Social Value

Find advice and guidance on how you can support Suffolk with the Social Value you can offer and maximising the Suffolk pound (£).

What is Social Value?

Social Value is a way of thinking about how scarce resources are allocated and used. It prompts us to ask if £1 is spent on the delivery of goods, services or works, can that same £1 be used also to produce a wider social, economic or environmental benefit to the community in Suffolk. Read our Social Value and sustainable procurement policy (PDF, 447KB). 

Bidding for contracts

When we commission goods, services and works we will consider how we can bring Social Value additional benefits to our communities in the way the services or goods are outlined in the service specification or outline of requirements in our contracts.   

We will also ask bidders to submit their Social Value offer with their bid and this will be evaluated and scored alongside price and the quality evaluation criteria. 

If we would like you to focus your Social Value offer on a specific benefit we will outline that in the specification and/or the bid evaluation criteria. How much we weight the Social Value evaluation criteria will vary dependent, on what is being tendered and the experience of the market in articulating the Social Value in their bid. 

You can use our Social Value summary tool (PDF) to help you map the additionality you offer and how to evidence it.

Our Social Value Ask 

Our Social Value Ask outlines our commissioners priorities and how you can deliver Social Value in Suffolk to benefit our communities.

Our Social Value Ask 

  • Additional information regarding how you can add economic benefit to support the development of Suffolk Talent is outlined by our Skills team in our Social Value Skills Ask
  • Our Climate Change Commercial Ask of our suppliers and supply chain outlines practical steps you can take to help reduce your carbon output. 
  • Our Wellbeing Ask provides additional information regarding how you can provide Social benefits in Suffolk

For further information regarding how Social Value can be delivered in Suffolk.  Find ideas on how to deliver Social Value in Suffolk:

  • Suffolk's Hidden Needs a detailed picture of the local need across Suffolk.
  • The Suffolk Observatory contains all Suffolk’s vital statistics; it is the one-stop-shop for data, statistics and reports all about Suffolk provided by a variety of organisations.

Measuring Social Value

There is a national measurement tool for Social Value, the National TOMs Framework. In our bids we may ask you to map your Social Value offer to the TOMS framework. If your bid is successful this will form the Social Value schedule in your contract outlining your offer.

About Social Value

Events

2022 National Social Value Conference - a decade of social value   27-28 April 2022 - Church House Westminster and online

Free Training  E-learning modules

Coming soon - We are developing four e-learning modules which will be available soon.

Our Understanding The Tender Process training for suppliers who wish to bid for contracts with Suffolk County Council is a days training which includes Social Value and how to consider Social Value when you bid. 

Contact  - procurementbusinesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk