Posted 2nd April 2025
On March 20th, the Institute for Social Value hosted a thought-provoking webinar discussing the Procurement Act 2023 and the role of social value in public procurement, designed to explore the implications of recent changes and identify areas of interest for further discussion and emphasis in the future.
Chaired by our CEO Isabelle Parasram, the event brought together a diverse panel of experts from across the social value sector, including Joanna Dahlgren, Head of Social Value & Social Return on Investment at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, Andy Canniford, the Chief Development Officer at Catch22, a charity delivering public services across England and Wales, and Ann Critchell-Ward, an Intellectual Property and Commercial Law specialist with over 20 years’ experience.
Though much of the discussion elsewhere around recent changes in procurement legislation has focused on new opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs to compete more effectively for government contracts, our panel, while acknowledging the progress that has been made, provided a number of insights into the challenges that remain for those organisations after the Procurement Act 2023. The discussion emphasised the importance of making procurement processes more accessible to smaller businesses who often face hurdles like expensive legal fees just to navigate the bidding process, the critical role of local governments in providing clearer guidance to SMEs about what they are looking for in procurement bids, and the need for realistic social value targets, transparency, and accountability in procurement practices.
Following the panel discussion, a breakout Q&A session provided Institute members with the chance to dive deeper into these issues. Above all, the session emphasised the need to be bold and focus on long-term, place-based social value outcomes, rather than pursuing short-term solutions that fail in practice to create lasting change. This is why creating a procurement landscape that allows SMEs and VCSEs to compete effectively is so vital; not only do they represent the overwhelming majority of UK businesses, but they also offer a unique opportunity to provide place based social value solutions that are more responsive to the needs of local communities, with VCSEs in particular often bringing real expertise in how to drive positive social impact.
Join Us for Our Next Webinar in The Series: ‘Being Bold’ in Procurement
In our last Webinar it was clear that while much of the recent legislation in procurement represents a positive step forward, a number of challenges remain.
Throughout the discussion, possible solutions involving radically increased collaboration between national government, different contracting authorities and suppliers, or the provision of improved social value guidance, education and training by local and national government, provided food for thought in how these challenges might be addressed in the future.
What was clear from the discussion, however, is that there is a broad consensus among our panellists, our audience and our members that more than ever, we need to be bold in the social value solutions we imagine for procurement processes, and in our vision for how recent procurement legislation can be implemented in practice.
For this reason, our next Webinar in the series, titled ‘Being Bold in Procurement’, will explore in more detail how our community at the ISV can take this legislation to bold new places in our own particular spheres of influence.
The Webinar will take place on the 15th of May between 12:30-1:30 PM, and will follow the same format, with a panel discussion between 12:30-1:00 PM, followed by a Q&A session between 1:00-1:30 PM.
If you would like to attend the Webinar, keep an eye on our emails and social media for the link to register your interest and share your thoughts with us about what the session should look like, and what ‘being bold’ in procurement means to you.
Please do bear in mind that while the panel discussion between 12:30-1:00 PM is open to the public, our Q&A session between 1:00-1:30PM is for members only. If you are not already a member of the Institute, don’t miss out on the opportunity to participate in this insightful Q&A session! Consider joining today.
Lunch & Learn: Social Value in Procurement
For members, consider also joining us for our member only Lunch & Learn Session: ‘Social Value in Procurement’ on Wednesday, 23rd April from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.
In this session Judith Hughes, Associate Director of Procurement at the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), will explore the role of social value in procurement, with a special focus on the importance of the patient voice. This session is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable insights, connect with fellow professionals, and hear the latest updates from the Institute for Social Value.
Date: Wednesday, 23rd April
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Location: Online
Register now and be part of the conversation! Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to deepen your understanding of social value in procurement and how it can shape the future of public procurement.
We look forward to seeing you there!