Achieving Social Value Guidance for staff, partners and contractors

July 2015

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Contents:

Lambeth – a cooperative council

A. Cooperative commissioning and delivery

The cooperative commissioning cycle

B. Lambeth’s shared purpose

Equality

Prevention

Resilience

C. Our priorities

Lambeth’s Community Outcomes framework

D. Social Value

E. Lambeth’s Social Value Framework

Social considerations (Communities feel safer and stronger)

Environmental considerations (Cleaner streets and greener neighbourhoods)

Economic considerations (More jobs and sustainable growth)

F. Practical considerations in the cooperative commissioning cycle to ensure social

value is considered and achieved

G. Practical considerations in procurement to ensure social value is being considered and achieved

H. Case studies

Community Support Services in Lambeth

London Living Wage and the Total FM contract

Lambeth Housing Standard

Customer service contract

I. The legislation

J. Key contacts Appendix 1 – Practical steps (Quick check)

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Lambeth – a cooperative council

Lambeth is a cooperative council. This means working together – cooperatively – with our residents is now what we do by default.

The council believes that the challenges facing the borough can only be met by rebalancing the relationship between the council, and the citizens and communities of Lambeth. We have changed the way the council works so that the community is at the centre of everything that we do.

A. Cooperative Commissioning and Delivery

The council has introduced cooperative commissioning as its operating model. Cooperative commissioning starts with the council working with citizens to understand the changes (outcomes) they want to see, and then mapping the resources that exist to help bring the changes about, including the strengths and assets held in the community as well as the resources available to the council. Service users and providers working together at every stage of the cycle is central to how we work. This shared working arrangement is sometimes referred to as co-production. Led by the Cabinet (the council’s political leadership), once the desired outcomes have been identified, the council works with citizens through our cooperative commissioning process. In its simplest terms, this is about working together to plan, do and review what happens in the borough. The cooperative commissioning cycle

1. Understand the strengths and needs in the community

2. Be clear about the change we want to see (outcomes)

3. Allocate resources - money, time, buildings etc

4. Look at the different ways of

delivering the outcomes

5. Deliver services and activities

6. Are the services/activities

having an impact on our outcomes?

Citizens, councillors,

officers, businesses

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B. Lambeth’s shared purpose

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Lib Peck, has set out her vision for the council over the next four years: Opportunity for everyone, and fairness for all. Specifically it includes:

Equalities

Equality is at the heart of our approach. In delivering opportunity and fairness for all, the council will need to make tough decisions whilst also making sure that we continue to protect those who need it most. The Equality Act 2010 places a statutory duty on the council to consider the human impacts of any decisions that we make, in terms of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Prevention

Prevention means we need to address the causes of problems rather than focusing on their consequences.

Public services have increasingly become about picking up the pieces and reacting to problems; however we need to work with our communities to stop those problems happening in the first place and intervening early to stop things getting worse (early intervention).

Resilience

We need to help grow strong and supportive communities so they can tackle issues and take greater responsibility for their communities and neighbourhoods.

Our shared purpose is about the council and our communities being on the same page and working to the same shared goal. It is about delivering the outcomes that we and our communities want and doing this with significantly less resources.

C. Our priorities

In delivering our shared purpose and strategic vision, our Community Plan sets out the three overarching priorities (outcomes) that we know are of most importance to the people of Lambeth: more jobs, cleaner streets and safer communities.

These outcomes fit within the government’s three social value themes of social, environmental, and economic benefits. Our overarching outcomes are:

Communities feel safer and stronger (social)

Cleaner streets and greener neighbourhoods (environmental)

More jobs and sustainable growth (economic)

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The Community Plan provides a framework through which the council prioritises resources and our outcomes framework drives all the activities and services that we commission, procure and deliver. All our efforts are designed to deliver our outcomes, or enable our staff, partners, contractors and citizens to do this. Our outcomes identify where we want to make the biggest difference. This tight focus has been developed through a deep understanding of citizen priorities and a clear political vision from our administration. It means we are clear about what we are trying to achieve within a context of significantly reduced resources across the public sector. The diagram below illustrates our approach.

The three outcomes of most importance to Lambeth, and how they interrelate

People lead environmentally sustainable lives

Communities feel safer and stronger

Cleaner streets and greener neighbourhoods

More jobs and sustainable growth

Lambeth residents have more opportunities for better quality homes

People take greater responsibility for their neighbourhood

Older, disabled and vulnerable people can live independently and have control over their lives

People are healthier, for longer

All Lambeth communities communities feel they are valued and are part of their neighbourhoods

Crime reduces

Vulnerable children and adults get support and protection

Lambeth plays a strong role in London’s economy

All young people have opportunities to achieve their ambitions

People achieve financial security

People live in, work in and visit our vibrant and creative town centres

People have the skills to find work

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D. Social value

Social value in Lambeth is about achieving maximum value - in terms of impact on our outcomes - in all that we do. As we face increasing pressure on services and on our financial resources, we must achieve the maximum possible value from every pound we spend. By ‘value’, this doesn’t simply mean the best price, but rather this should be seen in a wider context of achieving greater economic, social and environmental impact and benefits for the local community. It is also essential that we work with our partners to ensure that maximum social value is also being achieved through the ways that they work and the things that they do. Put very simply, social value in Lambeth is about how we can achieve maximum impact across outcomes, throughout the commissioning process. This means:

Ensuring the outcomes we are commissioning reflect the things our community values

Achieving value through how we commission and the ways that we work (cooperative commissioning)

Thinking about how we can achieve the greatest possible impact across our outcomes in our commissioning

Securing benefits which help us achieve our outcomes from all procurement decisions

Ensuring the outcomes we are commissioning reflect the things our community

values

Cooperative commissioning puts citizens at the heart of the commissioning process, including helping to identify local needs, as well as community assets which could help meet them. Lambeth’s Community Outcomes are the over-arching outcomes which guide our work, but commissioners will often develop more granular outcomes which sit beneath these, working with the community and people who use or benefit from the service. This co-production helps us ensure we are investing resources in the things that matter locally, and keeping focused on the impact that our activities and services will have. Achieving value through how we commission and the ways that we work

Working with citizens throughout the commissioning process is itself a way of building resources within the community, for example confidence, skills, relationships and understanding of the role citizens can play. Thinking about how we can achieve the greatest possible impact across our

outcomes

Commissioning is usually driven by the aim to achieve a certain outcome or small set of outcomes. However, this can mean that the opportunity to achieve impact across wider outcomes is missed, or gives rise to unintended consequences. For example, parks might traditionally be considered to contribute to environmental and community well-being outcomes. However, creative thinking about the many different outcomes that parks can contribute to can lead to wider benefits. For example working with the local community to manage parks can help achieve outcomes such as people taking greater responsibility for their neighbourhood, or an approach to parks maintenance which provides local employment or supports local enterprise can achieve additional economic and social outcomes.

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Securing benefits which help us achieve our outcomes from all procurement

decisions

This is the area that the Social Value Act is primarily concerned with. By the stage at which a procurement process is reached, social value should already have been identified and realised through the cooperative commissioning process. However there are additional benefits that can be achieved through and with our providers: the ways that they work, and the things that they do. The council has developed a Social Value Framework to help support our understanding of the types of things we could ask our providers to do in order to deliver greater social value. Lambeth’s Social Value Policy can be found here [link].

E. Lambeth’s Social Value Framework

Lambeth’s Social Value Framework complements our social value priorities and is intended to help commissioners, procurement officers, and those involved in delivery, whether internal or external, to think about how additional social value can be achieved through our contractual arrangements and working practices. We have developed our Social Value Framework directly from the three overarching outcomes (themes) and Community Outcomes in our Community Plan. However, since these outcomes are high level and strategic, social value outcomes and outputs that are more tangible for staff, partners and contractors to interpret and also possible to quantify and achieve through the ways that we work, are also included. The Framework therefore sets out:

How social value outcomes could relate to – and therefore support – Lambeth’s Community Outcomes

The type of social value outcomes which could be achieved through the ways that our partners work and the things that they do

The types of activities that create social value and could be included in contracts. These are intended to be suggestions of the types of things that could be used in discussions with partners and contractors so that social value considerations are incorporated at an early stage of engagement and, where applicable, incorporated into contractual arrangements or service level agreements.

Below is a breakdown of our three overarching outcomes and examples of social value considerations that sit within them. These considerations are not exhaustive; other benefits such as sponsorship of a borough event might also be considered. They instead provide a basis for wider discussions with contractors, suppliers and partners. It is our expectation that the council and its suppliers, contractors, and partners do all we can to embed these into our working practices, whether through the commissioning and delivery of services, in procurement, purchasing, through investment; in acquisitions of property or land or as part of any agreement for works or capital programmes.

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Communities feel safer and stronger (social considerations)

Lambeth Priority – Enabling health improvement and reducing health inequalities

Lambeth Community Outcomes

Examples of social value activities or outcomes that could be considered as part of the commissioning, delivery and procurement of services

All Lambeth communities feel they are valued and are part of their neighbourhoods

Proposals to be taken to engage with residents to design, manage and deliver the service(s) through consultation and community engagement

Initiatives to be taken to involve a wider group from the community than usual in using services or assets

Number of facilities opened to wider community use

Number of new volunteering opportunities created

Initiatives to be taken to promote equalities and human rights to help reduce discrimination

Crime reduces

Support or develop crime prevention programmes with local people (e.g. neighbourhood watch)

Support or interventions to be provided for young people to help tackle youth crime

Support to be given to initiatives to tackle problems associated with ASB/night time economy

Support to be given to initiatives such as such as the 'Lock it and Stop it' burglary prevention programme

Support to be provided to create safe play areas for children and their parents e.g. cleaning, maintaining, fencing, new play equipment

Initiatives to be taken to support safer public spaces

People are healthier, for longer

Initiatives to be taken with specific public health advice (e.g. stop smoking, drink responsibly, eat healthy, reducing risky behaviour, etc)

Support to be given to initiatives taken in the community such as 'Do the right thing', 'Good Gym' and 'Brixton Bolt'

Demonstrate commitment to work practices that improve staff wellbeing, recognise mental health as an issue and reduce absenteeism due to ill health

Support to be provided to improve social connectedness and reduce loneliness and isolation among vulnerable residents

Vulnerable children and adults get support and protection

Support to be provided to meet the needs of children with special educational needs

Support to be provided to meet the needs of vulnerable people by using community assets and resources (others who want to help)

Early intervention support to be provided for parents and families to build stronger community networks

Older, disabled and vulnerable people can live independently and have control over their lives

Number of people employed on contract with disabilities or mental ill health

Carers identified amongst your team and support provided

Initiatives taken to support carers within the community

Initiatives to be taken to support independent living for vulnerable people

Initiatives to be taken to support older, disabled and vulnerable people to build stronger community networks

Lambeth residents have more opportunities for better quality homes

Support given to residents to be self sufficient in basic home improvements/repairs

Value of adaptations provided to support better quality housing for older and disabled tenants

Number of private landlords providing use of their homes for social renting

Number of initiatives taken to support 'good neighbours' and reduce negative impacts on local area

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Links to policy or further information

Co-production tools (Internal resources for staff to consider)

Community Tool Box (The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change).

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Cleaner streets and greener neighbourhoods (environmental considerations)

Lambeth Priority – Reduce carbon emissions per year

Lambeth Community

Outcomes

Examples of social value activities or outcomes that could be considered as part

of the commissioning, delivery and procurement of services

People live environmentally sustainable lives

Reduction in waste generated compared to previous contract or measures to be taken to reduce waste

Value of products used on contract from recycled material or that are recyclable or reusable

Measures taken to encourage maintenance or repair of existing hardware, equipment and furniture where possible in order to extend its life

Initiatives to be taken to increase rates of recycling and reduce waste by citizens/service users/businesses

Reduction in carbon emissions per year compared to previous contract (includes keeping up to date records) or Planet Mark Certification

Reduction in overall energy consumption per year compared to previous contract or similar operations. This could include Planet Mark Certification

Increase the use of renewable energy / community-generated renewable energy as a proportion of total energy consumption over the lifetime of the contract (without increasing overall energy consumption)

Initiatives to be taken to support number of households to better manage their energy demands through improvements in the fabric of their homes, bringing them out of fuel poverty and contributing to climate change goals

Encouraging usage of energy efficient appliances and equipment

Measures to be taken to reduce overall water consumption per year compared to previous contract

Initiatives to be taken with service users such as advice around energy savings and fuel switching

Initiatives to be taken to improve efficiency of existing buildings and/or fleet to make more environmentally sustainable

Commitment to low/no emission fleet of vehicles and/or low emission based last mile delivery systems

Initiatives to be taken to reduce staff travel related to the contract such as staff car club/car sharing/cycle initiatives/green travel plan as a part of the contract

Initiatives to be taken to maximise the use of sustainable materials or products, for example embodied carbon management and reduction.

Adoption of policies for the purchasing of healthy food from sustainable sources

Initiatives to be taken to either create or manage green infrastructure to increase biodiversity, and enhance wellbeing

People take greater responsibility for their

neighbourhood

Materials and equipment provided to local people to enable them to take more responsibility

Initiatives to be taken to boost funding of local business such as 'Grass roots crowd funding'

Initiatives supported or taken to promote responsible behaviour (e.g. to encourage people not to drop litter or to clean up after their dogs)

People live in, work and visit our vibrant and creative town

centres

Initiatives to be taken to promote the Borough or town centres

Initiatives to be taken to encourage people to visit the Borough or town centres

Initiatives to be taken to encourage staff and service users to support local businesses and market traders

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Links to policy and further information

Sustainable Construction Policy (For considering the environmental implications of building materials, construction activities and building operations)

Sustainable Timber Policy (our considering best practice in the purchase of sustainable timber products)

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More jobs and sustainable growth (economic considerations)

Lambeth priority – Payment of the Living Wage (by partners and their supply chains) Lambeth priority – Commitment to apprenticeships and training

Lambeth Priority – Support long-term unemployed residents into employment

Lambeth Community

Outcomes

Examples of social value activities or outcomes that could be considered as part

of the commissioning, delivery and procurement of services

People have the skills to find work

Number of traineeships and apprenticeships with clear career paths for the future

Number of people provided with meaningful work experience as a result of the contract (e.g. Long term unemployed residents, NEETS, Ex-offenders over 18, ex-offenders under 18, residents with disabilities)

Create professional development opportunities (including apprenticeships) for local residents at Levels 2, 3 and 4

Initiatives to be taken with schools, colleges and/or training providers to ensure the curricula matches the needs of local employers and students have an understanding of the workplace

Number of supported employment opportunities for residents who are out of work

All young people have opportunities to achieve their

ambitions

Number of young people in Lambeth to be supported into work by delivering employability support (e.g. mock interviews, careers guidance, workplace expectations) to a number of school and college students

Number of new apprenticeships to be created for local residents

Demonstrate corporate social responsibility in work with schools / colleges / universities

Number of meaningful work experience placements provided to school and college students

Initiatives or time to be provided for activities that encourage children and young people to participate / learn new skills including confidence and leadership

Support or initiatives to be provided to help narrow any educational attainment gaps between disadvantaged young people and their peers

Lambeth plays a strong role in London’s economy

No. of new jobs created through the contract in Lambeth

No. of new jobs created through the contract in London

No. of new jobs created through the contract UK

Average wage of employees

Support new business start-ups through mentoring local entrepreneurs or running practical workshops at local business networks

£ spent supporting local economy by procuring local goods and services in the local supply chain

£ spent supporting local economy by procuring goods and services from 3rd sector providers

£ spent supporting local economy by procuring goods and services from Social Enterprises, Small and Micro Businesses

Build and strengthen the local economy by providing relevant and practical business advice and guidance to Lambeth companies to make them supply chain ready

Build and strengthen the local economy and supply chains by accepting and using the Brixton Pound

Attract inward investment into the borough

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People achieve financial security

Provide employees with flexible working practices to enable them to balance their home and work life whilst still earning a fair wage (e.g. carers, parents)

If you use zero hours contracts, describe how you are working to reduce their extent

If you do not pay the London Living wage to all of your employees, describe what plans do you have in place to implement this

If your supply chain's employees are not paid the appropriate Living Wage, describe what plans do you have in place to implement this

Number of people employed on contract living in Lambeth and the average wage of these employees

Number of people employed on contract living in GLA Region and the average wage of these employees

Number of people employed on contract living UK and the average wage of these employees

Support provided in financial management or debt advice to staff, service users and residents or a sign-posting service

Support more people to manage their finances effectively e.g. by increasing the number of residents who save with a Credit Union

Numbers of staff who volunteer in the council’s Digi-Buddies programme

Total number of hours that staff volunteer to support Lambeth digi-buddies programme

Number of residents provided with IT equipment and training to use

Links to policy and further information

Contracts Finder (information about contracts with the government and its agencies) Compete for London (a free service that enables businesses to compete for contract

opportunities within the supply chains of major capital infrastructure projects)

South London Procurement Network (An organisation that can help council officers (and others) find local suppliers for goods and services they need)

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F. Practical considerations in the cooperative commissioning cycle to ensure social value is considered and achieved

The cooperative commissioning cycle is split into six stages, with each stage offering an opportunity to consider the role of citizens and ensuring we are focusing on how we achieve our outcomes. Also see Appendix 1 for further practical steps.

Citizens, councillors,

officers, businesses

1. Understand strengths and needs in community

What do communities want and need?

What strengths or assets do communities

have that could help achieve the outcomes?

How can citizens be involved in

commissioning?

How can cabinet members be involved in early

discussions?

2. Be clear about the change we want to see

(outcomes)

What key outcomes are we trying to achieve?

What other outcomes could we impact?

Ensuring cabinet members are engaged

3. Allocate resources - money, time, buildings etc

What resources can help achieve the relevant

outcomes?

Will investment in one area have a positive

effect on outcomes in another area?

4. Look at different ways of delivering outcomes

What options are there for how the outcomes

could be achieved?

How can we achieve maximum impact across

outcomes through different ways of working?

Can we grow community activity, shape

markets or support behaviour change?

If we are using procurement, do we know

which potential suppliers or partners can help

achieve the outcomes, and what additional

social value can be achieved? (see below)

5. Deliver services and activities

Is there agreement with the contractor or

partner on the social value to be included?

How can we monitor and measure the social

value being achieved?

Are there default clauses in case the agreed

social value is not delivered?

6. Are the services/activities having an impact

on our outcomes?

What impact are the activities or services

having on our outcomes?

Is there satisfactory verification that the

agreed social value is being delivered?

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G. Practical considerations in procurement to ensure social value is being considered and achieved through procurement

If procurement is being used to achieve the outcomes, then there are further considerations that can be given at the procurement stage. Questions that could be helpful include:

Cabinet members

- Have cabinet members been engaged about social value proposals? Ideally cabinet members should be consulted at the pre tender stage when you are writing your Business Case/Options Appraisal (Gateway 1) report

- Has consideration been given to the council’s Equalities policy?

Social Value proposals

- What additional social value can be achieved from the proposed service or activity, and how does this align with our outcomes? (Using the Social Value Framework, but also considering other options like sponsorship of a local event or community group)

- Are social value proposals proportionate and relevant to the contract? Sometimes social value can be achieved across a wider range of outcomes than those being directly commissioned through the contract

- Does the advert/documentation make clear our social value priorities?

Organisations we work with

- Do potential partners and suppliers understand the outcomes we are seeking and our approach to Social Value?

- Do they understand our cooperative ways of working? - Have we shared our Social Value Policy and Guidance? Would further engagement

be helpful?

Further suggestions for practical steps that can be taken to ensure we are achieving social value through our procurement are included in Appendix 1.

H. Case studies

The following are real examples of how social value is being delivered in contracts.

Community Support Services in Lambeth

Lambeth Council recently re-commissioned Community Support Services in Lambeth, which includes home care for vulnerable adults. The new service started in January 2015 and a key element of the new contract is to pay all care workers at least the London Living Wage. Care workers are traditionally poorly paid so increasing the rate not only provides them with a fairer wage but also increases their financial resilience. It also improves the quality of care as care worker retention improves so providers invest more heavily in training their workers; and our residents have greater continuity of care and are able to build a strong relationship with their care worker. The tender process asked for innovation on delivering social value, and all successful providers were able to show how they provide this. Most operate a ’patch’ based rota to reduce the need for travel time so care workers have opportunities to drive less and walk or cycle more often, so their carbon emissions are reduced and health and fitness is improved (many of the workers are also Lambeth residents). Some organisations also employed vulnerable people, and one said “We have people with learning disabilities volunteering in our social and leisure activities as well as here in the office with us. This means that they are more socially included, less isolated, have improved self-esteem”. Most providers offer apprenticeship schemes and work closely with Job Centre Plus to provide employment opportunities and training for people trying to get back in to work.

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London Living Wage and the Total FM contract

When negotiating our ‘Total FM’ contract, London Living Wage was part of the tender specification, and we found that the market responded positively and innovatively to the council’s objectives. Several competing suppliers came up with value for money solutions, and the winning supplier, Cofely, used a staff payment formula that enabled all staff members to make LLW without any staff reductions or reductions in overall working hours.

Lambeth Housing Standard

Lambeth is undertaking a major multi-million pound housing modernisation programme called the ‘Lambeth Housing Standard’, designed to improve the quality of the council’s housing. Contractors bidding for work on the £350m external works programme were asked to include in their tenders proposals for:

a. The number of apprentices and learning opportunities they would provide b. The community benefits they would deliver – e.g. refurbishment of tenant halls c. Their sustainable construction practices

Customer service contract

This is a good example of how more conventional contract negotiations can be developed to adopt the cooperative principles. As well as judging tenders on standard contract criteria such as price and quality, bidders were asked to demonstrate how they could contribute to the cooperative council. The bidders proposed substantial financial support for community initiatives and a comprehensive apprenticeship scheme. The council can enforce this element of the contract, so if these outcomes are not delivered the contract can be terminated – this contrasts with the need for the provider having to make a “best endeavour” to provide the community benefits stated in normal contracts.

I. The legislation

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires authorities to endeavour to add social value (economic, social or environmental benefits) to their local area via its service contracts valued above the EU procurement threshold of £172,514. The Act (along with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Local Government Act 1999) encourages commissioners to get maximum value from their procurement, but authorities have some discretion on how they apply the requirements of the Act, including how they choose to consider, consult on, record and measure social value so that it is proportionate and relevant to what is being procured.

As a matter of best practice the council seeks to go beyond the requirements of the Social Value Act or the general duty of Best Value and staff are therefore encouraged to think about social value in all aspects of their work, whether this is commissioning, delivery, or enabling (support services). Officers should also encourage contractors and partners to apply this way of working. When commissioning services, even if these fall outside the requirements of the Social Value Act, officers should consider whether the contract has the potential to offer additional community benefits. For example, in the awarding of contracts below £100k threshold (which are not subject to corporate procurement) consideration should still be given to social value benefits, guided by the council’s Social Value Policy [link] and this Guidance document. Further details on the specific legal requirements of the Social Value Act can be found in the government-issued Procurement Policy Note here.

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J. Key contacts

Social Value Policy o Anna Randle, Head of Policy Development (arandle@lambeth.gov.uk) o Dorian Gray, Senior Policy, Equalities and Performance Officer

(dgray3@lambeth.gov.uk)

Corporate Procurement o Rachel Willsher, Head of procurement (rwillsher@lambeth.gov.uk) o Keith Marshall, Procurement Manager (kmarshall@lambeth.gov.uk) o Helen Lee, Procurement Officer (hlee@lambeth.gov.uk)

Legal Services o Andrew Pavlou, Principal Lawyer Governance (apavlou@lambeth.gov.uk) o Michael O’Hora, Senior Contracts Lawyer (mohora@lambeth.gov.uk)

Co-production o Sue Sheehan, Senior Policy, Equalities and Performance Officer

(ssheehan@lambeth.gov.uk)

Investment / Section 106 / Community Infrastructure Levy o John Bennett, Lead Commissioner (jbennett7@lambeth.gov.uk) o Liz Gardiner, Senior Commissioning Officer (lgardiner@lambeth.gov.uk)

Sustainability / Carbon emissions o Nathan Pierce, Lead Commissioner (npierce@lambeth.gov.uk) o Liz Whitson Cloud, Senior Commissioning Officer

(lwhitsoncloud@lambeth.gov.uk)

Employment / Apprenticeships o Kamal Motalib, Lead Commissioner (kmotalib@lambeth.gov.uk)

Community Safeguarding o Kristian Aspinall, Lead Commissioner (kaspinall@lambeth.gov.uk)

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Appendix 1 – Practical steps (Quick check)

1. Commissioning

Ensure what you are commissioning fits with our Shared Purpose and our Priorities

Be clear about the key outcomes you are commissioning, and think about whether other outcomes could also be achieved, talking to commissioning colleagues

Consider the extent to which citizens can be involved in the commissioning or delivery – refer to the co-production tools available.

Use the Social Value Framework on pages 7-13 of this guidance to consider Lambeth’s social value priorities and other examples of community benefit

Identify which priorities and other social value could be included as part of the commissioning of the service / activity.

Use the questions contained in the commissioning cycle on page 14 to further stimulate your thinking.

Discuss your approach with the appropriate Cabinet Member and other colleagues in commissioning, particularly where outcomes and social value are cross-cutting.

2. Pre-procurement (looking for suppliers and partners)

Be clear in adverts and documents that Lambeth expects suppliers to consider social value and will reflect this in evaluation criteria.

Where appropriate, include in adverts: “The contract will also be expected to deliver wider community benefits to Lambeth” or similar wording.

Websites such as the South London Procurement Network can be helpful in sourcing suppliers and partners

3. Seeking proposals (Invitations to Tender):

Lambeth expects officers to consider social value and reflect this in evaluation criteria

Highlight our social value priorities: e.g. “The Council is a Living Wage employer and, where possible, encourages contractors to pay the same or equivalent.”

Be clear how you will score social value against other factors, in terms of evaluation criteria and weighting, e.g. Quality (70% - including 10% Social Value Benefits) and Cost (30%)

4. Submitting proposals (suppliers)

Be specific about how you will deliver our social value priorities.

How else could you contribute to deliver wider community benefits?

5. Comparing proposals

Use the scoring method and evaluation criteria and weighting as indicated in the Invitation to Tender.

Retain a record of the results of the scoring (for feedback to suppliers and for an audit trail).

6. Procurement

Agree the social value that is to be provided (adapt as necessary).

Obtain specific information on how the agreed social value will be delivered.

Clarify how the proposed social value will be measured (verification and evidence).

7. Completing an agreement or contract

Make sure the proposed social value and how and when it will be measured is written into the contract (examples of community benefit clauses are here).

8. Contract delivery and monitoring and review

Ensure the contract’s social value is reviewed and monitored in accordance with any agreed performance monitoring framework.