Social Value & Impact Strategy

Each organization, program and project is different, so there is no single answer to what good social value looks like. We help you define what it means for you: the difference you want to make, who it should benefit and where your efforts will count most. Using evidence, local insight and conversations with the people affected, we turn ambition into clear priorities and a simple plan for putting them into practice. It gives you a firm basis for decisions about where to invest, what to deliver, and how to show the difference you’ve made.

Advisory services include:

• Social value policy, strategies and commitment frameworks
• Needs and opportunity assessments
• Stakeholder and community engagement
• Priority setting and target group identification
• Governance and accountability arrangements

The decisions made during briefing and design have a major influence on how much a project can do for people and communities. We work with clients and design teams to identify those opportunities and build them in from the start, so social value shapes what gets designed rather than being addressed afterwards. Through design reviews, workshops, and collaborative sessions, we help turn the benefits you want into practical design decisions. The result is a project that delivers on its intentions, not just its brief.

Advisory services include:

• Social value input to project briefs
• Inclusive design services and reviews (through Human Space, our global inclusive design and advisory practice)
• Design workshops with clients and project teams
• Social value statements for planning and design submissions

Good intentions only create real benefits when they turn into action. Much of that action happens through the things organizations already do, such as buying goods and services and working with suppliers and local partners. We help clients use these everyday activities to deliver wider benefits for people and communities, from setting clear social value requirements in tenders and contracts to planning and managing programs that create jobs, skills and opportunities locally. By building strong partnerships and keeping a close eye on what works in practice, we help make sure commitments are delivered and the benefits last.

Advisory services include:

• Social value requirements for tenders and contracts
• Support with evaluating bids and suppliers
• Supplier engagement and briefing sessions
• Social value action plans
• Delivery programs in employment, skills, education and community engagement
• Partnership and delivery model development

Doing good work is only the first step. To know whether it has made a real difference, you need to measure it. We help clients track what their projects and programmes have achieved, understand what is working and share the results with the people who need to see them, from boards and funders to local communities. Our approach goes beyond checking boxes for compliance. It gives you clear, credible evidence of the value you have created, and the insight to improve decisions about where to invest next.

Advisory services include:

• Social value measurement and monitoring frameworks
• Project-level KPIs and performance targets
• Social value reporting frameworks and dashboards
• Impact reports for clients, funders and stakeholders
• Independent review and assurance of social value claims