Procurement processes are meant to reward organisations that create positive impact. Yet, too often, having the biggest social impact doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win. This is the problem with added value in procurement processes, and why it is so important to consider inherent value too.

While the RealWorth team are encouraged by the increasing importance placed on social value by local authorities in their procurement processes, it doesn’t always achieve what it sets out to achieve.

As highlighted in our recent insight, a risk around the increasing recognition of social value is that it is narrowly applied, used to quantify and evaluate CSR-style activities rather than to examine the broader social implications of the projects and programmes that organisations implement. Often, social impact considerations can be treated as something separate from a projects core purpose. Added activities such as charity days, one-off community events, co-design workshops, or volunteering initiatives provide value. But is this enough?

Social value isn’t just created by these added activities. Fundamental to how an organisation creates change is the projects, policies, programmes and places that are delivered. As well as corporate charitable activities, we should be asking about the inherent value of an organisation: what does it contribute to the world simply by doing what it does, day in and day out?

If social value is entirely disconnected from an organisation’s outputs, then its ability to create meaningful change is stifled. You can run excellent events and still produce outcomes that actively undermine social wellbeing. For example, a company that participates in annual volunteer days but does not pay its staff fairly or take employee wellbeing seriously will have minimal social value compared to a company that supports employees emotional and financial wellbeing year-round, even if they don’t do volunteer days.

Organisations with an inherent pro-social purpose represent the antidote to this kind of tokenistic impact work. Organisations that exist to challenge the status quo, creative a positive impact and leave a long-lasting legacy of change are where the real impact lies. The social value generated by these pro-social entities significantly outweighs that of a corporate CSR day, but this is often missed in procurement processes that focus on ‘added value’ of a project. 

Because their resources are concentrated on delivering their core purpose, purpose-led organisations with inherent value struggle to bring added value to every project. This means they are often disadvantaged when it comes to social value frameworks. Procurement processes and funding applications frequently prioritise the “added value” within a contract, missing the “inherent value” of working with purpose-led organisations that bring about positive social change all year round.

This approach ignores the realities of running socially impactful businesses, charities and community groups – which come with additional operational costs from staff wages to rent and bills, programme delivery, and community engagement. If organisations are judged primarily on additional activities they provide beyond their core work, only when a contract is already secure, purpose-led organisations are forced to compete with businesses who deliver social value as a one-off, in addition to their business as usual.

If social value frameworks are genuinely to reward positive impact, this balance needs to change. Social value policies, procurement processes and grant funding applications should place greater emphasis on inherent value over added value. This would allow purpose-led suppliers to afford to continue delivering the positive social impact they do for communities with more longevity and security. It would also allow them to grow, deepening the impact or widening the scope, reaching a larger number of people.

Encouragingly, some authorities are beginning to address this challenge. Manchester City Council is a strong example of how procurement frameworks can prioritise inherent value over added value. In 2025, the Council published its updated Social Value Policy, requiring its suppliers to embed the Council’s values across their organisation and delivery. The policy weights inherent value at 50% in social value responses, with just 25% weighting for added social value and the remaining 25% for a robust delivery plan. Together, these changes  ensure that contracts deliver more enduring, cost-effective, and authentic social improvements. Importantly, it also creates a fairer environment for purpose-driven organisations genuinely to continue to compete for work and grow.

As social value continues to become integrated as a policy tool, frameworks should move beyond simply rewarding added social value and recognise and prioritise the organisations who’s core purpose creates positive social change.

RealWorth want to see more social value policies adopt this approach, giving organisations with a deeply positive inherent social value  the recognition they deserve as the real changemakers.