Deliver the Best Social Value in Your Communities with Match My Project.

How can you make a bigger impact?

What if you could boost your business by transforming your social engagement?

Match My Project is here to help you take your Social Value delivery to the next level. 

We believe in the power of Social Value to transform lives and communities. That’s why we build technology that enables organisations to do just that. And we’re always thinking about ways to make that impact as meaningful and as far-reaching as possible. 

Over the past few months, Laura from the Match My Project team has spoken to Social Value experts across the UK about their remarkable work. She asked them how businesses can be more responsible and make a bigger impact in local communities.

This is what she found out.

Here are the top 5 things suppliers can do to deliver better Social Value:

1. Offer longer, incentivised work placements 

I’d like to see more longer periods of work experience, but incentivised … we need to invest in these young people and show that we’re investing in them by incentivising them. 

– Phillipa Wilkinson, Post-16 Lead at the Stockport Virtual School

Show that you are invested in the future of young people and their development. Longer placements give participants more time to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to your organisation.

Incentives could include paid positions, performance bonuses, or opportunities for permanent employment upon successful completion. This shows a genuine investment in developing talent and can lead to a more diverse and skilled workforce.

2. Take advantage of Pathways to Work 

This Match My Project feature is designed to streamline the process of connecting job opportunities with local communities. Utilise it to post apprenticeships, entry-level positions, and training programs. The platform can help target specific demographics or areas, ensuring your Social Value efforts reach those who need them most.

I would like to see more willingness from our contractors and suppliers to think creatively about ensuring employment and training opportunities that they committed to within their Social Value tenders or pledges. And ensure that these are followed through and delivered in areas where [the contracting authorities] have customers and communities … More could definitely be done to use the platform, especially the new features that Match My Project has launched, and link these opportunities to our customers.

Emma Needham, Social Investment Specialist at Onward Homes

Learn more about Pathways to Work here.

3. Create early opportunities for work placement candidates to familiarise themselves with the work environment before starting. 

Starting a new job is scary. Especially when it’s your first time in a professional work setting. 

Laura Perry from Ridge and Partners, a built environment agency with eleven locations across the UK, offers a brilliant solution to this obstacle: allow placement candidates to come into the office before they start working there. This allows them to familiarise themselves with the space, the people who work there, and the journey they will take to work.

In Laura’s words:

I recommend meeting with the placement student beforehand. That helps to make them feel more relaxed and I think it can make the organisation feel a bit more relaxed as well. You both know each other, you both know what to expect. [I recommend] visits to the workplace before starting so that they can journey to and from because it can be quite overwhelming if they are not used to travelling to a city centre in rush hour. And it helps the other teams be aware as well of someone else who might be coming in if they want to speak to them, or perhaps they are interested in a certain discipline.

Ridge and Partners recently matched with the Stockport Care Leavers Team to facilitate a successful work placement for a care-experienced individual. Read the inspiring story here.

4. Consider the whole supply chain. 

Try to think about the whole end-to-end process.

Amy Holbrook, Bid and Responsible Business Manager at PH Jones (British Gas). 

Transforming your supply chain for Social Value creation might involve:

• Partnering with social enterprises or B-corps for supplies and services
• Supporting local businesses in your procurement processes
• Encouraging your suppliers to adopt their own Social Value initiatives

Amy Holbrook from PH Jones explained the broader social impact that transformations to the supply chain can have. She told me about a project PH Jones completed to illustrate this. 

PH Jones worked with building merchant chain Jewson to paint the L6 Centre, a charity they connected with through Match My Project. The paint used for the project was from Paint360, a social enterprise that re-engineers waste paint back into brand-new paint and employs ex-offenders. Not only was the L6 centre repainted, but, through this project, PH Jones was able to champion a socially and environmentally sustainable cause. 

This approach demonstrates how considering the entire supply chain can multiply the Social Value impact of a single project.

5. Commit to the long run. Transform from within.

True Social Value isn’t about one-off gestures or short-term projects. 

It’s about embedding a commitment to social responsibility deep within the fabric of your organisation. This approach requires a fundamental shift in how businesses view their role in society, moving from occasional charitable acts to a consistent, integrated approach that aligns social impact with business objectives.

What does this look like practically? Here are some ideas:

• Include Social Value objectives in your company’s strategic plan
• Provide training on Social Value to all employees
• Celebrate and reward Social Value achievements internally

Take it from two businesses that exemplify an authentic, embodied form of Social Value:

Don’t keep flashing money around for Social Value. That’s probably one of my biggest frustrations. It’s not about all the financial money. Yes, it’s nice to give a token gift of money. But it’s not – it’s the longevity, it’s the hours. Really buying into what you’re doing. You know, be emotionally invested in Social Value, because the impact it does have is massive.

Andrea Ratcliffe, Business Development & Bid Manager at Connolly Ltd

You can’t do Social Value if it’s not embodied in your business … You’ve got to start at the heart of it, which is your business and your people.

Laura Perry, Social Value Project Consultant at Ridge and Partners

By integrating Social Value into your core business practices, you can create a meaningful impact in your communities while also benefiting your organisation through improved reputation, employee engagement, and stakeholder relationships.

Social Value isn’t just about what you do—it’s about who you are as an organisation.

The experts we’ve heard from throughout this blog have demonstrated that true Social Value is embedded in every aspect of business operations. It requires a holistic approach that encompasses everything from work placements and supply chain considerations to long-term organisational transformation.

But don’t just take our word for it. Take a deeper dive into these insights and hear directly from the Social Value experts themselves.

Watch this exclusive video to gain valuable insights, practical tips, and inspiration to take your Social Value delivery to new heights.