Lewis English, Underpin Consultants
Shh. I have a secret to tell you. Every big business right now is doing charity partnerships, apprenticeships, local hiring, community investment, the whole lot. There’s ESG, CSR, and Social Value. But medium and small businesses? Not so much.
As a Business and Charity Consultant, I see a gap. Small and medium organisations already deliver significant Social Value but aren’t capturing, measuring, or communicating it in a way that helps them win work. The activity exists. The strategy doesn’t.
The Procurement Act 2023 has changed the stakes. Under the new Most Advantageous Tender framework, buyers can weigh Social Value more heavily than ever. For contracts over £5 million, Social Value is mandatory. This is not guidance, like Judge Dredd, it’s the law. And it means the 10% Social Value weighting that appears in most public tenders, often the precise margin between winning and losing, carries real teeth.
But wait, this is just a public sector thing, right?
Good news, Social Value is not just a public sector lever. It works in three directions, public sector, private clients, and supply chain.
The first is obvious: winning public contracts. Most shortlisted bidders are close on price and technical quality. Social Value is where differentiation happens. But only if your offer is structured against the TOMs framework, evidenced with real outcomes, and aligned to what the specific buyer cares about. And remember, generic promises score poorly, and evidenced, tailored commitments score well.
The second is private sector differentiation. Private clients, particularly those with ESG reporting obligations or sustainability targets, increasingly expect their supply chain to reflect those commitments. When two suppliers are broadly similar on price and capability, the one that can demonstrate genuine community impact and environmental responsibility wins. Why? Because it strengthens the client’s own reporting position and reduces their risk.
The third is Principal Contractors on large projects. They need Social Value to win their own bids. Under the Procurement Act, they are evaluated on what their entire supply chain delivers. If you’re a subcontractor that can quantify its Social Value contribution, using either real-world examples, or delivering TOMs’ proxy values, with evidenced outcomes, you become more than a delivery partner – you become a strategic asset.
No longer are you providing a service. You are helping the contractor win.
That third channel is where I see the biggest untapped opportunity. Most subcontractors are not having this conversation with their principal contractors. Which means anyone who starts it now has a significant first-mover advantage.
There’s no better way to set yourself apart.
Lewis English is the founder of Underpin Consultants, a consultancy working with businesses and purpose-driven organisations on Social Value strategy, business development, and growth.
