Authority - Journal

Cambridgeshire County Council: Match My Project – is now LIVE

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.

So, if you want to get involved with Cambridgeshire County Council’s Match My Project, here’s how:

– Get in touch with the Match My Project team here

– Get in touch with the Cambridgeshire County Council team here

– Stay up to date with Match My Project opportunities if you are a business or a community organisation or a local public sector organisation.

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.

Are you delivering Social Value that is genuinely impactful?

Social Value is a great opportunity to strengthen local communities.

And local community organisations know what their communities need better than anyone.

From our conversations with our public sector partners, we know they agree with us.

But so often Social Value feels untargeted – sometimes driven by what the supplier chooses to do, rather than led by the community. And, worst case scenario, it can be unverified.

How confident are you that the Social Value committed at tender stage – which feels ambitious and aspirational – is actually delivered, is actually felt in the community?

It’s a problem.

And, based on our public sector partners – through our bi-monthly User Group – that we knew to design Match My Project to explicitly address these challenges.

Every authority we work with has the opportunity to configure its own Match My Project site to ensure:

-All community projects that receive resources are delivering against local place based outcomes

-Resources get to the type of community projects that are really going to benefit – larger charities with existing bid writing teams may, for example, not need extra resources as much as the smaller local organisations

-Resources get to projects in exactly the right place, geographically – does the southern part of the borough, or a particular estate need more support? You can do that on Match My Project.

Would a quick chat be helpful? Let’s see how we could help you deliver Social Value that is truly targeted and impactful.

It’s one thing getting suppliers to commit to Social Value – and another for them to deliver it

Over the years, Social Value has suffered from what we call the ‘credibility gap’.

That’s the difference between rhetoric and reality.

Or… what suppliers promise to deliver at tender stage and what they deliver in contract mobilisation.

There are ways and means of dealing with this. Let’s take them in turn.

Option 1: ask the supplier to self certify

This is a tricky one.

It creates a risk of gaming: essentially, you are asking suppliers to mark their own homework.

In our experience, the people who do Social Value in supplier organisations believe in Social Value and do a great job of delivering it. But, as an institution, suppliers have to focus on revenues and profit margins.

That will always be the priority and this is where potential conflict of interests arise if you go with Option One.

Option 2: ask a third party to assure

Can be expensive.

Asking a team of consultants to assure can increase time and cost.

There is also the risk that the consultants may not have the experience or insight to do this job properly.

And more potential conflict of interest is the team of consultants is also in a contractual relationship with the supplier. Sub-optimal.

Option 3: use a marketplace platform

Marketplace platforms, like Match My Project, have direct access to the community beneficiary.

If a supplier has committed to delivering a resource or an apprenticeship, the community beneficiary – the organisation or the individual – is on Match My Project and will record whether the resource has been delivered to time and to quality.

This is then shared across the network to establish which suppliers are credible and consistent.

No need for suppliers to self-certify or to bring in costly consultants if you use Match My Project.

Would a quick chat be helpful? Let’s see if we can help you deliver Social Value that is community led and community verified.

This month marks a significant milestone as we celebrate two years of Sovereign Network Group (SNG) — a journey defined by purpose, progress, and partnership. In just 24 months, SNG has continued to build on its commitment to providing good, affordable homes, creating the foundations for better lives and stronger communities.

By the Numbers – A Snapshot of Impact

In two years, Sovereign Network Group has achieved impressive outcomes that reflect the power of collaboration and community-driven action:

🏢 54 businesses have signed up to support SNG’s mission

🤝 134 community-based organisations have joined the network

⏱️ 131 volunteer hours donated

🌱 52 projects supported to date

Each number tells a story of people coming together to create meaningful change across neighbourhoods and regions.

A Vision for Thriving Communities

SNG’s vision is to create thriving communities over generations, guided by five key goals:

1. Financial and Digital Inclusion

SNG provides proactive and critical support to customers facing financial hardship. From building financial resilience to supporting digital connectivity, they ensure the communities aren’t left behind in a rapidly evolving world.

2. Community Action

Through close collaboration with anchor organisations, local groups, and their customers, SNG co-creates social action programmes with long-term impact. Their focus areas include youth initiatives, ageing well, health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion. Together, they harness community power and amplify customer voices.

3. Partnerships and Fundraising

SNG’s partnership approach is strategic and inclusive. By bringing in external funding, we enhance and expand our community investment offer, helping local organisations grow their capacity and deliver more impactful services. Everything SNG does, from grant-making to collaborative frameworks, is rooted in driving measurable social value.

Reflecting on the last two years, we are inspired by the dedication, creativity, and compassion fueling the Sovereign Network Group. From affordable homes to meaningful partnerships, they remain committed to helping individuals and communities not just survive, but truly thrive.

Here’s to the future — building stronger, fairer, and more connected communities. 🏡💛

It’s always great to connect in person with community organisations, businesses and government officials using Match My Project.

We recently attended the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Social Value Showcase in south-east London.

Three of the Borough’s contractors showcased their social value initiatives, from creating apprenticeships to improving spaces for local people to enjoy.

This work is part of the borough’s broader strategy to embed social value into its procurement activities.

We also heard from local people who these initiatives have impacted, demonstrating the tangible impact that social value can have on local residents and communities.

We’re excited to hear more stories like these in the weeks and months ahead as Match My Project gains traction.

Here are our reflections following the event:

Social value opens doors

We heard directly from some of the young people who’ve had employment and training opportunities as a result of these social value initiatives.

Aura from Shooters Hill 6th Form spoke keenly about how his time on a real construction site with Mullaley has changed his preconceptions about careers in construction.

Similarly, Charlie told us how his apprenticeship at Axis has helped him to realise first-hand some of the opportunities available within the Quantity Surveying field.

These aren’t just two more apprenticeships created, they’re two more doors open to young people at important moments in their careers.

We expect to see more local people securing placements through the Pathways to Work feature on Match My Project.

Collaboration is key

A central theme of the showcase was the importance of collaboration between the borough, local organisations, and suppliers to achieve social value goals.

This was evident in a presentation by Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) about how they’re working with three of the borough’s contracted property consultants (Faithorn Farrell Timms, Martin Arnold and Potter Raper) to deliver social value in Greenwich.

Stuart Butler-Gallie, Environment, Social and Governance Consultant for CACT, shared some of the projects that have emerged from this partnership, including an employability workshop which provided young people with an introduction to the construction industry.

Collaboration between the public, private and voluntary sectors is key to maximising social value delivery in communities.

Match My Project provides a platform to connect organisations in Greenwich, bringing public, private and voluntary organisations together to work on exciting collaborative projects like the employability workshop.

Match My Project is helping authorities generate direct investment in community projects

Procurement Strategy Lead for Royal Borough of Greenwich, Dean Hogan, drew the day to a close with some details on how the borough plans to leverage its significant spending power to generate additional social value.

An important part of this strategy is the borough’s recent investment in Match My Project.

Having officially launched with Match My Project in February this year, the borough’s contractors and community organisations have already started matching and working on local projects together.

Here’s some of the impact we’ve already seen through Greenwich’s Match My Project site:

– 2 projects completed

– 7 matches

– Over 60 businesses and community organisations signed up and ready to match!

Looking to the future, we’re excited to continue supporting Greenwich’s social value journey, connecting businesses with community needs, and helping to maximise the positive potential of public procurement.

Greenwich organisations – sign up to Match My Project here to find out where your support is needed!

Authority

We had a fantastic launch last week in Cambridge.

Thanks to the Cambridge City Council team for getting the project up and running and for the launch itself.

Cambridge is known as an innovation centre. In the past, Match My Project has been called innovative. But matching up businesses with community projects to deliver Social Value always felt like common sense.

Businesses need to deliver Social Value, have resources to share, but may not have the local knowledge.

Community organisations deliver Social Value, albeit by another name, they understand where the local challenges are, what the local history is, where the local networks are, but lack the resources.

Put the two together and you have a win-win.

But the devil is in the detail.

That’s why the launch was such an important to ensure everyone in the room came away feeling they knew how to access all the opportunities to deliver Social Value on the platform.

Or that if they didn’t, they knew how to get help.

We think we achieved that.

It was also a great opportunity the Match My Project team to get in front of Cambridge’s networks of community and business organisations so they could see we’re all about and put faces to names.

We’re really proud of how good our team is at helping the people that use our tools.

And it’s really important for you to give us the feedback…

Yes, Match My Project is an organisation that helps to deliver Social Value, but we’re also very much a product business.

Hearing from the people that use our tools on a regular basis is gold for our team, who can use that feedback to continuously improve the tools, which hopefully means you use them even more.

Finally and most importantly, it is worth emphasising that, for all the hard work the Match My Project team puts into building Match My Project, we don’t deliver Social Value.

Authorities, their suppliers and community organisations – like those at the Cambridge launch – do. We make it easier for these organisations to collaborate, but it’s people in those organisations that make it happen.

That’s really important.

Delivering Social Value is really important.

#SocialValue #Impact #Community

Authority

Royal Borough of Greenwich‘s Social Value delivery platform, Match My Project, is now live.

We had a great launch earlier in the month, led by Dean Hogan MSc MCIPS CIWFM and Damon Cook.

Thank you to everyone who joined from Greenwich’s business and community networks.

Like many London boroughs, there are deprived areas cheek by jowl with affluent ones.

And like many places in the UK, there are pockets of deep poverty, leading to poor economic growth and crime.

In the last few months alone, we’ve seen children die in tragic events in Woolwich and Shooters Hill, both in the borough.

It’s a complex picture but, undoubtedly, a decade and more of government spending cuts have left their mark on the fabric of our communities.

In yesterday’s launch, Damon highlighted the council’s £450m of annual procurement spend.

That’s significant spending power. Every year, give or take.

If leveraged effectively, this can generate direct investment in community projects in the borough in the form of additional Social Value.

This is why the introduction of Match My Project to Greenwich Council is such a positive decision on the part of Stefanie Seff and the rest of the procurement team.

Dan mentioned during the launch that our highest performing authority partner, The Hyde Group, has seen over 500 Social Value projects delivered for their residents via Match My Project.

That’s the trajectory we want to see Greenwich on.

Imagine what a difference that would start to make for Greenwich’s local communities.

#community #socialvalue #impact

Authority