Social Value questions in tenders and contracts

1. Employment & Training

  • Number of new apprentices to be created by your organisation as a result of this contract?
  • No. of New Jobs to be created by your organisation as a result of the contract?
  • Will you pay the National Living Wage as a minimum to everyone working on the contract?
  • Number of individuals to be provided with work experience (minimum 5 days)
  • Unemployed residents to be supported into work

2. Support the Community

  • What support will be offered to local community organisations to support their development
  • What facilities to be provided for use by community groups and voluntary organisations as a direct result of this contract
  • Time allowed for your employees to volunteer for community work in the local area (No. expert hrs)
  • Donations to be made to local community funds to support local causes (Value)

3. Supporting Local Businesses

  • The total amount (Ksh.) to be spent in the local supply chain (within the local area through the contract (Value per year)
  • Support to be provided for local businesses to assist them to survive and grow (No. expert hrs)

4. Sustainable Environment

  • The amount of materials and products from sustainable sources
  • How will you build diverse supply chains with sustainable relationships
  • Reduction of carbon footprint to net zero and adapting to climate change (%CO2 reduction)
  • Create greener and cleaner places

Think carefully about these commitments, as they will form part of the contract and you will need to monitor and report on them, so they need to be achievable, and proportionate to the value of the contract. If you can’t afford to donate 5% of the contract value to local charitable causes, don’t say you will. Think about how you will go about fulfilling the contract. Will there be opportunities to spend money with local businesses and therefore support other SMEs? What do you know of the local community and is there anything you can do to help? Can you hold educational/informational events in the local community centre? Could/would any of your employees volunteer a number of hours a month at a local charity/community centre for the duration of the contract? Will the contract enable you to grow and permanently employ a number of local people? Could an apprenticeship be created? Is your company local to the buyer and so will save on transport emissions/reduce congestion on the roads?