For a lot of small businesses, social value feels like another bureaucratic headache. It’s something you have to promise to win a tender, then scramble to deliver once the contract’s signed. But the truth is, social value isn’t a burden. It’s an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
When smaller firms understand it properly, they can use social value to stand out, win contracts, and build stronger relationships with their communities. The Procurement Act 2023 wasn’t written for the corporate giants with CSR departments. It was written for everyone delivering public work. It wants local builders, IT suppliers, landscapers and logistics firms.
This is where small businesses can actually lead.
The compliance trap
Right now, too many small firms see social value as a compliance task. They tick boxes on portals, make vague commitments about volunteering or carbon reduction, and hope it satisfies the council.
As I said during my forum talk for the Institute for Social Value, “smaller businesses don’t have social value teams, they have people trying to do three jobs at once.” That’s not a criticism, it’s a reality. Most SMEs don’t have a spare person to plan social impact activity, let alone gather evidence, complete paperwork, or manage relationships with local charities.
The result? They overpromise, underdeliver, and end up stressed about something that could have been simple and effective.
The opportunity in connection
Social value doesn’t have to mean inventing new projects or funding schemes. It means connecting what you already do well to what the community needs.
If you’re a construction firm, you can mentor young people interested in trades. If you’re a cleaning company, you can provide training placements for people returning to work. If you’re an IT business, you can support digital inclusion schemes in local schools.
The most valuable work isn’t the grand gesture, it’s the thing you can deliver consistently without breaking your business.
As I told the audience, “You don’t need to invent social value; you need to connect to it.”
When you start seeing your core strengths as the raw material for social value, it stops being an obligation and starts being strategies
Why this matters
Small businesses are embedded in the communities they serve. They already employ local people, train apprentices, and support local charities. Social value just formalises that instinct. When bidding for contracts, tell that story. Be proud of being local and having local links.
The opportunity is huge: billions in public contracts will now be scored, in part, on social value delivery. Even a small shift, 5% of the evaluation criteria, can make the difference between winning and losing a bid.
But it’s not just about winning work. Done right, social value builds reputation and trust. It creates partnerships that last beyond the contract. And it proves that local business can lead on purpose, not just price.
The firms that will thrive under the new system are the ones that stop treating social value as paperwork and start seeing it as positioning.
Because in this new landscape, purpose is a competitive advantage.
In Part 3 of this series, we’ll dig into the problem with social value portals and calculators, and why measuring impact by the pound risks missing the point entirely.