The theme for this publication is commissioning and procurement with social value. It was set up as a result of a consultation exercise with the TI network of practitioners and participators to identify what they think are the key issues to move forward the agenda of public service reform.
This paper starts by providing an overview of the policy issues that relate to the introduction of social value within commissioning and procurement and then looks at some of the current debates in the area. Finally it provides an overview of what tools and methodologies exist for measuring value. This content is being used as a starting point to stimulate a conversation with those frontline practitioners and commissioners who are involved in delivering and procuring public services in order to build up a collaborative piece of research.
In the context of reduced public sector spending, the requirement for the public sector to achieve more with less and the transition towards outcome-based procurement, this Talking Points publication provides an approach to measuring social impacts. In addition, we discuss our views on the other practical issues and related steps to achieve wider adoption of PbR by Departments and ensure consistent delivery of better future outcomes.
