What Is Social Value and Why Is It in My Tender?

You are filling in a tender and there is a section on social value. It carries 10-20% of the total score. You are not quite sure what to write. Your team did a charity walk last year. You sponsored a local football club. Is that the kind of thing they mean?

It is part of it. But procurement teams are looking for something more specific than a paragraph about community spirit.

What social value means in procurement

Social value is the positive impact your business creates beyond the product or service you deliver. In procurement, it is assessed alongside price and quality as a formal evaluation criterion. The Procurement Act 2023 made it mandatory for public sector contracts. Many private sector buyers have adopted similar approaches.

The concept is not new. What has changed is that it is now scored and weighted. A tender that used to be 60% price and 40% quality might now be 50% price, 30% quality, and 20% social value. That 20% can determine who wins.

What procurement teams are scoring

Social value is typically broken into four categories. Employment and skills: local hiring, apprenticeships, training programmes, work experience placements, support for NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training). Community engagement: volunteering, charitable partnerships, donations, mentoring, pro bono professional support, community projects. Environmental impact: carbon reduction, waste minimisation, energy efficiency, biodiversity, circular economy initiatives. Supply chain practices: spending with local businesses, SME suppliers, social enterprises, minority-owned businesses.

The key word in all of this is "measurable." Procurement teams are scoring evidence, not intentions. "We support our local community" scores nothing. "Our team volunteered 340 hours with three local charities in 2025, contributing £10,200 in equivalent economic value" scores well.

Where businesses go wrong

The most common mistake is treating social value as an afterthought. Writing a paragraph the night before submission about how much you care about the community does not score points. Procurement evaluators read dozens of these responses. They can spot a last-minute effort immediately.

The second mistake is making claims without evidence. If you say your team volunteered 200 hours, you need records. If you say you donated £5,000, you need receipts or bank statements. If you say you hired three apprentices, you need the paperwork. Unsubstantiated claims score zero and damage credibility across the rest of your submission.

The third mistake is being generic. Copying the same social value response into every tender, regardless of the contract or the buyer, shows a lack of engagement with the specific opportunity. Tailor your response. If the contract is in Birmingham, talk about your community activity in Birmingham. If the buyer prioritises skills development, lead with your apprenticeship programme.

How to build a social value position over time

Start tracking everything now. Every donation, every volunteer day, every hour of skilled professional support, every local supplier you use. Build a rolling 12-month record so that when a tender lands, you have a year of data to draw from rather than a paragraph to invent.

Formalise your approach. Even a simple social value policy that sets out what your business does, why, and how you measure it elevates you above the majority of bidders who have nothing written down.

Seek verification where possible. Self-reported data is accepted but verified data scores higher. Ltt Group works with Investors in Community, a platform that tracks, verifies, and measures social impact through Community Credits. Every contribution is logged and validated, giving you verified evidence for tender submissions rather than self-reported estimates.

The commercial case

Businesses that take social value seriously do not just win more tenders. They build stronger community relationships, attract employees who care about impact, and differentiate themselves in competitive markets. The investment in tracking and evidencing social value pays back across multiple channels, not just procurement.

If you are starting from scratch, a conversation with our team will help you work out where to focus. Social value does not have to be expensive or complex. It has to be genuine, measured, and well-presented.