**London**: The upcoming Procurement Act will require organisations to enhance their social value strategies. MeasureUp, a new platform, aims to assist businesses in quantifying their societal impact, addressing existing gaps in current frameworks and promoting a more accountable approach to social responsibility.
As of 24 February 2025, the introduction of the new Procurement Act will mandate that organisations refine their strategies for establishing, tracking, and reporting on commitments to social value. This legislative change reflects an increasing focus on measurable contributions to society, compelling businesses from various sectors to transparently demonstrate their societal impacts.
A noteworthy innovation aiming to facilitate this shift is MeasureUp, a newly launched platform that provides free access for organisations seeking to evaluate their social impact. Developed jointly by Impact Reporting, State of Life, and PRD, MeasureUp addresses a significant challenge in the realm of social value assessment: quantifying and effectively communicating real impact beyond conventional financial metrics.
Matt Haworth, co-founder of Impact Reporting and a prominent figure behind MeasureUp, emphasised the importance of this initiative, stating, “We want to progress the social value agenda by helping organisations move away from merely counting outputs to measuring the true outcomes of their initiatives.” He further noted that the platform aims to illuminate the value of less conventional activities, which could significantly benefit specific communities. This includes not only quantifiable avenues such as apprenticeships and volunteering but also broader wellbeing factors such as adult learning, youth engagement, housing improvements, and access to green spaces.
The urgency for enhanced transparency in social value reporting has escalated, as organisations are increasingly required to disclose the impacts of their initiatives under newly augmented public procurement policies. The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) and the Public Procurement Notice (PPN) 002 on the Social Value Model advocate for adaptable measurements that reflect current market conditions and stakeholder feedback.
Despite these advancements, existing frameworks—such as the Social Value Model, Procurement Policy PPN 06/20, and National TOMs Framework—exhibit limitations in capturing the full spectrum of social and environmental contributions made by organisations. MeasureUp seeks to address these gaps by providing a more inclusive and nuanced approach to assessing social value, especially beneficial for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) that might otherwise face prohibitive costs associated with social impact assessment tools.
In a sector where the risk of ‘purpose-washing’—the practice of making vague or unsubstantiated claims of impact—is prevalent, MeasureUp has initiated thorough analyses of thousands of data points. One significant finding from this analysis indicates that good mental health is twice as critical as physical health in holistic wellbeing assessments. Additionally, it suggests that the wellbeing benefit derived from volunteering measures only half that of participating in regular physical activity. Such insights are instrumental in guiding organisations towards initiatives that generate substantial positive outcomes while promoting participation in often overlooked activities.
MeasureUp is designed to be a continuously evolving platform, expanding its valuation framework to address emerging challenges in social impact assessment. Future enhancements will encompass factors such as the impact of wealth inequality on life satisfaction, community wealth-building programmes, and initiatives promoting STEM and digital skills, alongside inclusion and accessibility efforts.
Drawing alignment from various governmental and global guidelines—including the WELLBY methodology, the Office for National Statistics’ ten dimensions of wellbeing, the UK government’s Green Book guidance, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Central Government Social Value Model—MeasureUp furnishes organisations with a robust structure for determining their social contributions.
As the significance of social value grows within procurement practices and corporate social responsibility, platforms like MeasureUp are poised to influence the landscape of transparent and equitable impact assessments. By enabling businesses to thoroughly measure and present their contributions, MeasureUp fosters a movement towards a more accountable and data-driven approach to social value, ultimately encouraging organisations to not only comply with regulations but to demonstrate integrity and achieve meaningful societal impact.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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