Revealing the true state of social value in construction – survey launch
We’re calling on people from across the vast built environment sector to help us build a true picture of what social value actually looks like in construction. Through a simple survey, we want identify what people from across the sector think, believe and understand about social value practices – and where things can be improved.
When analysed, the results will reveal how much organisations are focusing on social value, how they are approaching it now, and how it integrates with procurement and tender processes. The survey will also delve into individual mindset, gaining an insight into how social value impacts people’s day-to-day job roles – and how knowledgeable and prepared they feel for working in this realm.
Talking about why we’re launching this survey, our director of social value Angus Townsend said: “The construction industry is certainly one of the most progressive when it comes to social value and understanding its importance. However, there’s still a long way to go to even the playing field for organisations of all sizes and kinds, and make sure that we’re taking the right approach to social value.
“The sheer scale of the built environment means there are people at every stage of the social value journey. What we want to do is see what this looks like on an industry-wide scale and get a picture of understanding and drive for social value, as well as where things can be done better.
“Since the Social Value Act was introduced ten years ago, there have been growing developments with numerous pieces of legislation, government procurement policy notes and a big focus on social value in the Construction Playbook. Momentum is growing significantly, especially as we continue to adapt to a post-pandemic world while tackling the climate crisis. This can even be seen in the volume of Google searches for ‘social value’ for example, which have more than doubled in the past five years.
“Our mission is to help organisations understand social value, measure the impacts they have, continually improve and make a real difference to real people. We look forward to seeing the results of this survey – we know they will be incredibly eye opening for us all.”
What does the survey cover?
The questions cover four key areas:
- The industry and your organisation – Benchmarking how clearly defined social value practices and ambition are within organisations, how integrated it is with procurement processes, and if or how things can be done better.
- Your role – Understanding how crucial social value is for individual’s day-to-day roles, how knowledgeable they feel and how confident they are in social value practices.
- Social value tools – Naturally, we want to understand if and what tools and methods people currently use for their social value practices, and what they want from a social value tool.
- The future of social value – Gaining an insight into where people think social value will go next and how it will continue to develop.
A crucial question will also examine the figures attached to social value measurement, and whether monetised values are important – and crucially if they are at risk of overinflation.
And because we want to see where things may differ between different subsectors and demographics, there will be questions to help us break this down.
How do I respond?
Simply click here to fill out the survey, which will be open to responses until Sunday 4 June 2023. We will also be providing devices for people to fill out the survey at our ‘The Future of Social Value’ Pavilion at UKREiiF in Leeds. By filling in your responses, you will also be entered into a prize draw for a £100 Amazon giftcard.
