How to Ensure Social Value is Aspirational AND Practical

The Social Value Act

Government legislation supports the idea of social value. The Act from 2013 requires that anyone commissioning public services must also think about securing wider social, economic and environmental benefits.

The act also sets out the policy whereby the government will evaluate social value when looking at bids when awarding major contracts.

But for social value to have a profound, nationwide impact, it needs to go further than this and become the model that all local authorities and developers adopt when strategising for regeneration.

Otherwise, it risks becoming just one more aspiration unfulfilled.

"Making social value work requires listening actively to local concerns and needs and incorporating them into any expected return on investment."

It means engaging with community stakeholders and, critically, defining what social value will mean in each specific set of circumstances.

Listening to Community Stakeholders?

Stakeholder is a jargon word but, in a social value context, it’s a very useful one.  Broadly, a stakeholder is someone concerned for, or interested in, something. It's a commonplace word in business, usually describing financial interest.

But when we talk about the social value stakeholder, their interest is likely to be much more than financial.

In fact, the line blurs between stakeholder and end-user. Community stakeholders will experience the impact of a social value project directly. They aren't simply interested parties or investors.

"Social value projects must therefore be community stakeholder-led if they are to be meaningful. And they must be meaningful to be successful."

The first task of any developer or designer engaged in a social value project is to identify and engage with community stakeholders. Without their input, you cannot develop the brief properly.

Space Needs Quality

Developments don't start with blank canvases. Sure, appearances might suggest that there is land available ripe for redevelopment.

But it will be land with its own local history. Even those supposedly unloved buildings and spaces being replaced will hold different memories for the communities they belong to.

Consequently, whatever comes next must be of sufficient quality to capture people's imaginations and satisfy community needs. Quality is key.

People Before Spreadsheets

Developers cannot afford to ignore financial imperatives or constraints, but social value is about putting people first.

The value of a development lies in what people will get out of it as an ongoing concern. "Delivering social value means collaborating with communities and listening to their voices." Putting plans into action should reflect this by using local labour and resources wherever possible.

Investing locally as part of a development, including community ownership and education, is how you build a solid bedrock for social value.

The Danger in Disconnection and Practical Problems

Since the Brexit referendum, "left behind" areas have been at the forefront of social and political discussions.

But if one aspect of the support for Brexit was a symptom of disconnection, there is a danger that the social value agenda itself becomes a symbol of disconnect, should it fail to deliver.

The pressure points are most likely to be practical:

• Procurement has its problems, especially in the translation of nationwide aspiration into local action.
• Defining the responsibilities of local authorities to deliver social value is another practical issue
• And there is the whole question of measuring social value to ascertain whether it has been successful.

Putting Placemaking at the Heart of Social Value

Placemaking is about strengthening the connections people have with places. This makes it a good fit for social value.

It is a participatory process that makes plenty of space for multiple voices, including those of community stakeholders.

Placemaking is a practical tool as well as a philosophical approach, aiming to preserve a sense of belonging and common ownership through progressive developments.

Our Pattern Panel this Week

Pattern’s guests this time included:

Danny Crump, Director, Urbanism

Matthew Davies, Divisional Director, Pell Frischmann

Dr Sarah Fitton, Director, Aurora Engagements

Lisa McFarlane, Director, Seven Architecture

Philip Robinson, Senior Director, Pegasus Group

Ashley Taylor Watts, Director, Define Architects

Pattern provides a platform for discussion, opinion-sharing and insight within the built environment and placemaking.

For more details, please contact william@partisan.studio