Responding Social Value Questions in Social Care Tenders: A Challenge That Can Be Overcome!
By Jason Cooney, Director of Tsaks Consulting (www.tsaksconsulting.com), a bid and tender writing consultancy specialising in the Social Care industry.
With Social Care NHS contracts across the UK becoming increasingly competitive, scoring well in the ‘Social Value’ criteria of the evaluation criteria is fast becoming the difference between winning and losing a tender or bid.
Questions on Social Care reflect a growing emphasis on not just the economic value of a contract but also on its potential to generate positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes. Despite their importance, many social care companies struggle to articulate their social value proposition effectively leading to the loss of contract they otherwise had the experience and expertise to secure.
Understand the Framework
The social value model adopted by the UK government in procurement emphasizes five key areas: fighting climate change, equal opportunity, wellbeing, community prosperity, and innovation. A thorough understanding of these areas is crucial. To secure a bid, Social Care companies need to clearly indicate how your service delivery will address these aspects, showcasing your commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the immediate scope of work.
Articulate Your Unique Social Value Proposition
Putting the time and effort into developing a unique social value proposition is critical.
When developing a response, you need to ask yourself:
• What can we do differently to create social care value?
• What targets can we develop and are they achievable?
• How will your initiatives create social value?
Putting in the extra effort to research the tendering authority’s social values priorities, and aligning their social value response to these objectives is critical to Social Care companies scoring well.
Use Evidence and Case Studies
The reality with a responding to a question on value is that any competitor makeup and write any claims they want to with respect to environmental, social and economic initiatives. To ensure Social Care companies score well and write a quality response, they need to support their claims with evidence is critical.
This could include data from previous projects, testimonials, or case studies demonstrating your organization’s track record in delivering social value. Quantitative data, such as the number of apprenticeships created or the percentage reduction in carbon emissions, is always persuasive as readers increasingly see through written statements.
Collaborate and Engage with Stakeholders
Social Care companies are increasingly leveraging on their level of engagement and collaboration with local stakeholders. Putting in the work, prior to tender submission, to engage with local community organisations, businesses and other stakeholders is critical for a successful bid. This enables you to provide proof that the company have started to engage with the local community and that the company is already making progress in achieving your proposed objectives. Coupled with a comprehensive plan for continued community engagement, it demonstrates that the company has a plan, has made initial contact and has the intent to ensure the downstream economic, social and environmental benefits of the contract flow through to the community you propose to operate in.
Make it Measurable
The impact of your social value initiatives must be measurable. Outline how you will monitor, measure, and report on the social value you create. You need to set targets that are measurable and include your proposed metrics for measurement. This shows to the tendering authority that you will be accountable and that the benefits of your social value will be tangible.
Tailor Your Response
This applies to all areas of the tender or bid and responses to Social Value are nothing different. If your organisation supports charities and has a range of environmental initiatives, it’s not good enough to simply cut and paste these initiatives into your response. This practice often results in a low score, even if the initiatives are outstanding. You need to tailor your response to the specific contract and ensure the initiatives are locally focused. Take the time to understand the tendering authority’s specific social value objectives and customize your proposal accordingly. This level of customization not only demonstrates the organisations commitment but also its ability to deliver services that are finely tuned to the authority’s goals.
Continuous Improvement
Continuous improvement is a big area many Social Care (and other Domiciliary care companies) forget to cover. Social value creation is an ongoing process, and your organization should be committed to learning, adapting, and enhancing its social value contribution over time. Outline any plans for feedback mechanisms, learning opportunities, and adjustments to your approach based on performance data and stakeholder input.
A quality Social Value response can help you win!
Scoring well in social value questions in social care tenders requires a well thought-out, evidence-based approach is tailored to the objectives of the tendering authority. By putting time and effort into this part of the bid, Social Care companies can edge-out competitors who have a similar service offering and don’t put in the time and effort to Social Value. Social Value often represents up to 10% of the evaluation criteria.
