Social Value Measurement

The Social Value TOM (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) System™ is the most widely adopted and trusted framework for recording and reporting Social Value.  

Developed by Social Value Portal in collaboration with 40 organisations across the public, private, and third sector, it provides a robust and standardised approach to measuring positive impact. 

The system is structured around four key Themes:  

• Work: Providing opportunities 
• Economy: Driving inclusive growth 
• Community: Empowering communities 
• Planet: Environmental stewardship 

 Within each Theme are specific Outcomes that describe the targeted change or benefit an organisation wants to create through its activities and initiatives. The Measures then represent the quantifiable actions it takes. 

The TOM System is underpinned by extensive research, based on 17 official, accredited and publicly available government data sources, and review of over 1000 research papers. It also boasts the backing of a team of 10 economists and data analysts with 80 years of cumulative experience.  

All Social Value project data also goes through our internal validation process, with around 4,000 records reviewed per year, ensuring the highest standard of credibility. We are stringent about rooting out mistakes in reporting which could result in inaccurate or inflated claims, such as double counting, misattribution, or lack of additionality.   

Moreover, the widespread adoption of the TOM System across the public and private sectors over nearly a decade has allowed Social Value Portal to establish an unparalleled database of Social Value activity and insight into the most impactful measures across industries. This enables us to continually refine the TOM System based on 150,000 data points and over 10,500 projects which have been managed through our platform. 

The activities which we typically see deliver the most reported Social Value often have the following in common:

Specificity: Consider pursuing targeted and time-bound initiatives related to your organisation’s core activities, rather than more general ones. For example, if you are a consultancy, you might be able to give expert advice to VCSEs. Focus on how you can respond to local needs and priorities, where relevant to the tender.

Detail: When you report your Social Value activities, it is important to offer a detailed account of your actions with evidence to support the data you are providing. Be careful to also use the right units of measurement for your quantitative data. This approach will help boost your Social Value scores.

Attribution: When you report Social Value activities, the activities should be attributable to you and not your supply chain or another organisation.

While providing a consistent measurement framework, the TOM System can be adapted to reflect an organisation's unique priorities, contexts, locations, sectors, and requirements. Because Measures can be recalibrated based on defined parameters, the system offers thousands of potential metrics.  

It also aligns to standards like the UK Government's Social Value Model, UN Sustainable Development Goals, GRESB, SASB, GRI and more.

The Social Value Model (introduced alongside PPN 06/20) only mandates a qualitative evaluation, and while it is useful in terms of procurement, it doesn’t measure Social Value delivery.

That’s why Social Value Portal has mapped the TOM System™ against the  Social Value Model and the MACs within it. When it comes specifically to delivery, our Central Government Mapping Tool supports contract management and enables users to comprehensively demonstrate what  is being delivered through the metrics within the TOM System.

This ultimately enables bidders to go beyond the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of their Social Value offer by giving an indication of scale: how much Social Value  they could deliver under contract if they’re successful.