The Answer Is In The Question: PPN 002’s Model Social Value Question

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

In the conversation around PPN 002, there has been – understandably – a heavy focus on the Social Value Model’s Missions, Model Award Criteria (MACs), and Standard Reporting Metrics (SRMs). Much less attention has been paid to the improvements and refinements that have been made to the Model Social Value Question. 

That’s a little surprising, given the frequency of warnings and complaints about the standard of questions asked in tenders and the answers supplied by bidders. 

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the new Model Social Value Question and explore how it promises to make the way that social value is described and evaluated in central government procurement much more clear. 

What Is A “Social Value Question”?

[NB This blog does not cover PPN 026, which comes into force from January 2027. The Model as published in August 2026 does not include a model Social Value Question. Guidance due in autumn 2026 should resolve this situation]

Like PPN 06/20 before it, PPN 002 states that procurement processes governed by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 undertaken by in-scope organisations must give at least 10% weighting to social value considerations in assessing bids for contracts. 

Bids are usually scored on a combination of cost and “quality”. Social value is one of the quality factors, and contracting authorities are expected to set their own scoring criteria. 

Interestingly, the old Social Value Model Guide provided a number of alternative scoring schema, but the latest version has cut much of this out. The 2025 Guide also adds:

“Departments should take their own legal advice when deciding upon assessment methodologies.”

The “social value question” is that part of a tender which:

• Explains what social value outcomes the contracting authority is looking for
• Asks bidders to describe how they intend to deliver them 

The New Model Question

It is worth quoting the Social Value Model in full, because the new Model Social Value Question promises to be very easy to use. The guidance stipulates that:

• The Question should be copied into tenders and used “as is”
• Policy Outcomes, MACs, and Sub Criteria are copied verbatim from the Model – you can see them all in our summary from February 2025
• Variations from these pre-defined forms should only be made where necessary

Here is the Model Social Value Question that contracting authorities are expected to use. For your convenience, we’ve highlighted:

1. Sections relating to the subject matter of the contract that contracting authorities will fill out in [italics]
2. Points that bids will be expected to include to score highly are underlined

Model social value question

In no more than [enter number of] words please set out, in a method statement and project plan, the specific, measurable and time bound commitment(s) your organisation will make to deliver the [insert policy outcome] and the following Award Criteria below. 

[Outcomes 1, 6 and 7 only: to provide a baseline for reporting, please also state the total number of people who will work on the contract (measured in roles, not Full Time Equivalents).]

Social value model award criteria and sub-criteria

[insert the social value model award criteria and sub-criteria for the outcome you have selected]

Additional award Criteria

Your response will be evaluated using the above Social Value Model Award Criteria and the following additional award criteria:

• The response includes a specific, measurable and time-bound commitment (minimum requirement to score points)
• The response includes a description of how the commitment meets the award criteria
• (If not already identified by the in-scope organisation) the response includes a specific, nominated cohort, or details of how you will identify and define a target cohort (illustrative example: care leavers or the prison leavers).
• The response includes a description of how you will identify and reach the target cohort, how you will design/refine and tailor the offer to the cohort
• The response includes a description of how you will influence staff, suppliers, customers and communities (as appropriate) through the delivery of the contract to deliver the Social Value Outcome, for example:  engagement, co-design/creation, training and education, partnering/collaborating, volunteering.
• Transparency – any plans for publishing your commitments and performance
• The response includes a timed project plan setting out how you will implement your commitment and by when, including:
  • Timed action plan
  • Proposed metrics you will use to monitor the contract (if your offer relates to a metric listed in the Social Value Model, you should use the appropriate Standard Reporting Metric).
  • Tools/processes used to gather and monitor performance
  • Governance, including nominated escalation points
  • Feedback and improvement procedures in place

More Clarity, More Consistency

The new Model Social Value Question promises to remove a lot of the uncertainty and inconsistency that have caused extra work for procurement professionals in recent years. 

To help bidders ensure that they’re giving contracting authorities what they’re looking for, we’ve put together a simple checklist you can use to ensure you’ve covered all the bases:

With the Procurement Act 2023 and PPN 002 now governing hundreds of billions of pounds worth of public spending per year, being able to demonstrate, measure, and report on social value is a necessity for public sector suppliers. 

Thrive and the Impact Evaluation Standard offer the only integrated platform and framework that has been built from the ground up to incorporate all of PPN 002 and the new Social Value Model, as well as PPN06/20 and other schemes. 

Find out more about how the Thrive platform can help you win and retain more business under PPN 002 by taking a look at what we’ve updated and enhanced for October 2025. 

At Thrive we specialise in helping companies track, measure and amplify their social value in line with the Social Value Model. If you want to discover how you can measure your social value more effectively and report to stakeholders quickly, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to help you uncover more opportunities to showcase your impact.