Social Value Case Study

We spoke with Howard Hughes, Corporate Procurement Manager at Watford Borough Council, about how they have put social value firmly on the agenda at the council.

What does social value mean to Watford Borough Council? The Social Value Act influences the council but that is not all that Watford Borough Council is about when it comes to social value. One of my favourite phrases is ‘policy through procurement’, which means that our spending should be leveraging extra benefits in pursuit of our goals as a council. We want to understand our community so that we can serve them better and we want to work with companies who share those values. We are more interested in working with companies who do more than say they will donate to a good cause. We more impressed by those who engage with the community to see what is important for them. It is those stakeholders who should decide what is of social value. An example of this, which is also now driven by legislation, is that we want to work with companies who pay their subcontractors promptly because we know small businesses are important in our community.We want the companies we work with to truly ‘get it’ and who understand why social value is important. Do you have any success stories of social value to share? We get the usual examples of using a local workforce, general support of charities and environmental policies responses, which are all great. However, we also have many really innovative and interesting case studies, and are always hearing about new examples at meetings or in conversation. An example is Borras Construction, who are delivering a project worth £5.5 million and have supported the development of a community project area including a peace garden for a local multi-faith group. Another example is from a contract let to Balfour Beatty construction to resurface a significant length of towpath alongside the Grand Union canal. The work needed to be carried out using barges on the canal and the tender originally included a subcontractor from up country. A suggestion that a local barge company may be suitable led to a boost for a local barge company and the use of people very familiar with this section of the canal. As a council we try to set an example. We have an employee-volunteering programme with up to 15 hours paid time off a year each and we have examples of days given to support local charities.

What systems are in place to continue building upon this success? I believe that to create social value you need culture change, we work with companies who are exhibiting that culture change and we try to lead by example. Training sessions are provided for Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers Council staff on contract management. These include a strong emphasis on social value. There is clear support from our Managing Director who is promoting the culture and values of the council with the social value that we can achieve being an important element of this.