Trailblazers for flexibility: how Liverpool City Region is prioritising impact for the benefit of all

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has chosen to break from the norm in tackling social value. Their flexible approach to measurement, close engagement with suppliers and focus on impact over outputs makes them a trailblazer in this area.

Social Value Business interviewed Lucy Bridge, Social Value Lead for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, to understand how they are adopting and spreading best practice.

Why did you set out to achieve more with social value?

We embarked on our social value journey with the goal of embedding social value principles into decision-making for the good of the residents. This included focusing on procurement and service delivery to maximise impact. Our initial challenge was a lack of a unified approach to measuring and demonstrating social value, coupled with the complexity of engaging a diverse range of suppliers, including SMEs and voluntary sector organisations. We also had challenges internally; different parts of the Authority were not communicating effectively, so it felt very siloed.

“We’ve shown that taking a flexible, supplier-friendly approach generates positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. It’s a win-win for our suppliers and the prosperity of our region.”

Lucy Bridge, LCRCA

What were your aims?

We adopted a flexible and inclusive approach. So rather than mandating a single measurement system, we chose to recognise many different approaches. We focused on both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture meaningful impact; this included encouraging suppliers to align their contributions with their own expertise and local priorities in a place-based approach.

In practice this meant:

Engaging with stakeholders across all sectors to co-design solutions.
Prioritising reporting and case studies to demonstrate real-world impacts.
Hosting supplier engagement sessions, including race equality hub engagement initiatives and a social value practitioner network.
Simplifying access to social value reporting tools to reduce barriers for smaller suppliers and promoting free resources.
Creating a process to review and adapt based on successes and lessons learned.

What barriers did you encounter and how did you overcome these?

Throughout the journey we faced several barriers such as inconsistent data, stretched resource, concerns around costs and hesitant suppliers. By adopting a supportive and educational approach, we successfully overcame these challenges. I’m proud we’ve created a more engaged, proactive approach to our supply chain.

Where are you today in terms of social value?

Today, LCRCA stands as a leader in applying social value principles. We integrate social value into all aspects of our procurement, commissioning and investment. We’ve shown that taking a flexible, supplier-friendly approach generates positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. It’s a win-win for our suppliers and the prosperity of our region.

Our commitment to social value has delivered a huge range of benefits:

For our region and communities: We’ve increased employment opportunities, particularly for under-represented groups. Our targeted community engagement has led to enhanced social inclusion. We’ve also improved environmental outcomes.
For our staff: We’re seeing greater collaboration across departments, and this is supporting cohesive decision-making. Our teams have a clearer understanding of how procurement contributes to broader strategic objectives. The performance reviews we conduct with suppliers are now focussed on real impact rather than compliance – leading to more meaningful outcomes.
For our suppliers: We’ve increased opportunities for SMEs and voluntary organisations to compete for contracts. Our suppliers are very positive about the changes – there’s enhanced support to help them meet their social value commitments. We also have a even more transparent procurement process that fosters long-term partnerships.

Advice to other Local Authorities

Be flexible with measurement

There are an increasing number of evaluation tools on the market; by thinking beyond the usual proxies and tick boxes, you can work with suppliers to prioritise the activities that generate meaningful impact. National TOMs are widely recognised but can be inflexible. We also suggest looking at MeasureUp, Thrive.

Reduce the costs of entry

If you genuinely want to broaden your supplier pool to integrate social enterprises, small businesses, charities and mutuals, you need to reduce the barriers to entry. For LCRCA this meant simplifying access to reporting tools – for many organisations, the costs associated with these can be prohibitive.

Collaborate through the whole lifecycle

Finally, engage your suppliers through the whole lifecycle of the contract…treat them as one of the team. When hurdles arise, take a collaborative approach to addressing missed goals or non-compliance. At LCRCA we have a range of options up our sleeves to put to suppliers in these kinds of scenarios. We focus on incentives rather than penalties.