It can be daunting to decide which Social Value activities are right for your organisation. How can you know what will have the biggest impact, and which areas most need it?
Our latest webinar explored Local Needs Analysis (LNA) – a proven tool for developing place-based Social Value strategies that answer the needs of the community. Our Director of Consultancy Anna McChesney-Gordon and Head of Planning and Local Needs Analysis Tessa Alcorn were joined by two experts from the public and private sectors:
- Paul Emmett, Commercial Manager, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Chris Georgiou, Head of Commercial Bids and Proposals, Roche Diagnostics
- Tessa Alcorn, Head of Planning and Local Needs Analysis, Social Value Portal
Why understanding local needs matters
Without understanding what specific challenges communities are facing, your organisation can’t formulate a strategy that is truly relevant and targeted. This risks a scattergun approach which wastes budget on initiatives that don’t reach the people who would benefit most from them.
A robust knowledge of local needs enables you to create a long-term, impactful place-based strategy – leaving a positive legacy behind. It will also make you more informed going into conversations with local stakeholders and partners.
As Tessa Alcorn explained, there are benefits for just about every stakeholder involved in delivering Social Value:
- Buyers: Support suppliers to submit better tender responses.
- Bidders: Create stronger bids incorporating local insights.
- Business: Make corporate strategy and programmes more impactful.
- Real estate: Build community trust by creating places that meet their needs.
Before delivering any Social Value, it’s integral to build a deeper understanding of the economic, social and environmental needs of a local community.
Tessa Alcorn, Head of Planning and Local Needs Analysis, Social Value Portal
Introducing the Dynamic Data Hub
When it comes to understanding and addressing local needs, access to comprehensive data across your organisation is critical. That’s why Social Value Portal created the Dynamic Data Hub, which hosts our clients’ granular reports on local deprivation. It features:
- 15,000+ data points for different geographies in England from official sources, including the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, the Office of National Statistics, Public Health England, the Ministry of Justice, and more
- Live updates to data, with configurable access for sharing across your organisation
Dynamic mapping also covers domains from employment and education to internet access and green space, for a truly holistic view of an area – be it a ward, city or region.
For organisations that want to go a step further, our Consultancy team offer community partner research and policy reviews. These are important for ensuring that objectives are aligned to local authority goals and can be actioned in collaboration with appropriate local partners.
Spotlight: West Yorkshire Combined Authority
West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), a mayoral combined authority covering Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees, and Calderdale, used our LNA report to gain data insights into their region.
Looking at the data provided by the Local Needs Analysis we can highlight inequalities, identify service gaps, look at trends and get a steer as to what will be the most impactful interventions.
Paul Emmett, Commercial Manager, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
The combined authority is using the LNA to:
- Guide bidders in tender packs: This will give bidders the knowledge they need around WYCA’s Social Value priorities and where to carry out initiatives.
- Support evaluation of Social Value responses: Knowing where need is greatest, WYCA can now score the qualitative sections of bids accordingly.
- Influence commissioning and project promotion: Local needs will be factored into initial concepts, ensuring that Social Value is meaningful – not ‘flavour of the month’.
- Steer operational Social Value delivery: WYCA will work with suppliers to ensure Social Value is being delivered in the most appropriate places, tweaking approaches where necessary.
WYCA also guides bidders and suppliers to Measures within the TOM System, making the Measures Dashboard within the Dynamic Data Hub especially valuable.
One thing we will get a lot of value from is the top ten Measures across each district – this will allow us to target delivery toward areas that really need it.
Paul Emmett, Commercial Manager, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Spotlight: Roche Diagnostics and the NHS
Next, Chris Georgiou revealed how LNA has enabled Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland to strengthen its bids to the National Health Service (NHS).
Policy and legislation have made Social Value a major priority for the NHS, with 10% minimum weightings mandated for Social Value in NHS tenders and an increasing focus on robust reporting. This makes in turn Social Value a strategic priority for Roche Diagnostics, whose three pillars of Social Value are:
- Healthy planet: Respecting our environment and minimising impact on nature.
- Health communities: Helping communities to thrive.
- Social mobility: Reducing inequality by creating opportunities and harnessing talent from people of all backgrounds.
The Local Needs Analysis report that Social Value Portal produced for Roche Diagnostics has served as an essential tool for Roche’s Social Value strategy.
The Local Needs Analysis report is a key piece of information that we use in our tendering process and to work with our customers. It’s an opportunity not to be missed when a new contract is being tendered.
Chris Georgiou, Head of Commercial Bids & Proposals, Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland
Using data from its LNA, Roche Diagnostics has made highly targeted commitments to an NHS Social Value leader – Barts Health NHS Trust. These included:
- Green volunteering and logistics
- Advertising for an apprentice
- Laptop donations to schools
This approach has deepened and strengthened Roche’s relationship with the trust. Lucie Jaggar, former Chief Procurement Officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, commented:
Knowing Roche UK is also working to a Social Value framework of priorities, and establishing their own approach to meet the needs of communities in the UK is critical because we need to work collectively to achieve the NHS's Social Value objectives and net-zero targets.
Lucie Jaggar, former Chief Procurement Officer at Barts Health NHS Trust
Find out more about Local Needs Analysis
Want to gain deeper insights into how Local Needs Analysis could enhance your Social Value strategy? Watch the full webinar – with an in-depth Q&A – today.
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