We’re excited to welcome Brent Council to the Match My Project community! With more than £400 million spent each year, the council is making sure that every pound works harder — delivering real benefits for local people, businesses, and the environment.
Brent’s Social Value and Ethical Purchasing approach is all about using their buying power to support projects that make life better in the borough. This means creating jobs and training opportunities, helping local businesses grow, improving green spaces, and making Brent cleaner, safer, and more connected.
Here’s what they’re focusing on:
Strong Foundations – Helping residents gain digital skills, building community links, and giving local suppliers more opportunities.
Every Opportunity to Succeed – Opening up education, work, and training, especially for people who might otherwise miss out.
A Future Built for Everyone – Backing local businesses, championing diversity, and encouraging sustainable growth.
A Cleaner, Greener Brent – Cutting waste, protecting the environment, and working towards carbon neutrality.
Safety and Well-being – Supporting mental and physical health, celebrating culture, and keeping communities safe.
Brent is also making sure that the organisations they work with treat people fairly, pay decent wages, and operate responsibly. And if promises aren’t kept, they’ve set up a special Social Value Fund to make sure local projects still get the support they need.
In essence, Brent Council’s social value policy is a commitment to using its resources and influence to create a positive and lasting impact on the lives of its residents and the overall well-being of the borough. It’s all part of their vision to build a Brent where everyone can thrive, with a strong local economy, thriving communities, and a healthy environment for generations to come.
We’re looking forward to working alongside Brent Council to help turn big ideas into real change for residents and neighbourhoods across the borough.
Want to see your organisation on this list? Contracting authorities can sign up here.
The data download includes information from the activity that happens on an authority’s Match My Project site.
It can be downloaded by Authority Admin and Standard users from the ‘Data download’ subsection of the Account page, accessed from the sidebar.
Structure
This table shows how the data download is laid out. A breakdown of each tab follows below.
Section
Tab names
Overview
1. Overview
Users
2. Users_Community
3. Users_Supplier
Match type 1: Community initiated projects
4. Projects
5. Shortlisted projects
6. Project offers
Match type 2: Supplier in-kind support offers
7. Supplier resource offers
8. Supplier offer requests
Match type 3: Jobs & training opportunities
9. Jobs & training
10. Employment referrals
11. Training referrals
12. Work placement referrals
Section by section breakdown
Section 1: Overview
🗂️ Overview tab
A summary of the activity that has taken place on your site, showing aggregated data for key metrics, for each quarter of the past year and all time.
Section 2: Users
🗂️ Users_Community tab
Contact data, organisation data and login data for each user.
This is created during signup and edited in their Profile. The ‘Created’ and ‘Updated’ columns show when the user was created and when they last updated their details.
🗂️ Users_Supplier tab
As above – Contact data, organisation data and login data for each supplier or business user.
Section 3: Community initiated projects
Three tabs contain data on projects posted by community organisations: Projects, Shortlisted projects, and Project offers.
🗂️ Projectstab
Contains information about projects that community users entered into the ‘Add a Project’ form. For projects that have been matched and beyond, it shows the match date, completed date and feedback.
Here’s a breakdown of the project stages shown in the ‘Status’ column:
Status
Description
Submitted
Awaiting review by the authority
Edits requested
The authority has asked the organisation to edit their project
Awaiting supplier
The project is live in the directory
Supplier offered to complete
The project is under offer, but is still in the directory as the community organisation hasn’t responded to the offer yet
In progress
A match has been made and the project is no longer in the directory
Completed
Both organisations have given feedback
🗂️ Shortlisted projects tab
Shows where suppliers have added community initiated projects to their shortlist of potential projects to support, indicating their interest in completing a project.
Includes the project name, email addresses of the users involved, and the date the project was shortlisted.
🗂️ Project offers tab
A log of all offers sent by supplier users – to complete community initiated projects.
Includes the status of the offer (whether it was accepted/declined) and the date that the offer was sent.
Section 4: Supplier in-kind support offers
There are two tabs related to offers of in-kind support posted by suppliers: Supplier resource offers and Support offer requests.
🗂️ Supplier resource offers tab
Shows the details entered by suppliers submitting an in-kind support offer on the ‘In-kind support offer’ form and the offer status. For offers that have been matched and beyond, it shows the match date, completed date and feedback.
Here’s a breakdown of the labels in the ‘Status’ column:
Status
Description
Submitted
Awaiting review by the authority
Edits requested
The authority has asked the organisation to edit their offer
Awaiting community organisation
The offer is live in the directory
Community organisation has requested the resources on offer
The project is under offer, but is still in the directory as the supplier hasn’t responded to the offer yet
In progress
A match has been made and the project is no longer in the directory
Completed
Both organisations have given feedback
🗂️ Support offer requests tab
A log of all requests made by community organisations, on in-kind support offers. All the information entered on the request form is shown in this tab, including the outcomes of how the community organisation plans to use the resources.
The status of the request is shown in the ‘Status’ column and the date that the request was sent is in the ‘Created’ column.
Section 5: Jobs and training opportunities
🗂️ Jobs & training tab
Contains all the data submitted by supplier on the ‘Employment & training’ offer form when they create a jobs or training opportunity.
You can also track the Status, match and completed dates, number of referrals for each opportunity and status of those referrals.
🗂️ Employment referrals tab, Training referrals tab&Work placement referrals tab
A log of the candidates referred to each opportunity type and when the referral was made.
Thanks for using Match My Project!
Special appreciation goes out to everyone who takes the time to share feedback 🙏
The data download has recently been updated! In this article you’ll find details of the latest changes. For a general overview of the download and how to navigate the tabs, see this guide.
These changes include some upgraded metrics and bring the download in line with the site as a whole, reflecting recent improvements.
1. See more detail about community and supplier users
New columns in the Users_Community and Users_Supplier tabs now include all the information from the sign-up form:
✅ How they heard about Match My Project.
✅ The information to establish any pre-existing relationships with your organisation such as a recent contract, if community organisations have recently received funding from you or recognised funders and if they are a member of the local community & voluntary sector infrastructure body.
Some other changes include:
✅ New activity data for each user showing the number of logins in the past month and average monthly logins in the past 6 months, replacing the login log tab.
✅ For clarity, Charities Commission and Companies House numbers are in separate columns.
2. Keep tabs on key project and offer data
A few important data points have been added to help you understand your matches better.
✅ The match date and completion date has been added. For community initiated projects, these dates are located in the Projects tab, columns AG-AH. For business initiated in-kind support offers, they’re shown in columns Z and AA of the Supplier resource offers tab.
✅ The supplier’s tag for whether the project counts as Social Value or CSR is now displayed in the Project offers and Supplier resource offers tabs in a column called Social value / CSR.
3. Track jobs and training data
There are new tabs help you keep track of all jobs and training opportunities created by businesses.
✅ Jobs & Training lists all opportunities posted by suppliers and
✅ The Referrals tabs list all referrals made by community organisations to jobs, training and work placement opportunities.
4. See new overview data
The aggregated data has been slightly restructured to be more useful.
✅ In the Overview tab, there’s new ‘all time’ data, additional to quarterly data for the current financial year.
5. View and navigate data with ease
We fixed the extra-wide columns.
✅ The resized, standardised columns are easier to work with, prevent too much scrolling and improve readability.
Thanks for using Match My Project!
Special appreciation goes out to everyone who takes the time to share feedback 🙏
We are pleased to announce that ForHousing has joined the Match My Project platform.
ForHousing owns and manages over 19,000 homes across the North West and is widely recognised for its commitment to supporting tenants and communities through inclusive, customer-focused services. A clear mission guides their work: to provide safe, well-maintained homes and deliver equitable and efficient services that reflect the needs and priorities of their tenants.
With a strong presence in Salford and the wider Greater Manchester area, ForHousing brings valuable regional knowledge and a proven track record of community development. Their approach is built on respect, trust, openness and passion, values that resonate strongly with our ethos at Match My Project.
We are especially proud to be expanding our work in the North West with an organisation that has consistently demonstrated innovation in tackling social issues. From award-winning strategies to address anti-social behaviour, to delivering employment and financial inclusion programmes that support vulnerable residents, ForHousing exemplifies what it means to invest in the drivers of long-term wellbeing.
By joining Match My Project, ForHousing will connect with like-minded local authorities, housing associations, VCFSEs, and suppliers who are committed to delivering social value in the places that need it most. We believe collaboration is the key to unlocking new opportunities, and this partnership will help do just that.
We look forward to supporting the ForHousing team as they engage with local stakeholders through the platform, and to seeing the positive outcomes that arise from this new chapter.
Welcome to the platform, ForHousing. We’re excited to work together to build stronger, more resilient communities.
Want to see your organisation on this list? Contracting authorities can sign up here.
We are proud to announce that Onward Homes has renewed its partnership with Match My Project for another two years. This decision highlights their long-term commitment to delivering social value and supporting the communities they serve.
As one of the largest housing providers in the North West, Onward Homes manages over 35,000 properties across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, and Lancashire. Their mission extends beyond providing housing; they are dedicated to empowering residents and investing in neighbourhoods to help people lead happier, more independent lives.
A Mission Backed by Action
Onward’s collaboration with Match My Project has united businesses, suppliers, and grassroots organisations to achieve tangible results. From community gardening initiatives to skills-based volunteering, every match made on the platform contributes to Onward’s broader mission of strengthening local communities.
Here’s what that looks like in numbers:
🏢 104 businesses signed up to support local communities
🤝 102 community organisations engaged
⏱️ 1,029 volunteer hours donated
🌱 61 projects completed
🔄 53 more in the pipeline
🔧 16 suppliers actively offering support
These numbers represent real people uplifted, spaces improved, and relationships built across various sectors.
Why It Matters
By extending this partnership for another two years, Onward Homes reaffirms its commitment to the importance of long-term collaborations that foster local impact. This partnership enables Onward to:
Support grassroots organisations addressing real-world challenges
Help businesses create meaningful social value within the communities they serve
Build a stronger network of support for residents across the North West
What’s Next?
Onward Homes is committed to delivering practical, high-impact solutions, ranging from volunteering initiatives to supplier-driven contributions. Together, we are working towards a future where housing providers act as catalysts for lasting, community-led change.
We look forward to seeing what the next two years bring, and we’re proud to be part of the journey.
Looking to simplify the way your organisation delivers social value? Contracting authorities can sign up here to get started.
The Match My Project team is so pleased to be working with Peabody, one of the oldest, and largest, housing associations in the UK.
It was founded in 1862 by the American banker and philanthropist George Peabody. The first Peabody dwellings were in Spitalfields, on the edge of the City and not too far from where the Match My Project is based.
By using Match My Project, Peabody is continuing its long history of working with communities to tackle social and economic inequality.
Indeed, Peabody continues to innovate – for example with its 189-home project at Deptford Landings, one of the biggest single-phase Passivhaus projects in the UK.
Peabody is also leading the regeneration of south east London, with its enormous programmes in Thamesmead, Abbey Wood and Plumstead, with significant investment from the Greater London Authority.
We had a great launch – thanks goes to Corin Menuge and team. And thanks to Stephen Burns, Peabody’s Executive Director for Care, Supported Housing and Inclusion.
And also a great turnout with lots of Peabody community partners and suppliers in the room.
The in-person launches are always great, as it gives the Match My Project team a chance to get out in front on local stakeholders. One of the things we’re most proud of is the approach-ability and responsiveness of our team. It was an opportunity for everyone to put Match My Project names to faces.
So, if you want to get speak to someone about getting involved with Peabody’s Match My Project platform, here’s how:
– Get in touch with the Match My Project team here
We had a great launch in Cambridge in the middle of May.
Many thanks to the council team for organising the event. It was a well attended online event with many council suppliers and community partners on the call.
There is so much going on across Cambridgeshire at the moment.
Consider the £1 million in funding for Greater Cambridge Impact, approved late last year by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
And there are a number of strategic partnerships in place to deliver locally-led growth, investment and regeneration. Perhaps the most important being with Homes England’s new Strategic Place Partnership.
It is vital that local communities – and particularly those in need – see the benefit of this inward investment. This is why we are so pleased to see Match My Project introduced to Cambridgeshire.
People do talk about Match My Project as being an innovative Social Value delivery platform.
Perhaps it’s because we work with the platform everyday – but we think it’s just plain common sense.
In many of the places we work we see a community sector plugged into the challenges facing local people.
These organisations know what people are going through in a way that, often, the public and private sector cannot.
They know the history and they know the politics. They are often right at the heart of local networks.
If then, as an authority, you are asking your supply chain to create local community benefits, it seems obvious to build on existing social, community or civic infrastructure that your local community sector has created over decades.
Match My Project makes that match between private and community sector as easy and as effective – as efficient and as targeted – as possible. We make private and community sector collaboration easy and then let the public sector, as the contracting authority, scale that collaboration to maximise Social Value delivery and impact.
And as simple as that sounds, the Match My Project team has invested a lot of time and effort into making it easy.
And it is why the launch events are so important – to share good practice and top tips so we see as many projects delivered as possible.
We all know that managing Social Value takes time…
From finding out what community organisations need, to getting suppliers involved, to tracking delivery – it all adds up.
Many authorities dedicate hours, even days, every week to Social Value administration. Our conversations with public sector partners have highlighted this challenge repeatedly.
We’ve heard many a horror story about manual Social Value Excel spreadsheets.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Working closely with our public sector partners through our bi-monthly User Group, we’ve designed Match My Project to eliminate this time drain, without compromising on quality.
In fact, our platform helps deliver more outcomes while requiring less admin time.
Here’s how:
Speedy onboarding: authorities can be up and running in just 8 minutes, businesses in under 2 minutes, and community organisations in under 6 minutes
Simplified project creation: community organisations can add well-structured projects in around 8 minutes, eliminating the need for authorities to chase up on poorly written requests
Automated matching and tracking: suppliers and community organisations match amongst themselves, removing the need for spreadsheets, email chains, and follow-up calls that take up valuable time
One of our most prolific authority users, Hyde Housing Association, told us, “Having Match My Project has meant that the time spent on reviewing and facilitating Social Value requests has reduced from two days a week to two hours a week. So it’s definitely been worthwhile for us.”
What makes Match My Project stand out is that it’s not a trade-off between time and quality. You actually get better outcomes in less time.
The platform ensures resources go to the right places while freeing up your team to focus on strategic priorities rather than administration.
Would a quick chat be helpful? Let’s see how we can help you reduce the amount of time you spend doing Social Value without sacrificing any quality.
