position.
Commissioning approach
The commissioning approach is already attracting interest.
We are at the beginning of a decade of change with the Leap project as a catalyst and want to gather the real-time examples of social value in the children's sector as we progress and show real change for children in, for example, the tough area of child maltreatment.
The importance of charities influencing the whole commissioning cycle - where need is established and services designed - rather than attempting to win bids at the stage of procurement should not be underestimated.
This requires charities to know who the relevant commissioners and procurement staff are, and to open a dialogue with them. This will help convince public bodies that charities hold important local information on need.
Communication may be the key to ensuring that charities overcome barriers to participating in commissioning and achieve their full potential to shape and provide public services.
The Children's Partnership, of which NCB is a lead member, has developed a Social Value and Commissioning Toolkit.
Social value action plan
Do a social value audit - consider the extra things, above and beyond the primary aims of a project, that you do. For example, providing volunteering opportunities for young people; increasing health and wellbeing; or improving the environment
Think about how your social value can be articulated - it will be especially useful if you can express how you save pounds in the long run
Know your local commissioners - and ask if they have a social value strategy
Get involved in the commissioning process early - have a dialogue with commissioners before procurement takes place, and make the case for smaller contracts (which are more accessible to charities and social enterprises).
