Employee Assistance Programme

Online GP services, Counselling, wellbeing tools and access to retail discounts. Find out more. 

Employee Assistance Programme

Care Market Offers

Explore a range of offers from our Procurement Support Programme

Care Market Offers

Book your Covid and flu booster vaccines

Book your Covid and flu booster vaccines

National booking service
Essex County Council - Provider Hub
Skip to content
Text size:

Social Value at Essex County Council

Social Value through public procurement

Essex County Council (ECC) has adopted the National 'Themes, Outcomes and Themes' (TOMs) methodology and framework and customised them for our specific priorities and objectives as detailed in our  'Everyone's Essex' Corporate Strategy and Essex County Council Social Value Policy.  As a result the council developed the Essex County Council Themes Themes and Measures: ECC TOMs

When evaluating bids, Social Value is part of the quality component, and will have a weight of up to 20%. As a target Essex County Council aims to provide £0.25p of Social Value commitments for every pound spent through public procurement in tenders £100,000 and over. 

ECC Themes, Outcomes, and Measures

 4 Themes
  1. A Strong, Inclusive and Sustainable Economy
  2. A Good Place for Children and Families to Grow
  3. Health, Wellbeing and Independence for all Ages
  4. A high-quality environment
8 Outcomes
    1. Essex residents in employment, skills gaps reduced and barriers to employment reduced for disadvantaged groups
    2. Business growth and the impact of public sector spend within the county maximised
    3. Outcomes improved for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups
    4. Businesses and communities support the achievement of education outcomes
    5. Our partners to help make our communities safer and address key issues such as violence and vulnerability, and safety for women and girls
    6. Residents enabled to live independently and increased proportion of people able to live healthy lifestyles
    7. Partners and communities address the socio-economic drivers that underpin poor health outcomes, such as poor housing, poverty, economic insecurity and low skills
    8. Suppliers contribute to the delivery of net zero targets; reduced greenhouse gases; reduced waste; and strengthened climate resilience
43 Measures 

These are initiatives that a bidder could commit to bring additional benefit to our Essex communities. Click in the links below for an example of our Measures shown in the ECCTOMs Calculator ECCTOMs Social Value Calculator v.12  

    • Bidders can chose 1 or more initiatives when submitting their Social Value commitments in the ECC TOMs Calculator.
    • Bidders should note that every tender is different and accordingly, all 43 initiatives might not be included in the tender that you are currently biding for.
    • When choosing Social Value commitments, bidders are advise to follow Tender guidance send by the buyers. 

For information about how to complete the ECC TOM Calculator click on ECC TOMs Calculator webpage.

An ambitious journey 

In 2019, ECC began a new approach to maximize economic, social, and environmental well-being for its residents when spending public money. This initiative was part of a broader ambition to integrate best practices into the council's operations and extend beyond them.

The council's journey started with a benchmarking exercise as part of the Local Government Association’s National Procurement Strategy assessment. The findings revealed that while ECC was compliant with existing legislation, there was room to achieve more, especially in terms of social value. With a substantial annual spend and a large number of suppliers, ECC recognized the potential to generate significant benefits for the community.

To realize this potential, ECC developed a social value policy and toolkit, tailored to its strategic priorities. This included adapting the National Themes, Outcomes, and Measures (TOMs) framework to the local context, providing a consistent and transparent approach to evaluating and measuring social value for suppliers. 

The ECC's social value journey is a testament to the council's commitment to creating a positive impact on the community through its procurement activities.  You can read more about ECC Social Value journey by clicking ECC Social Value journey on PDF. and the results of our first Social Value pilot project on PDF

 

 

social.value@essex.gov.uk 

Last updated: 30/07/2024