Evaluation and scoring
Social value
Definition
The wider economic, social, and environmental benefits that a supplier's delivery of a public contract generates beyond the direct goods or services purchased, now a mandatory evaluation criterion in most UK central government procurements.
Social value became a mandatory consideration in UK public procurement following the Social Value Act 2012, and its importance has grown significantly since. From January 2021, central government contracts must evaluate social value with a minimum weighting of 10% of the total score, using the Social Value Model's five themes: COVID-19 recovery (now less prominent), tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity, and wellbeing.
For bidders, social value is no longer a tick-box exercise. At 10–20% of the evaluation weighting, it can be the deciding factor between two technically similar bids. Buyers want concrete, measurable commitments — not vague promises. How many local apprenticeships will you create? What percentage of your supply chain spend will go to SMEs? What is your carbon reduction target for this contract?
The most effective social value propositions are relevant to the contract and the local area. A construction contract in the North East should offer apprenticeships and local supply chain commitments relevant to that region. A digital services contract might focus on digital skills training and carbon-efficient hosting.
Why it matters for bidders
Social value is a scoring differentiator that favours SMEs. Local employers, businesses with genuine community ties, and suppliers who can make specific, measurable commitments score higher than large corporates offering generic social value statements. This is an area where being small and local is an advantage.
How Skim helps
Skim helps you build targeted social value propositions by analysing the buyer's published social value priorities and the local area's economic profile, ensuring your commitments are specific, measurable, and aligned with what the evaluator wants to see.
Related terms
Evaluation criteria
The specific factors and their weightings used by a buyer to assess and score tender responses, typically covering technical quality, methodology, staff, price, and social value.
Most economically advantageous tender(MEAT)
The evaluation principle requiring public buyers to award contracts based on the best combination of quality and price (or cost), not simply the lowest price.
Quality score
The score awarded to the non-price elements of a tender response, assessed against published evaluation criteria and typically representing 60–80% of the total evaluation in quality-led procurements.