SOCIAL VALUES AT CHRISTMAS AND INTO THE NEW YEAR

Kindness allied to social value- An unbeatable combination?

The great Peter Drucker stated that spiritual values are crucial - they do not need to fully offset materialistic values but they do still need to be present. There does need to be a return to compassion. In an age of murder, terrorism and persecution, compassion still needs to be present. Moral indifference besets cruelty and persecution and in these very difficult economic times man is not just physical but also spiritual as well. We need to try and maintain a meaning and responsibility in our lives and spirituality is key to this. The temptation to make money without responsibility should be resisted This is where the concept of social value comes in.

 

Under the Social Value Act 2012, if a potential service provider offers community benefit beyond the contract specification (e.g. by employing people with disabilities), then this should be taken into consideration by the authority in deciding where to award a contract. The Act  requires certain public authorities – such as a local authority or an NHS trust – to consider how the procurement of a service may improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of an area.According to the NCVO in most cases, social value must be considered at the point when an authority proposes to enter into a public service contract i.e. the “pre-procurement” stage. Service commissioners will need to know how to incorporate social value into their commissioning approaches.

 

The Government’s definition of social value is: “a concept which seeks to maximise the additional benefit that can be created by procuring or commissioning goods and services, above and beyond the benefit of merely the goods and services themselves”.

 

This new legislation will move public service commissioners into considering wider elements than just pecuniary gains. As we move into 2013, how might this new legislation play out?

 

One thing is certain - we will all need to be much better at assessing the social value  of the things we do and the services we provide. We will need to have a look at the tools and approaches to do this and we will need to demonstrate how we have improved social value.

 

So it will not just be about making savings but also about improving the social value that people get from services. We should all be in favour of that.