Ready to report on your social value? Looking for an affordable tool? Take a look at YourValue!

Community Matters is launching next month its latest tool for community organisations - YourValue! Find out more at www.communitymatters.org.uk/yourvalue

The Communities and Local Government department has published guidance asking local authorities to consider social, economic and environmental value when commissioning services . With the Public Services Bill due to be released later this year and not to mention the need for creating better funding bids, it has never been more important for Local Authorities and community organisations to have the tools on hand to gather the relevant data.

How can I assess my social value contribution?

Community Matters has been working on developing a user-friendly tool that can help play a vital role in providing you this information at an incredibly affordable price - YourValue! The tool will be launched this Autumn so make sure you register your interest to ensure you are notified when it is launched!

What is YourValue!?

YourValue! will help you:

  • Understand terms associated with social value including ‘outcomes’, ‘social value’ and ‘impact’
  • Make the connection between social value and key public policies for e.g. community cohesion, worklessness and sustainability
  • Gather facts and figures about your activities and present them in a way which is aesthetically pleasing and enlightening for funders, government and stakeholders
  • Store information about your activities which can be used for funding bids and other reports which require evidence based on need, activities, value and impact
  • Reflect and self-assess for future planning and monitoring purposes

How does it work?

YourValue! includes a series of prompt questions to help assess your social value impact. These questions are grouped under the following sections:

Local relationships

This section looks at the extent to which you have strong and wide ranging local relationships enabling you to engage with a variety of other groups, local citizens and key players including local authorities, police and health organisations. ‘Hard to reach’ communities are especially emphasised under this category.

Active neighbourhoods

Looking at how far you value and support associational working to in turn build strong social capital and community cohesion enabling local people to contribute to a vibrant local community life.

Resilient communities

This section will look at how you contribute to the local economy, retaining, re-circulating and leveraging funds in the neighbourhood. It also takes into consideration the wider contribution to skills and tackling worklessness.

Environmental impact

Looking at the extent to which you are minimising your own and the community's environmental impact and supporting local initiatives that seek to improve the local environment

Examples and prompts are provided throughout the tool to help you think about the activities you carry out which might contribute to achieving these goals.

You will then be asked to 'rate' how much of an impact you think the activities you carry out actually have on the prompts themselves.

What do I get having completed the tool?

Yourvalue! collates the evidence and data about your group into a smart summary Final Report you can give to funders and other stakeholders.

Final report

This is the report that will only be available for you to print off once you have completed the tool and your 'critical friend' has validated the information you have provided by logging into the tool and authorising they have done so. This report can be added in to your funding bids to add weight to the application and to ensure that your social value contribution is presented in a dynamic and interesting way. The report includes charts and graphics and will help ensure that your application stands out from the rest.

How can I find out more?

Visit www.communitymatters.org.uk/yourvalue


Last updated 12 years ago