Published today by public sector procurement authority SCAPE, the Social Value In Construction 2023 Preview Report highlights how social value delivery is evolving and becoming more sophisticated across the construction industry.

A total of 520 construction contracts, with a combined total value of £3.6bn and ranging from £12k to £130m, were analysed to establish the scale and scope of social value delivery across the UK.

The findings show that return on investment is up by over 10% compared to 19.55% last year. This trend suggests that the construction industry is committed to bringing about positive societal change through projects, which in turn is having a tangible impact on people’s lives.

From the figures, it is evident that the best performing regions are those in which SCAPE has an increased number of live projects on site.

Areas in the north and east of England are outperforming the south, with the median social and local value added for projects at just over 25%, compared with just over 10% for projects in London.

London has delivered high social and local value by utilising a broad range of measures, suggesting these organisations are seeking new and bespoke ways to meet their communities’ needs. However, projects in the capital are not delivering the highest economic value in terms of percentage of contract value.

The research also shows the difference in social value delivery by contract size. Larger projects, with more time and resource to implement social value initiatives, go on to create more opportunities for its delivery. It is more difficult for smaller contracts to achieve the same level of social value measures.

However, there is more to be done to ensure that social value delivery continues to grow across the UK. Government and local authorities need to be bolder in their social value requirements to encourage consultants and contractors to continually improve.

The report suggests that greater collaboration between organisations is key in maximising social value delivery. Research shows that the impact is magnified when the effort is shared – this is especially pertinent for smaller contracts where social value delivery is constrained.

The report also recommends a greater focus on community initiatives, such as apprenticeships and jobs for offenders, as they have a more significant impact on local people compared to local spend.

Since 2020, SCAPE has also produced an annual Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report for the UK construction sector, undertaken jointly with Social Value Portal, which has rapidly become the definitive review of social value in public sector construction projects. The 2023 edition will be published in June 2023, with data and analysis for the whole of 2022.

This insight report launched today is an exclusive preview, reviewing extensive data sets from January until June 2022 and presents a snapshot into progress for the year, whilst setting out key recommendations that must be addressed should social value delivery continue to improve.

Mark Robinson, group chief executive at SCAPE, said: “The Social Value in Construction 2023 Preview Report highlights how the construction industry is proactively delivering social value in the UK, which in turn is having a positive impact on society. The figures are all the more impressive considering they only represent the first half of 2022 – we look forward to seeing the full picture when the annual report is published later this year.

“SCAPE is proud to be leading the way in unlocking social value through public sector procurement across the UK, by generating significant returns year on year and more value in the regions in which we operate. However, there is more to be done – at a time of economic uncertainty it is imperative that the sector works together to drive social value delivery, for the benefit of both local communities and economies.”

Nathan Goode, chief strategy officer at Social Value Portal, added: “SVP is delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with SCAPE on this ground-breaking project to track and report the delivery of social value in the construction sector, which is now in its third year. The figures show that a solid foundation for social value has been established, through leadership and influence of organisations such as SCAPE, as well as the sustained commitment of businesses of all sizes across the industry.”