When Social Value Portal started working with the University of Manchester in 2019, the mission wasn't just to help the University measure its Social Value, but to create a set of specific set of Measures within the Social Value TOM System™ for the higher education sector.

The University has since significantly improved its communication of its Social Value priorities and results to stakeholders and employees. Moreover, it has been able to bring key suppliers along on its Social Value journey.

When the University began its partnership with Social Value Portal, the team was keen to benefit from the hands-on advice on offer.  

Before we started working with Social Value Portal, we were aware we were delivering Social Value, but this wasn’t being captured effectively or reported on in a way that communicated anything meaningful. We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, so we were looking for support from someone who is expert in the area. We wanted to use their knowledge.

Charlotte Hardman, Procurement Officer, University of Manchester

Finding the right Social Value Measures

While putting Social Value Measures in place may feel like a large task if you are doing it for the first time, it can be straightforward with the right guidance. 

We had loads of meetings and support from Social Value Portal, particularly at the start because it was all new to us. We benefited from their additional support while we’ve found our way around the system. We were keen to use their model as it was tried-and-tested in other sectors.

Charlotte Hardman, Procurement Officer, University of Manchester

A core part of Social Value Portal's work with the University was selecting TOM System Measures that were appropriate for a a higher education setting and would deliver what the University was seeking: a way to capture Social Value outcomes and show the monetary value.

Gaining a financial measure was particularly important to some of the University's stakeholders, who were keen to understand return on investment.

Bringing suppliers along on a Social Value journey 

With the University set up on the Social Value Portal platform, the next phase of work revolved around incorporating the TOM System into tenders. The pandemic initially delayed this work, but Social Value Portal has helped the University to retrospectively use the platform in its work with certain key suppliers.

One such supplier was Chariot Office Supplies.

The University shows great interest in understanding the benefit of their spend in the community. They want us to grow as a business, to create local jobs and boost the economy. Their support has gone deeper than just being a customer, which Social Value Portal helps them to demonstrate. Before, we didn’t measure the Social Value of work we did for charity, for example, but now we can clearly see it.

Mike Carter, Managing Director, Chariot Office Suppliers 

Social Value Portal and the University jointly helped Chariot measure and understand the Social Value it was already generating through initiatives like its support for a local crisis centre.

Social Value can be a scary subject, it’s a very corporate term. But when looking at the detail, which Social Value Portal encourages, we can see we’re already doing things but not measuring them.

Mike Carter, Managing Director, Chariot

The project with Chariot has so far delivered £31,477 of Social Value.

A Social Value ripple effect

The procurement team at the University of Manchester invited members of the Chariot team to attend the Greater Manchester Modern Slavery network meeting. This led Chariot to work with other businesses and universities on publications and seminars about the role of SMEs in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in supply chains.

Chariot also worked closely with the Oasis Centre, which supports the East Manchester community, by sourcing food at cost price so that Oasis could provide free thousands of free meals. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Chariot provided materials for educational packs which were distributed throughout the community.

The training, support and continued communication we receive from the University of Manchester procurement team over the course of our contract has played a key part in what we have achieved.

Mike Carter, Managing Director, Chariot

Chariot’s work is a prime example of how even small changes to an organisation's procurement strategy can alter people’s lives for the better, and how Social Value Portal's approach makes good go further.

Benchmarking Social Value success 

In addition to measuring Social Value quantitatively, the University also uses our platform to uncover qualitative outcomes. This powerful combination has given the University plenty of material for case studies and marketing material to engage staff and stakeholders.

The team has bold ambitions to use that data to further drive performance in future years.

Using Social Value Portal's platform gives us a benchmark, as well as something to promote and talk about internally. Colleagues can see what we’re trying to achieve. Social Value is the only way forward, it’s only going to get bigger; creating case studies and marketing material helps push that forward. We’d rather be at the forefront.

Charlotte Hardman, Procurement Officer at the University of Manchester