Urgent bid support · situation 12 of 12
The social value section is unwritten and the deadline is close
Social value is routinely left until last and routinely carries ten to twenty per cent of the marks, which makes it the most commonly underweighted section in UK bidding. It is also one of the few places a smaller supplier can outscore a larger one, because what buyers reward is commitments located in their own community rather than national programmes that cannot be traced to the contract.
The honest bit
The danger of writing this section at speed is overcommitting. Social value commitments become contract obligations and get reported against, so a number invented on a Thursday to fill a box becomes something you are measured on for years. We will push you towards commitments you can actually deliver, even where a bigger number would score better on the day, because the alternative creates a problem that outlasts the bid.
What we need to start today
- The social value questions and their weighting
- Which model applies and which themes the buyer has prioritised
- What you already do, including things you have never thought to write down
- Your real capacity to commit: apprenticeships, local hiring, training, local spend
- The contract location, because value that lands in the buyer's community scores highest
When we will tell you not to bid
These are the things that make the situation undeliverable rather than merely tight. If any of them apply we will say so on the first call, before you spend anything.
- Nobody with authority to commit available before the deadline
- A weighting high enough that the section decides the bid, with no time to build a credible answer
- Existing commitments elsewhere that make additional ones undeliverable
Questions people ask at this point
How much is social value worth in a UK public tender?
Commonly ten to twenty per cent of the total marks, and sometimes more. It is weighted seriously and treated casually by most bidders, which is exactly why it is worth taking seriously under time pressure.
Can you write our social value section in two days?
Usually yes, provided someone with authority can confirm what the business will genuinely commit to. The writing is fast. Getting a real commitment signed off is the part that needs a decision maker available.
What if we cannot commit to much?
Then commit to less and evidence it properly. A modest, specific, locally located commitment scores better than an ambitious vague one, and it does not create a reporting obligation you cannot meet. Overcommitting to win is a problem that outlasts the contract.
Tell us the deadline and we will tell you if it is doable
We respond the same day. Send the documents and the deadline and you will get a straight answer on whether it is deliverable, including if the answer is no. A bid you were never going to win costs more than the fee it would have earned.
Send us the deadline
Social value section. Tell us the closing date and what you have, and we will come back the same day with whether it is deliverable.
Other situations we pick up
- A tender is due this week and nothing is written
- A private sector RFP has landed with a short deadline
- Your bid writer has dropped out mid-submission
- A framework application closes this week and you have not started
- You need to get onto a Dynamic Purchasing System quickly
- An ITT has arrived and you have no bid team