Welsh National TOMs guidance

The pandemic hit communities hard, in many ways. Businesses shut their doors, some forever, and many services and facilities that support communities went virtual, with mixed results. It can’t be ignored that the long-term impact will be significant – but that doesn’t mean communities have to suffer forever. The public sector has a major role to play in promoting a sustainable recovery, not least how they commission and procure services. Money is going to have to be spent and the key question is how this spend can maximise social value.

Answering that question isn’t easy. What public sector organisations – and businesses that serve them – need is a way to recognise, support and encourage each other to do their bit to deliver more value for communities. We need to unlock the power of the public pound, to help it do more, help us recover and help our communities to renew.

In steps the National TOMs Wales: a specifically designed Framework that helps all sorts of organisations to measure and maximise the social value they create. It carefully reflects the priorities of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, which goes a long way to fostering a cohesive approach that addresses all corners of social value. Think of it as a social charter or manifesto, helping organisations to get involved with activities that make a difference.

All the guidance you need

We know the National TOMs can make a difference across Wales. We worked out that the reward could be an additional £0.25 for every pound spend – a figure worth aiming for! The National TOMs Wales brings in all the requirements of the Community Benefits Toolkit, so everyone can work in a coherent way.

Of course, we’re not just presenting the National TOMs Wales and leaving organisations to it. We’ve put together a guide that lays out how public and private sector organisations can unlock all the social value we think is out there. It has three sections:

• Part one: An introduction to the National TOMs Wales, what they’re for and how we make sure they stay relevant
• Part two: All the details about how to use the National Toms Wales for procurement or measurement, with guidance for collecting evidence
• Part three: A full list of the National TOMs Wales including proxy values (find out what they are in the guide), rationales and detailed descriptions

This guidance has been put together because we want to help everyone act now. Time is not on our side; communities are suffering. It’s so important that we all work together now to unlock as much social value as possible and create a sustainable recovery.

If you want to learn more, download the guide. We’d love to hear what you think and give you all the support you need to get going on your social value journey.