Some measurement options and issues around the social impact of purchasing Chris Ford WLC & Legal Issues Workshop 4 Feb Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Presentation Outline Some starting points Three measurement frameworks – Social Return On Investment – Social Accounts and Auditing – Social Capital Some questions 2Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Starting point 1 “1.1 All new policies, programmes and projects, whether revenue, capital or regulatory, should be subject to comprehensive but proportionate assessment, wherever it is practicable, so as best to promote the public interest.” “5.76 Costs and benefits that have not been valued should also be appraised; they should not be ignored simply because they cannot easily be valued...” The Green Book, HMT. Emphasis added. 3Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Starting point 2 Registered Charities in England and Wales TurnoverNo of orgs Under £10k95,526 £10k-£100k 48,781 £100k-£1m 18,258 £1m-£10m4,331 >£10m 570 Total167,466 (Charity Commission, quoted in UK Voluntary Sector Almanac NCVO) 4Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Starting point 3 “There was strong evidence from TSOs that funders do not link monitoring requirements proportionately to size of organisation or level of funding...” “TSOs should work more closely with funders and commissioners to ensure a closer match between their own information needs for learning and development, and those required for compliance and accountability.” Accountability and Learning; developing monitoring and evaluation in the Third Sector, Ellis (2008) CES. 5Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Framework 1 Social Return On Investment Stages of SROI (from p22 Investing in Impact, Social Economy Scotland, undated) 1Understand and plan 2Stakeholder analysis 3Outcome map 4Key outcomes 5Collect initial data 6Impact map 6Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

7SROI 8Implement the plan and data collection 9Projections 10Analyse income and expenditure 11Calculate SROI 12Sensitivity analysis 13Report 14Verification 7Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Framework 2 Social Accounts and Audit Agency mission Objectives and Values Social book keeping records/indicators; quantitative and qualitative against objectives and values Social Audit. Book keeping collated in draft social accounts which explain the performance of the organisation against its objectives and its values. Checked and verified by independent panel. (from ‘SAA in 1 Page’ 8Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Pembrokeshire FRAME Ltd Social Accounts 2006/7 Mission Statement: FRAME promotes social inclusion, self worth and personal well being through supported, meaningful occupation and education, particularly for those with or recovering from mental ill health and/or with a learning disability. Values Professionalism and integrity Service provision Communication Confidentiality 9Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Objectives: Social inclusion Develop self worth and wellbeing Education and training Relief of poverty and social deprivation Environmental good practice Services provided: Work practice Personal support and planning Training Re-use of household items 10Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Social Audit and Schools Roger Catchpole quoted in ‘Governance and Accountability’ Gibbon, Fenwick McMillan. Public Money & Management (Dec 08) UK inspection has moved towards social audit practice. Before 2002 OFSTED inspection “being done to them (schools) not with them.” Changes in inspection processes by 04 (when article written) suggest possible relevance of SAA. 11Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

“The shift is now strongly towards schools sharing the ownership of the process with self-evaluation, an aspect which has always been fundamental to social auditing.” “The shift towards social audit practice has been to start to put a much higher value on stakeholder feedback and involvement.” “The report is seen as a vehicle for school improvement, providing an agenda for development that can be owned by the school.” “... Social objectives have slowly become important in school inspections. For many years a schools record in delivering on key social aims such as inclusiveness were not at the forefront.” (Emphasis added) 12Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Framework 3 - Social Capital Proxy Indicators “Membership in local associations and networks. Using membership in local associations as an indicator of structural social capital consists of counting the associations and their members and measuring various aspects of membership (such as internal heterogeneity) and institutional functioning (such as the extent of democratic decision making).... “Indicators of trust and adherence to norms. Measuring trust and adherence to norms (cognitive social capital) requires asking respondents about their expectations about and experiences with behavior requiring trust.... “An indicator of collective action. The provision of many services requires collective action by a group of individuals. The extent to which this collective action can be measured and is an indicator of underlying social cohesion....” (Understanding and measuring social capital. Social Capital Initiative. Working Paper 24, World Bank.) 13Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Key features of the model for inclusion of relevant community benefits in procurement. 1) Examples of the sorts of community benefits that the delivery agency may be able to bring as part of the contract delivery are included in the specification document. These are identified through engagement with ultimate beneficiaries early in the commissioning cycle. 2) As part of the tender evaluation criteria, a percentage of the quality aspect is allocated to community benefits. 3) Tenderers are invited, as part of the method statement or equivalent, to express all community benefits, identifying the relevance of these benefits to the subject matter of the procurement and suggesting methods for evidencing their delivery. 14Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

The following wording may be used; “Please outline all community benefits your organisation can offer the Council when providing this contract. Contractors should be aware that only those community benefits that relate to the subject matter of the contract itself can be taken into account in the evaluation of any tender. Although the judgement of relevance is a matter for [procuring agency], an innovative approach towards how those benefits relate to the subject matter of the contract is encouraged.” 4) At the tender evaluation stage, the procuring agency or evaluation panel ensure that the proposed benefits are relevant to the subject matter of the contract and within the powers and policies of the agency. They are then assessed against the evaluation criteria. 5) As part of the pre contract clarification and mobilization period (ie between the awarding of the contract and the contract starting), the procuring authority and delivery agency agrees the contract management arrangements. As part of this the proposed monitoring and evaluation framework to verify the delivery of the relevant community benefits is reviewed and if necessary refined. 15Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Issues and Questions - 1 Premise that adequate emphasis on social aspect of sustainable procurement will lead to increased access for TS to delivery opportunities. This is questionable. Premise that assuring social aspect of sustainability requires TS engagement. They can also be delivered by public and private sector. What’s the translation between added value, corporate citizenship, and corporate social responsibility? Beyond wellbeing duty what are the institutional drivers on social aspect? 16Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Issues and Questions - 2 Approach of Flexible Framework is broadly transferable to address social issues. Is the prioritisation methodology? If TSOs are recognised as an economic actor what opportunities may there be in the Sub National Review? Supply chain management? 17Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09

Thanks for your time Chris Ford Durham Dales Centre Castle Gardens Stanhope Co Durham DL13 2FJ 18Chris Ford WLC & Legal Work Shop 4 Feb 09