Harrow Council and Social Value Portal worked together to pilot a social value assessment tool on a tender for the renovation and refurbishment of a council property in Harrow.
The Social Value Portal procurement platform was used to assess the Social Value of each bid based on a set of Themes, Outcomes and Measures (National TOMs) developed by Harrow Council. Each bidder successfully completed the assessment with offers varying from +3 to +57% (£51,000 to £780,000) social value add.
Key findings include:
- A 100% submission rate using the Social Value Portal procurement platform from the bidders was achieved. This means that social value requirements can be integrated into normal procurement processes at almost no extra cost.
- Financial weightings are important in signalling priorities to suppliers.
- A Social Value scoring system to measure and compare bids can be easily developed.
- Social Value can be delivered without adding to the core project delivery costs.
- Due to the pilot’s success, Harrow Council will further engage with Social Value Portal to consider how its use maybe extended across all of their contracts above £100,000.The findings and lesson learned from the pilot are being used to develop a similar approach for Brent Council.
With the localisation of business rates being implemented over the coming years the importance of the local economy to Councils will greatly increase, therefore providing a greater focus to local businesses through social value is essential. – Terry Brewer, Harrow Council
