A focus on social value in public bodies leads to better service delivery and better community relations, according to a report by Social Enterprise UK, based on interviews with local authorities and housing associations.
Communities Count: the Four Steps to Unlocking Social Value was based on interviews with 77 senior leaders in local authorities and 123 in housing associations.
The survey follows up on the Public Services (Social Value) Act, which came into force around 18 months ago, and which placed a duty on public bodies to consider social value when commissioning. The Act was introduced by Chris White, Conservative MP for Warwick and Leamington, and was supported by SEUK, the umbrella body for social enterprises.
Of those interviewed for the survey, 71 per cent said delivering social value had led to better service delivery, while 52 per cent said it has resulted in cost savings.
Only 39 per cent, however, said the Social Value Act has had a high impact. Of the 56 per cent who reported a low impact, most said this was because they had already been considering social value.
However the report also found that respondents found social value difficult to define and difficult to measure, and that these were the two major barriers to embedding it more deeply in the commissioning process.
Among local authorities 43 per cent said it was difficult to define, while among housing associations, 33 per cent said it was difficult.
More than half of respondents reported measurement as the main barrier to implementation - 53 per cent during the commissioning process and 55 per cent post-commissioning.
Of those surveyed, 66 per cent said they would like further guidance on social value measurement, and only 37 per cent currently have a defined social value policy.
"Delivering and measuring social value is difficult," the report said. "Unfortunately, too many organisations are currently only seeing the difficulty, which means missing the opportunity.
"Our research makes it clear that it is an opportunity to drive cost savings, deliver services more innovatively
and reinvigorate organisations."
