Contractor Mace is calling for a number of “social value” measures and targets to be formally embedded in all major construction programmes in the UK.
This call to action is one of the conclusions of a new report, Social Value in Construction: underpinning our future legacy.
Although the 2012 Social Value Act already places a similar requirement on public sector contracts above a certain size, Mace’s report argues that UK private and public sector bodies need to go further to embed social value in projects of all sizes.
The report suggests that three of the major challenges faced by the construction sector – productivity, diversity and access to skills – could be mitigated by prioritising the delivery of social value on major programmes.
The report calls for the adoption of a number of new measures, such as:
- Defining specifically what social value means for the construction sector and linking key outcome measures against the objectives of the government’s Industrial Strategy;
- Developing social value measures that are relevant and are linked to community needs;
- Social value to be embedded formally in all major projects;
- An industry-wide programme for incorporating social value; and,
- Leverage social value to support new skills development and improved productivity.
Jason Millett, Mace’s chief operating officer for consultancy, said: “Such is the scale of challenges facing the construction sector, it is clear we need a fundamental rethink in how we operate. Embedding social value all of the way through the project lifecycle – rather than a standalone exercise or a box-ticking exercise to meet procurement guidelines – is the first step in responding to a collective problem.
“The construction sector has a reputation for being slow to adopt new ideas and playing catch up with other sectors which are seen as more in touch with today’s society. With increased economic uncertainty and mounting challenges around productivity and skills, it is clear that this needs to change – and in order for that to happen the concept of social value needs to be built into all of our projects and programmes.”
