Anne Lythgoe April 2012

What I want to do… Agree the scope of ‘social value’ Discuss why social value is important to commissioners of services and how this value could be reported to them Examine ways to analyse social reports or submissions Discuss the need for consistency…. principles for reporting or one specific tool for reporting social value?

The Scope of social value

Some key terms… Values - the way an organisation approaches its work Outputs – numerical measures of performance Outcomes - changes that are anticipated as a result of services or activities Impact – longer term, usually irreversible consequence of an intervention or service Evidence – something which shows that a statement is true Improvement and innovation – services are provided in a better or more effective way Value for money – economic efficiencies or ‘added value’ in service delivery Relevance - the degree to which something is related or useful to what is happening or the proposed tender Scope – the range of the subject of a report Stakeholder – someone with a financial or other interest in the services provided by an organisation Benchmark – a level of quality which can be used as a standard to measure performance against

What is social value… Social – people, culture, interactions… Environmental – the place in which people live, the planet, use of resources… Economic – money flow, financial resources… ‘Triple Bottom Line’ Direct and ‘Added’ value, not necessarily paid for... …something additional, meaningful, felt by local people… Should anything else be included here?

Why is measurement of social value important?

Why is assessing social impact important to commissioners of services? Values – Allows a provider to tell the story of what it is trying to do and the way it will set about doing it Outcomes – Allows a provider to paint the picture of change they will make happen Evidence – Allows a provider to back up great stories and anecdotes with measurable evidence Improvement and innovation – Allows a provider to prove and improve what, how and why they do what they do Value for money – Allows ‘added value’ to be part of the commissioning of services

Why must commissioners assess social value?… Public Services (Social Value) Act Localism Act Local Government Act – duty to promote well- being Open Public Services…. to get ‘added value’ from commissioning, including non-financial benefits in a context of budget cuts, payment by results and increased scrutiny of expenditure

Public Service (Social Value) Act Public Services Act ‘An Act to require public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with public services contracts; and for connected purposes.’ Prior to starting procurement: The authority must consider— (a)how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area, and (b)how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement.

What benefits can be gained by providers in demonstrating social value?.. Proving social worth - outcomes and impact Demonstrating values Internal improvements in delivery Business planning Marketing….. Any others?

How should social value be reported?

Social value - what sort of information could commissioners expect from providers? ‘Social’ reports Reporting about what an organisation does and how it has done it… Includes facts and figures as well as opinions, feelings and analysis.. Benchmarking, comparisons, context… Financial measures and proxies… Anything else?

Tools: Social accounting and audit is… …a logical and flexible framework which enables an organisation (and its partners) to build on existing documentation and reporting systems and develop a process in order to… …Prove! - account fully for and report on social, environmental and economic performance and impact… …Improve! – provide the information essential for planning future actions and improving performance; and …Account! – be accountable to all those they work with and work for…

Features of the Social Accounting and Audit Process… Acknowledges all of the key stakeholders Reports on all areas of work and impact: social, environmental and economic, internal and external Flexible framework which can include different tools Social Accounts report with both quantitative and qualitative data – a mix of measurement and “story” There is a rigorous and independent verification process through the Social Audit Panel Social Accounts are produced and audited regularly The findings are published and disseminated widely Becomes embedded in operation and business planning Runs alongside financial accounts

Other tools… Social return on Investment (SROI) ‘Your value’ Outcomes Star LM3 Logic Frame AA1000 Balanced Scorecard …. Etc What tools are participants currently using?

Analysing social reports

Analysing social reports… Circulate examples of social accounts, social reports, SROI, etc If these were submitted in support of a pre- qualification questionnaire (PQQ), how would you assess them? What are the main issues connected with doing this?

Analysing a social value report… CFG / NPC / ACEVO / SROI Network and others: 6 general principles that define how organisations should communicate their impact: Clarity Accessibility Transparency Accountability Verifiability Proportionality

Analysing a social value report… CFG / NPC / ACEVO / SROI Network and others: What should organisations communicate about their impact?: Clear purpose Defined aims Coherent activities Demonstrated results Evidence Lessons learned ng_charities/impact_reporting_principles.aspx

Pre-Qualification Questionnaire – assessing a social value report… Salford City Council - proposed evaluation matrix for use by commissioners / procurement 4 key areas for assessment: Relevance Robustness Quality Added Value

Relevance Is the report relevant to the outcomes required from the current tender? If the organisation is tendering for your piece of work, how can they show that they have a track record in this area? If the social report is not relevant… then there’s no point in scoring it

Robustness You need to make sure that the report is – reliable, accurate, and gives a true picture There are lots of tools and frameworks available - use the matrix to assess the way that the report has been prepared Find out if the reporting is embedded and regular – future reporting should be easier Does the organisation share its reports? Where proxies are used (eg. in SROI) – are these reasonable?

Quality The report needs to tell you about the things you need to know – outputs, outcomes, impact? Uses industry good practice – SAA, SROI, etc Uses both statistical and opinions, comments or case studies Benchmarks and comparisons used Results are not overstated

Added Value Can you see improvement / positive change in the results over time? What else can they offer – added value – think what sort of things might be relevant here (local employment, training for clients, environmental benefits….) Is there anything else which should be covered in the assessment?

Conclusions… The principles of good impact reporting provide a sound framework for those writing the reports The evaluation matrix can be used for any social report prepared using any tool. It uses best practice principles to assess how accurate, reliable and useful reporting will be for your contract Analysis of social reports must be carried out in a manner that it fair, equitable, robust, open to scrutiny…

The need for consistency… What should be the role of commissioners of public services in the reporting of social value? Should commissioners require the use of one specific tool for reporting social value?

Introduction to Social Audit Network (SAN)… For practitioners to promote and influence Company limited by guarantee (8 Directors) Members Website Monthly circular List and quality assurance of Social Auditors Training – Social Enterprise Academy (ILM); Open College Network Trainers Setting standards and new developments Research