Embedding social value at scale in Cheshire and Merseyside
CASE STUDY

As an NHS England social value accelerator, Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership has embedded social value at scale, building not only on the Integrated Care Partnership members’ own responsibilities as anchor institutions, but also working proactively with local communities, businesses and suppliers to extend the reach and impact of their work. The ICP has established a Social Value Charter in collaboration with residents and other stakeholders, an award scheme to help organisations define and monitor their approach, and most recently, an Anchor Institution Charter and Framework to drive and monitor tangible achievements in delivering social value. 

The challenge 

Developing an at scale approach to social value began in 2018, thanks in large part to enthusiasm and passion on the part of individuals within the leadership team in Cheshire East and Cheshire West councils, and subsequently the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Their shared vision was to weave fairness, sustainability and equality of opportunity into every aspect of their work, to enable the region to deliver best value for its residents and tackle some of the longest standing causes of ill health and social inequalities at source. What followed was an extensive coproduction effort to produce a social value charter which truly reflected the needs of local communities and the aspirations of service providers.  

Coproducing a vision for social value 

Working in partnership with voluntary organisation, Wellbeing Enterprises, the ICP embarked on ‘Recipes for a good life’, a programme to coproduce the Social Value Charter based on what social value meant to those living and working in the System. Participants were engaged through existing community groups and widespread promotion to provide a broad cross section of input based on the various needs across the patch. Engagement was deliberately open, asking questions such as ‘tell me what your dream for the good life looks like in your local area?’ and ‘in what ways will you be able to achieve the Five Ways to Wellbeing in this dream for the good life?’, using ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ prompt cards to aid conversations. This identified a series of core themes and actions, some of which were able start immediately such as community initiatives that provide intergenerational support and tackle loneliness and isolation, as well as activities that provide practical and emotional support for young families. 

Charting a framework 

The resulting Social Value Charter combines the overall vision for social value across the System, with social value principles and what social value means to Cheshire & Merseyside. The Charter incorporates a clear approach to embedding social value across the commissioning cycle, emphasising the importance of considering community benefits and intended outcomes right at the start of commissioning, so it becomes woven throughout service design and delivery rather than a ‘bolt on’ or after thought. The accompanying Social Value Outcomes Framework includes metrics for social value across the System. 

The first signatories to the Charter were the Chair and Chief Executive of NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) – setting a strong signal of senior leadership support and buy-in to the approach. Public, voluntary and private sector organisations have all been encouraged to sign up to the charter, demonstrating their commitment to a local movement to improve quality of life and economic growth for local communities. 

System partners have created a Social Value Award to provide a quality framework and ‘mark’ demonstrating tangible commitment to the Social Value Charter. The award was specifically designed to be accessible to organisations of all sizes, with a clear and time efficient application process, asking applicants to make and evidence commitments in four areas: environmental, social, economic and innovation. The Award lasts for five years and is recognised by over 40 organisations. Recipients benefit from being part of a positive movement to improve sustainability, as well as practical benefits such as attracting and retaining staff by providing better working conditions and pay, as well as accessing contracts and meetings or exceeding social value commitments now required in most public sector contracts. 

Building an anchor community 

Cheshire & Merseyside ICP recognised the important role of anchor institutions in embedding change at scale.  Anchor institutions are typically ‘place-based’ organisations with employees that are likely to live and spend money locally, while the organisations themselves tend to make significant local procurement and investment decisions. 

System partners developed an Anchor Institution Charter in 2021 in collaboration with local businesses, communities and other stakeholders. The five pillars of the charter are: 

• Purchasing locally and for social benefit
• Using buildings and spaces to support communities 
• Widening access to quality work
• Working more closely with local partners
• Reducing environmental impact 

Members of the Anchor System have committed to a series of principles and priorities, all of which have tangible short and long term benefits for the local community. The principles include paying the real living wage, purchasing and employing people locally in the first instance, and setting out and implementing a Net Zero plan by 2040. As with the Social Value Charter, these principles and priorities were coproduced with businesses, voluntary, charity and faith groups and developed in line with the Marmot principles to help reduce health inequalities.  

Having designed an evidence framework to enable Anchor System members to demonstrate accountability and track progress against their pledges, the next step is to hold a bi-annual assembly, bringing together senior representatives from all signatories to share progress, learning and next steps. This regular commitment – the first of its kind in the country – is further evidence of the ICP’s commitment to embed social value. 

Outcomes 

Over 80 organisations have signed up to the Social Value Charter, with approximately 50 successfully achieving the Social Value Award. This critical mass is creating a movement for change, where considering social benefits becomes the norm. Leaders are developing a better understanding of what is important to local communities and the unintended consequences of decisions or processes which could otherwise bring significant benefit. For example, when the voluntary sector is commissioned to provide services on one year contracts, this creates uncertainty for staff, making it harder to retain good people. Moving contracts to a three or five year cycle (with appropriate contract management) allows more time to be spent on service delivery, reducing time on proposals and other admin, and reducing the likelihood of staff turnover and the additional time and training pressures that can create. 

Thirteen anchor institutions across the NHS, voluntary, public and private sectors have signed up to the Anchor Charter, all of whom have a collective interest in seeing their local area improve. A performance dashboard has been developed to enable participants to track and benchmark their performance and evidence the collective impact of the Charter. The first Anchor Assembly to assess progress takes place on the 12 July 2023 – a year to the day when the ICB signed the Social Value Charter.  

By committing to the Social Value Charter and Anchor principles, Cheshire & Merseyside ICP has put social value at the heart of local anchor institutions and the system’s wider business and voluntary sectors, with senior-level and broad stakeholder buy-in thanks to its roots in coproduction.