Software · social value, buyer’s shortlist
Social value software: a UK buyer’s shortlist
Social value software helps a supplier forecast, contract, deliver and evidence the social value commitments it makes in UK public tenders.
This page names platforms in their owners’ own words, sets out what PPN 026 changes from 1 January 2027, and gives the demo questions to run before you sign.
Which method a tool must follow is on the companion guide, social value reporting software.
What the software does
What does social value software actually do for a supplier?
It follows one commitment from the bid that offers it to the report that proves it.
Under PPN 002, every social value commitment made in a winning bid must be reflected in the contract as a term, a key performance indicator or a performance indicator.
So the work does not end at award, and most of the software’s value is in the years of evidence after it.
The legal root is narrower than the policy: section 1(3) of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires an authority to consider economic, social and environmental well-being in a services procurement.
- 1
Forecast
Price the offer against the model the tender uses.
- 2
Contract
Write each commitment in as a term or KPI.
- 3
Deliver
Collect evidence against each commitment.
- 4
Report
Hand the authority delivered, not forecast, value.
What changes in 2027
What changes for buyers of social value software under PPN 026?
PPN 026 was published on 5 August 2026 and applies to procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027, which it defines as the date a tender notice is published.
It adds a £1m threshold, two weighting tiers and a new model of two outcomes and six award criteria, under PPN 026.
Contracts of £5m or more should carry at least one social value KPI in addition to the three set under section 52(1) of the Procurement Act 2023, and the result is published.
Neither PPN says PPN 002 is superseded, so a 2027 bid book can hold tenders under both models at once.
A tool that can only score one model will need replacing or patching during 2027.
PPN 026, from 1 January 2027
Commencement
PPN 026, from 1 January 2027
£1m threshold
PPN 026, from 1 January 2027
Two tiers
PPN 026, from 1 January 2027
Extra KPI
Before you sign
Which questions separate one social value platform from another?
Each question beside this names the rule it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Bring one real contract to the demonstration, because a sample dataset never has a call-off, a missed KPI or a job advert to evidence.
The method questions, scoring model against valuation, are covered on social value reporting software.
Nothing here is a rating, ranking or recommendation.
Social value demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
The platforms
Which platforms say they do social value work, in their own words?
| Platform or directory | What its owner says |
|---|---|
| Compliance Chain | Listed in the SVI directory as a social value management platform for forecasting, measuring and evaluating impact across programmes and contracts. |
| Impact Advantage | Listed in the SVI directory as measuring, valuing and forecasting impact. |
| Social Value International directory | Products created by SVI members or networks, reviewed by SVI and accredited as showing alignment with its Principles. |
| Social Value Portal | A platform for procurement, evaluation, measurement and reporting that supports the Social Value TOM System and PPN 002 Standard Reporting Metrics. |
| Thrive | Software for managing commitments, collecting evidence and reporting impact. |
Each of these sets out clearly what it is built for, which makes the first shortlisting conversation short.
Check the current SVI listing directly, because directory status has its own scope and dates.
Shortlist by job
Bid writing
Shortlist by job
Contract delivery
Shortlist by job
Authority side
Spreadsheet or software
When is a spreadsheet still enough for social value?
A supplier with two or three public contracts can usually keep commitments, KPIs and evidence in a spreadsheet.
The case for a platform grows with the number of live contracts, frameworks and call-offs, and with the number of people collecting evidence.
The calculator beside this compares the hours your current process takes with any quote you hold; it suggests no price of its own.
PPN 026’s published KPI on £5m contracts raises the cost of a missing month of evidence, so weigh that in the hours.
Platform against the way you work now
Current process £0 a year · quote £0 a year
Fill in all three to see the break-even hours.
Arithmetic on your own inputs.
The quote’s implementation, uplift and exit terms are in the three-year worksheet on the carbon reporting software page.
Nothing is stored or sent.
Getting it running
What does setting up social value software involve in practice?
Start from contracts already won, not from the next bid, because those carry the evidence duty now.
Load each commitment exactly as the contract words it, then the KPI that measures it.
Assign one person to each commitment’s evidence, and agree the reporting rhythm with the authority.
Only then configure bid forecasting for the 2027 model.
First 90 days
Load live contracts
First 90 days
Name evidence owners
First 90 days
First report
For the board
Social value is won in the bid and kept in the evidence
Choose the platform that makes next month’s evidence easy, not the one with the biggest forecast number.
Takeaways
Social value software in five facts
| Fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| PPN 002 sets a minimum 10% weighting for covered procurements | Check your current bids run on its model |
| PPN 026 applies to tenders published from 1 January 2027 | Ask each platform how it holds both models |
| Commitments become contract terms or KPIs | Shortlist on delivery tracking, not forecasting |
| £5m+ contracts carry an extra published KPI under PPN 026 | Test monthly evidence capture in the demo |
| No law requires a supplier to buy software | Run the spreadsheet comparison first |
Next: read the Social Value Model explained to check which model your next tender uses.
Frequently asked
Social value software, answered
What is social value software?
Software that helps a supplier forecast the social value it will offer in a tender, turn those offers into contract commitments, collect evidence of delivery and report it.
Some products also value outcomes in money terms.
The sibling guide on social value reporting software explains the methods; this page is the shortlist.
Which social value software is best?
This site has tested no product and names no best.
Social Value International keeps a directory of tools it has reviewed and accredited as showing alignment with its Principles, and the platforms named here describe their own products.
Shortlist by the job you need done, then run the demo questions on your own contract.
Do I need social value software to win public contracts?
No law requires a supplier to buy software.
PPN 002 requires a minimum 10% social value weighting in covered procurements, and PPN 026 sets 10% from £1m and 20% at £5m for procurements commenced from 1 January 2027.
A spreadsheet can carry a small number of commitments.
What changes for social value software under PPN 026?
PPN 026 applies to procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027, meaning a tender notice published on or after that date.
It introduces a £1m threshold, two weighting tiers and a new model, and contracts of £5m or more should carry at least one social value KPI in addition to the Act’s three.
Has PPN 026 replaced PPN 002?
Neither document says PPN 002 is superseded.
A tool should hold both models and let the user pick by the tender’s commencement date.
Is the Social Value Model environmental?
Under PPN 002, one of the eight delivery outcomes is environmental.
Under PPN 026, the model has two outcomes and six award criteria and none of them is environmental.
Carbon reduction in public contracts sits under PPN 006 instead.
What does the SVI accredited directory mean?
Social Value International says directory entries are products created by its members or networks, reviewed by SVI and accredited as showing alignment with the Principles of Social Value. It is a defined status, not a ranking.
Can social value software help with frameworks?
It should.
Under PPN 026, social value is assessed at framework and at call-off, and a call-off assessment is only valid if the framework was assessed too, because of section 46(8) of the Procurement Act 2023.
What evidence should the software keep?
Each commitment as written into the contract, the KPI that measures it, monthly or quarterly evidence of delivery, and any local jobs advertised on Find a Job, as PPN 002 asks.
Can a buyer and a supplier use the same platform?
Some platforms describe procurement, evaluation and supplier reporting in one product, Social Value Portal among them.
Ask whether supplier data stays the supplier’s and how it is exported.
Is there a free social value tool?
The Cabinet Office publishes the Social Value Model and its guidance free.
Whether a platform offers a free tier is for each owner to state; none is listed here unless the owner publishes it.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 002: taking account of social value in the award of contracts, ¶¶3, 6, 10–12
A minimum 10% weighting for covered procurements; commitments go into the contract.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 026: the Social Value Model (HTML), ¶¶4–18
Published 5 August 2026; procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 026 publication page
The guidance collection and annexes.
- Cabinet OfficeThe Social Value Model
The model’s missions, outcomes and award criteria.
- legislation.gov.ukPublic Services (Social Value) Act 2012, section 1
The duty to consider economic, social and environmental well-being.
- legislation.gov.ukProcurement Act 2023, section 12
Covered procurement objectives, including public benefit.
- legislation.gov.ukProcurement Act 2023, section 46
Frameworks and call-off competitions, including s.46(8).
- legislation.gov.ukProcurement Act 2023, section 52
Key performance indicators in public contracts.
- Cabinet OfficeProcurement Act 2023 thresholds
The amounts that make a procurement covered.
- GOV.UKFind a job
Where PPN 002 says jobs created to perform a contract are advertised.
- Social Value InternationalAccredited Tools and Software
Entries reviewed and accredited as showing alignment with the Principles of Social Value.
- Social Value InternationalPrinciples of Social Value
The principles the directory accredits against.
- Social Value PortalPlatform
The owner’s description of its procurement, measurement and reporting platform.
- ThriveSocial value software
The owner’s description of commitment management and evidence collection.
- Impact AdvantageImpact measurement and valuation
Listed in the SVI directory as measuring, valuing and forecasting impact.