The UK government is pretty serious about making its corner of the world a conscientious place to live, and it’s using public sector procurement to do it. Well, almost. Consider the Procurement Act 2023 and its emphasis on social value within the procurement process – which is now mandatory.
The recommended weighting for social value initiatives is 10, but public sector buyers are free to increase that by any margin that meets their particular social, environmental, or economic objectives for their local communities, while still meeting (and exceeding) the tender criteria, of course.
Social Value Procurement and the Social Value Model
Social value is a crucial aspect of public sector procurement, focusing on the positive impact that organisations can have on society, beyond their financial performance. The social value model is a framework used to assess and evaluate the social value created by businesses, considering factors such as environmental wellbeing, social value commitments, and physical and mental health
Central government departments and public sector buyers are increasingly prioritising social value in their procurement decisions. By incorporating social value into procurement processes, organisations can address key challenges such as the disability employment gap, skills gaps, and modern slavery, while supporting economic growth and local communities.
Why Social Value Matters More Than Ever in 2025
There’s Net Zero, the goal to reach zero emissions by 2050. Public procurement plays a pivotal role in achieving the goal for the simple reason that it’s one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.
All government bodies have been tasked with lowering their carbon emissions, and creating an eco-aware supply chain with greener business practices is a great way to go about it.
That’s not all.
There’s Levelling Up, which aims to ensure that all regions have the same access to opportunities and services, uplifting disadvantaged regions and improving the overall quality of life. Focus areas include economic growth, transport, infrastructure, and social mobility.
Public procurement and its commitment to social value and sustainability are well placed to “level up” local communities, especially when it comes to local economic growth and social mobility.
Improving community integration is essential for achieving the goals of Levelling Up, as it ensures that local voices are heard and included in decision-making processes.
The good news for SMEs looking to break into public sector procurement is that all the emphasis on social value, net zero, and levelling up tends to be local. This means lower-value contracts, ideal for entry into the sector.
What Is the Social Value Model in Public Sector Tenders?
It’s always worth a quick recap.
Social value is a benefit not technically included in local and central government contract criteria, but it’s essential to your chances of winning tenders. In fact, it’s mandated through the Social Value Model. The Social Value Model includes specific award criteria and sub-criteria to ensure the fair and transparent evaluation of tenders. There are three pillars:
Social: Includes anything that enhances the well-being of residents, like hospice care or vocational training for women.
Economic: Includes anything that boosts the local economy, like training and employing local labour to address skills gaps.
Environmental: Includes anything that tackles climate change and contributes towards net zero goals, like low-emission equipment and strict reduce, reuse, and recycle policies.
Social Value in Procurement: What’s Changing in 2025?
There are four key updates to the Procurement Act 2023 that suppliers must prepare for:
- Clearer, more transparent scoring. Suppliers have a much better idea of what’s expected of them, so they can develop more comprehensive strategies for their social value initiatives.
- Greater standardisation in the measurement of social value outcomes. Consistency in scoring ensures suppliers know where they stand, regardless of which public sector buyers published the tender.
- More active encouragement for SMEs and local suppliers. SMEs make up the majority of businesses in the UK, so it makes sense to bring them into the fold where they bring their expertise and local knowledge to the table. Increasing social value efforts and significantly boosting net-zero efforts at the same time.
- Longer-term contracts depend on the strength of social value delivery. This suits SMEs who can leverage local relationships to provide greater depth to their social value projects.
How to Add Social Value to Your Bid: Practical Tips for SMEs to Meet Award Criteria
We’re going to look at six top tips to help SMEs optimise their bids using social value.
- Research the buyer and study the tender documents to ensure you understand their local priorities. You can then align your proposal with their social value targets.
- Be precise and realistic when it comes to measurable outcomes. Don’t over-promise and under-deliver.
- Risk-averse public sector buyers want proof that you can deliver what you promise. Use case studies from similar social value projects to enhance your credentials.
- You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead of starting a project from scratch, partner with existing community organisations or social enterprises.
- It doesn’t matter if your project focuses on the social or economic pillars of social value; you can usually deliver additional environmental benefits to prove your commitment to net zero.
- If you can, try focusing your projects on job creation, which includes apprenticeships and skills development, particularly for disadvantaged groups, like women and people over 50 years of age. This includes creating training schemes that provide apprenticeships and skills development opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
Tools and Support from Supply2Gov
Supply2Gov is more than just a database of government tenders. Here’s what you can get when you register on our platform:
- Use filters to receive alerts for affordable tenders where social value is a clear priority
- Use our free package to set alerts for compliant opportunities specific to your region or sector that emphasise social value deliverables.
- Use our bid support services to understand tender requirements and develop a compelling (winning) bid. We can help you develop a robust social value strategy that aligns with tender requirements.
- SMEs can start for free and pay-as-you-grow to unlock premium features to stay competitive.
2025 Checklist: Are You Social Value Ready?
A quick round-up: Do you tick all the boxes?
☐ Do you understand your local authority’s social value objectives?
☐ Can you measure your social or environmental impact?
☐ Do you include social value in your bid documents?
☐ Do you have initiatives that support the mental health and well-being of your workforce?
☐ Have you registered with Supply2Gov for tailored tenders?
Why not?
Times they are a-changin’. If you want to be ready to optimise new opportunities, you’d better start preparing now. Supply2Gov provides the support and guidance you need to up your social value game. The more value you add, the better your chances of beating large enterprises to prize tenders.
If you want to win contracts through social value in 2025, register for free on Supply2Gov and find tenders that value your impact.