PPN 002 Social Value: The Complete Guide

What is PPN 002?

Procurement Policy Note 002 (PPN 002) is a UK government policy published in 2021 that requires all central government contracting authorities to evaluate social value as part of their procurement process. Specifically, PPN 002 mandates a minimum 10% weighting for social value in the evaluation of all central government contracts above £5 million.

The policy builds on the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and the earlier PPN 06/20. While PPN 002 applies directly to central government departments and their agencies, many local authorities, NHS trusts, and other public sector bodies have voluntarily adopted the same framework or similar social value evaluation standards. In practice, social value scoring is now a standard feature of UK public sector procurement.

The 5 PPN 002 themes

PPN 002 organises social value around five strategic themes, each aligned with UK government policy priorities:

1. COVID-19 recovery - Creating new jobs, apprenticeships, and skills development opportunities. Supporting communities affected by the pandemic through employment and volunteering initiatives.
2. Levelling up - Addressing regional inequality through local employment, support for schools and colleges, SME supply chain diversification, and investment in underrepresented areas.
3. Tackling climate change - Reducing carbon emissions, progressing towards net zero, minimising environmental impact, and supporting the transition to sustainable operations.
4. Equal opportunities - Increasing representation and opportunity for women, ethnic minorities, disabled people, and other underrepresented groups in the workforce and supply chain.
5. Wellbeing - Improving mental health, physical health, and community wellbeing through workplace programmes, volunteering, and community engagement.

Not all five themes apply to every contract. The contracting authority selects which themes are relevant based on the nature of the contract, the geography, and the policy priorities of the buyer.

How buyers score social value

Most UK public sector buyers score social value using the National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes and Measures) Framework. The TOMs framework provides a structured methodology: each of the five PPN 002 themes maps to specific Outcomes, and each Outcome is measured through specific Measures.

Buyers set weightings for each theme based on the contract's profile. Suppliers then select which measures they will deliver, quantify their commitments, and provide a narrative explaining how they will achieve them. The Oxford Social Value Bank (SVB) provides the monetised proxy values used to convert commitments into a comparable social value score, for example, the monetary value of one apprenticeship created, or one hour of volunteering delivered.

The 2023-24 edition of the Oxford SVB is the most current version and is the standard reference used by most UK public sector buyers.

The 10% minimum, what it really means

The 10% minimum set by PPN 002 means that social value must account for at least 10% of the total bid evaluation score. For a contract where the technical evaluation is worth 60% and price is worth 30%, social value would account for the remaining 10% at minimum.

However, many buyers weight social value significantly higher than 10%. Some NHS trusts and local authorities apply social value weightings of 15-20% or more. On contracts where the technical specifications are standardised and price differences are small, social value can become the decisive differentiator between competing bids. Getting social value wrong, or leaving it as a generic afterthought, can cost suppliers contracts even when they have the strongest technical offer.

Common mistakes suppliers make

Five mistakes that consistently cost suppliers points in social value evaluations:

1. Generic statements not tied to specific measures. Buyers score against specific TOMs measures. Vague commitments like "we will support local employment" score poorly compared to "we will create 3 apprenticeships in the contract delivery area within 12 months."
2. Not understanding which missions apply. Each contract has specific PPN 002 themes. Offering social value measures aligned to the wrong themes wastes word count and evaluation space.
3. Overclaiming, promising more than can be evidenced. Buyers increasingly require post-award evidence of delivery. Committing to measures you cannot evidence undermines trust and risks penalty clauses.
4. Ignoring the evidence tracker requirement. Many contracts now require monthly or quarterly social value reporting against committed measures. Suppliers who do not plan for this from the outset face compliance problems post-award.
5. Using outdated proxy values. The Oxford SVB is updated regularly. Using older proxy values produces incorrect social value calculations and can raise questions about the credibility of your bid.

How CrowMark helps

CrowMark automates the entire PPN 002 social value workflow. Enter your contract details, value, sector, geography, and contracting authority type, and CrowMark maps the relevant PPN 002 missions automatically. Select your social value measures from the TOMs-aligned library with live Oxford SVB 2023-24 proxy values. CrowMark's AI generates a compliant social value narrative from your selections, server-side, cited, and ready for submission.

After contract award, CrowMark's evidence tracker helps you deliver against your commitments with monthly reminders and automated evidence reports.