The defence sector has a huge range of skills, specialisms and resources that can be used for social good. With a duty to protect and serve communities, the foundational principles of social value may already be a part of an organisation’s mission.
But when it comes to developing an effective social value strategy, the complexities of the industry can prove challenging. With a sector this diverse, there really is no off-the-peg approach that will suit all businesses. So, if you’re looking to get better at social value, it can be hard to know where to start.
Since 2021, all private companies bidding for public sector work need to demonstrate their capacity to deliver social value. I.E it has a positive social impact.
The government has provided guidance in the form of the Social Value Model. With the absence of a defence industry-specific framework, many departments putting out tenders rely upon the Model to frame their social value requirements and make suggestions on what should feature.
The 2021 Social Value Model is due to be replaced in October 2025 by a new version, released in February 2025 with PPN 002. The two versions are in concurrent use until then.
Forward-thinking organisations will take these recommendations and ensure they add their knowledge to deliver the best, most efficient and impactful value for money from the contract.
But to do that, you need to have a good baseline understanding of social value and outcomes.
Here are some things we believe defence companies should consider when putting together an effective social value strategy.
1. Look at what you’re already doing – is it social value?
The defence industry’s purpose is to protect the nation and help it prosper. We can see this set out in the Defence Command Paper Refresh. This is already in direct alignment with the UK government’s social value objectives. So, it’s highly likely that many defence firms will have been delivering social value as part of their business for years.
Defence contractors may already be supporting local communities surrounding their bases and facilities. Firms may also naturally have a supportive role in the wider military community. This includes military personnel, their families and veterans.
But often this great work isn’t measured or articulated as social value.
The first step to addressing this issue is auditing the activity already going on in your business.
To do this you’ll need to collate your activities into a software system. Then track them against a social value measurement framework like the Impact Evaluation Standard.
This will give you a clearer picture of what you’re already doing. You may find some of your current activities count as social value. But you’ll also be able to quantify your outputs and look at where your resources are best placed for maximum impact.
Collating this information on a social value reporting platform also means you’ll be able to retain a clear oversight and benchmark for future improvements.
Once you start to collate and measure what’s already happening, you can set targets. This more strategic approach usually helps to get more of the business on board.
2. Use or repurpose your existing resources
Defence companies often have access to a huge range of technical equipment and resources. Could those resources be recycled or reused to benefit others?
For example, Thrive customer Babcock have used their facility at Rosyth, Fife to host a Festival of Engineering. This festival is run by their graduate scheme trainees. It aims to get local primary schools inspired and excited about STEM careers. This is a great use of existing premises and expertise and will allow Babcock to claim social value created under:
- 2021 Social Value Model – MAC 2.2: Create employment and training opportunities
- 2025 Social Value Model – MAC 6a: Create employment and training opportunities particularly for those who face barriers to employment and/or who are located in deprived areas, and for people in industries with known skills shortages or in high growth sectors
Look at the skills and resources you have in your business. Then look at what the communities around you need the most. What have you already got that you could provide? What would create the most impact?
Using a social value measurement framework like the Impact Evaluation Standard can be helpful in learning which activities deliver the most social impact for individuals and communities alike.
3. Support the communities you work within
The defence industry has a global presence, with many companies working in remote locations. Wherever you’re based, you’ll have the opportunity to develop relationships with community organisations, boost the local economy and give much-needed support to the communities you’re working alongside.
And if you are working to adhere to the governments Social Value Models you might do this by:
- Investing in local businesses (2021 MAC 3.1: Diverse supply chains; 2025 MAC 3a: Create a diverse supply chain)
- Providing skills and training (2021 MAC 2.2: Create employment and training opportunities and MAC 2.3: Support educational attainment relevant to contract; 2025 MAC 6a: Create employment and training opportunities and 7a: Remove barriers to entry for young people))
- Setting up environmental initiatives (2021 MAC 4.2: Influence environmental protection and improvement; 2025 MAC 4a: Deliver additional environmental benefits and 4b: Influence staff, suppliers, customers and communities through the delivery of the contract to support climate and nature protection and improvement)
- Building partnerships with local charities and community organisations (2021 MAC 8.2: Influence to support strong, integrated communities; 2025 MAC 3b: Collaborate in co-design and delivery with communities and anchor partners)
When social value delivery is project-based, it’s worth keeping track of the relationships you develop within local communities so you can pick up the good work on future projects. Collating information on a platform like Thrive can be really useful for tracking contacts and archiving this information so it can be used again next time.
And the postcode checker in Thrive’s social value software will help you understand which interventions or activities are most needed in a particular area. This means you can ensure you deliver initiatives that truly make a difference.
4. Tackle industry issues
Gender balance is a historic challenge in defence. By taking action in the workplace to support more women and other marginalised groups into defence roles, you’ll be delivering social value under 2021 MAC 6.1: – Tackling inequality in the workplace or 2025 MAC 6c: Demonstrate action to identify and tackle inequality in employment. Thrive customer Vivo Defence Services are taking steps towards a more balanced industry by becoming a partner and silver sponsor of WED (Women Empowering Defence) and being an active part of the change.
Climate change is another huge issue for defence. Yet the industry is often accused of lagging behind others in terms of emissions reporting. As well as “doing the right thing”, having good systems in place to measure environmental impact and providing clear figures can be measured as social value (under 2021 MAC 4.1 or 2025 MACs 4a and b, mentioned earlier) and will be increasingly appealing for potential clients.
5. Get strategic about the causes you support
Charity-of-the-month initiatives can make employees feel good. But ad hoc donations and sponsored events don’t always enable the best possible impact. It’s far more effective to have a social value strategy that’s deeply connected to your core business mission. Not only does this tell the world a powerful story about who you are as a business, but you’ll also drive more impact and build a legacy that will last for years to come.
For example, Thrive customer Boskalis provide dredging and marine services – most of their work is offshore. Keen to improve the local environment they work in, they organise an annual beach clean-up tour. Initially held at their Dutch base, Boskalis colleagues and families around the world now get involved – with everyone cleaning up their own local coastline.
Their great work shows that when your social value delivery lines up with your purpose as an organisation, it can be much easier to get colleagues from across the business on board and facilitate genuine, long-lasting impact. And it makes for happier, more productive employees too. Deloitte report that purpose-driven companies have 40% higher workforce retention than their competitors.
Whatever approach your business decides to take, a clear strategic through-line is key. By developing a social value strategy that reflects who you are as an organisation, and addresses the needs of the communities and environment you work within, you can build a narrative that employees, clients and partners can really get behind.
Make a change
Defence companies are well positioned to make a sizable difference in the communities in which they operate. If you think you could benefit from streamlining your social value and making it more visible, contact us for a chat.
The Thrive platform has been designed to be simple and user-friendly, making it easy for people across your organisation to input social value information and create reports to share with stakeholders and staff. Our simple, engaging training sessions are tailored to your organisation to ensure everyone using the system feels completely confident and inspired about what Thrive can do!
Mary-Louise Fellowes
Marketing and Analytics More articles by Mary-Lou >
