Bidder’s Guidance - Social Value Background
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires public authorities to consider how all proposed procurements might improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the relevant area, and how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement.
In accordance with the Essex County Council Social Value Policy, the potential economic, social, and environmental improvements are considered during the pre-procurement stage to consider how Social Value can be included in the procurement.
Like many Councils across the country, Essex County Council has adopted the Local Government Association’s National Social Value Taskforce National Themes, Outcomes and Measures’ (‘National TOMs’) method of classifying and evaluating Social Value, adapted to the County’s context and priorities, based on the ECC Corporate Strategy 'Everyone's Essex'.
Social Value is given a weighting and evaluated in two parts, which, when combined result in one overall Social Value score:
- Value Score (calculated using the ECC TOMs Calculator)
- Supporting Statement
ECC Priorities
Essex County Council have identified a number of priority areas, and these have been given a priority score of 3 within the “ECC TOMs Calculator”. These Priority Measures are included in the ECC TOMs Calculator Excel Workbook. Where suppliers commit to deliver our priority measures the value of those measures will be multiplied by 3, as shown in the example below.
Measures that are not ‘Priority Measures’ in the “ECC TOMs Calculator” have a weighting of 1.
Some Measures within the ECC TOMs Calculator are delivered through engagement with a local third party for example careers advice with schools and colleges or support offered to charities. These ‘Community Focused’ measures are highlighted in the ECC TOMs Calculator.
To assist suppliers in implementing such Community-Focused social value commitments ECC is setting up a Community Marketplace page in its Social Value Catalogue. Where permission is confirmed in the ECC TOMs Calculator, a copy of the winning bidder(s) Community-Focused commitments from their completed ECC TOMs Calculator and the associated supplier contract information will be published online in the Social Value Catalogue. ECC will inform Essex schools, colleges, universities, and charities of the Community Marketplace so they can review supplier commitments and, if suitable for them, make contact directly with the suppliers.
Social Value Question
The Social Value Question is split into two main parts, which, when combined result in one overall Social Value score:
- Value
- Supporting Statement
Q.1A Value: Using the ‘ECC TOMs Calculator” Excel Workbook, please confirm one or more commitments you are bidding to deliver Social Value through the performance of this contract.
How to complete the ECC TOMs Calculator
- Read each Measure in the ‘ECC TOMs Calculator’ and Unit descriptor carefully. If you need to clarify your understanding of any of the Measures, please raise any clarification questions via the messaging page on the e-tendering portal before the Clarification Deadline.
- Enter a number of “Units offered” against the Measure or Measures in the ‘ECC TOMs Calculator’ (in column I) that you commit to deliver throughout the term of the contract should you be successful. (This will automatically calculate the “Total Social Value Bid” offer).
- Enter any comments where necessary in column L pertaining to your response and the number of units offered. For example, setting out the rationale for a 0.5 FTE figure.
- Do not double count. Commitments must be entered only once in the Calculator (e.g., a full-term equivalent post (FTE) cannot be counted in 2 categories of employment measure).
- Include only Social Value that will have a “Local” impact (within the boundaries of Essex County Council, see Essex Highways Interactive Map – Essex Open Data) – any Social Value offer that does not deliver benefits to the “local” area will be excluded.
- Climate Measures relate to ECC’s climate impact made through its outsourced or procured goods, services and works. Commitments should relate to the impacts made in the performance of the contract only. Where the manufacture or transportation of goods results in a reduction of CO2e emissions from the current baseline, the carbon footprint for Essex County Council is reduced, therefore, the proportionate units of Social Value, relative to the contract, can be included on the ECC TOMs Calculator.
- Bids must be relevant and proportionate to the subject matter of the contract.
- All commitments in your offer must be attributable to the performance of this contract only (i.e., not the total number of local staff working in your whole organisation). You can expand an existing scheme that you already use, but it must be enabled by / attributable to the delivery of this contract.
- Partial Contributions must be identified – where only a % of the benefit will be received through this contract only a % of the value should be recorded. Where this is applicable, brief explanations should be included in the “Comments” column of the “ECC TOMs Calculator.” For example, where a member of staff will work on 2 contracts, one of which will be the contract for which you are bidding, 0.5 FTE can be applied.
- No amendments can be made to the ECC TOMs Calculator – The Proxy values within the Calculator must not be amended. The attached pdf copy of the ECC TOMs Calculator is the master copy for reference.
- For any Engagement-Focused Commitments e.g., to Essex schools, colleges, universities or charities or community groups, (identified in the ECC TOMs Calculator e.g., ECC 19 – Local school and college visits e.g., delivering careers talks, curriculum support, literacy support, safety talks) please:
- Confirm on the ECC TOMs Calculator if you would like the requirement to be published on the Social Value Catalogue Community Marketplace Page to help raise awareness of your pledge to potential beneficiaries. Responsibility for the delivery of your social value commitments remains with suppliers, but the Community Marketplace page can help you to achieve your outcomes.
- Provide a contact email address on the ECC TOMs Calculator that can be published on the Social Value Catalogue Community Marketplace Page for potentially beneficiaries to use (staff from schools, colleges, universities, and charities). This is a public website, so we recommend that this is a generic, dedicated inbox managed by the Social Value Contact (e.g., ‘SV@organisation.co.uk).
Important requirements to consider when making your offer
- Bidders do not need to make an offer against all the social value Measures set out in the ECC TOMs Calculator.
- Social Value commitments will form part of the contract, with the winning bidder’s ECC TOM’s Calculator and Supporting Statement included in Performance Monitoring.
- Non-delivery of the Social Value commitments in the tender will be treated as non-performance of the requirements in the contract.
- Consider your ability to measure and report on the commitments before submitting your bid. Winning bidder(s) will be expected to complete the Social Value Reporting Survey quarterly. The Reporting Schedule is set out on the Social Value Catalogue. The first report will be due on the date of the next scheduled reporting period shown in the Social Value Reporting Schedule. The Social Value Reporting Survey replicates the ECC TOMs Calculator, and suppliers must enter the social value delivered during the latest three-month period against each Measure to which they have made a commitment in their bid and contract.
How the ECC TOMs Submission is Evaluated
The ECC TOMs Calculator is reviewed, and Social Value commitments validated against the instructions and important notes above (i.e., relevance, proportionality, no double counting, no amendments to proxy values of multipliers).
Following this validation / verification process the Total Social Value bid from the ECC TOMs Calculator is used to calculate a Social Value Score, which is then used to calculate a Value Score.
How the Social Value Ratio and Value Score is calculated
The Value Score is an assessment of the commercial value of the supplier’s bid to ECC using a standard set of financial proxies assigned to each Social Value Measure set out in the “ECC TOMs Calculator.”
Using the Social Value Bid to Calculate a Social Value Ratio
- The ECC TOMs Calculator submission is reviewed and verified against the Evaluation Criteria.
- The supplier offers Social Value in Units bid using the “ECC TOMs Calculator”
- The Total Social Value Bid is auto calculated in the ECC TOMs Calculator as follows:
- Total Social Value Bid = ∑ (Units bid x Financial Proxy x Multiplier)
- Next, the Social Value Ratio is calculated to establish the Social Value offered relative to the bidder’s Tendered Price in their Commercial Response.
- The Social Value Ratio = (Total Social Value Bid) divided by (Tendered Price)
Using the Social Value Ratio to calculate a Value Score (0-5)
- Next, the Social Value Ratio is converted into a percentage score to show how much Social Value is being offered relative to the bidder’s Tendered Price.
- Lastly, the Value Score is assigned by comparing the Social Value Ratio to the Social Value Target for the contract which is to achieve 50p of Social Value for every £1 spend:
Supporting Statement
Q1B. Supporting Statement: Please provide a Supporting Statement detailing how you intend to deliver the Social Value offered within your "ECC TOMs Social Value Calculator" submission.
The assessment of the bidder’s Supporting Statement contributes to the evaluation of the commercial value offered to ECC, by evaluating the quality of the solution and delivery plan submitted by the supplier to achieve the Social Value offered in their bid.
What is required
The Supporting Statement:
Must relate to the ECC TOMs Calculator submission and be relevant and proportionate to the subject matter of the contract, including the rationale for the units offered against the measures.
Must provide detail on how the Social Value commitments for each Measure will be delivered within the boundaries of Essex County Council and are attributable to the performance of this contract only.
Will form part of the contract; with the winning bidder’s ECC TOM’s Calculator and Supporting Statement submission included in Performance Monitoring and Reporting requirements.
How the Supporting Statement is evaluated
The Supporting Statement should include for each Measure where Social Value units are committed:
- A clear description of:
- how this will apply directly to this contract;
- how the Social Value benefits will be delivered during the contract term and within the geographical boundaries of Essex County Council (any Social Value offer that does not provide benefits to the “local” area will be excluded).
- Quality Standards: How you will monitor and assure the quality and delivery of the commitment.
- Review / Remedial steps
- An Implementation Plan, outlining: Preparation, including any research and development required; Phased Delivery; Milestones; Deliverables
- Contact details for the nominated Social Value Contact person(s) responsible for implementing each commitment.
The response should be maximum 1500 words, in Arial size 11 font.
How the Supporting Statement Score is calculated
The Supporting Statement Score is assessed against the criteria specified stated above in section C above, using the following score allocation method:
- Overall Social Value Score
A Worked Example of a Social Value Evaluation is available on the Social Value Catalogue
