Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 2 of 4

VCSE Commissioning Analytics Series — Article 12 of 18 | Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 2 of 4

Social Value KPIs Are Now Contractual — Not Just Aspirational | Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 2 of 4

Social value KPI reporting for VCSEs under the Procurement Act 2023 is the ongoing process of collecting, evidencing, and submitting performance data against the social value commitments made at bid stage — now embedded as contractual key performance indicators that are tracked, published, and consequential throughout the contract lifecycle. This represents a fundamental shift from the previous regime, under which social value commitments were primarily a bid evaluation tool with limited post-award accountability.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities must include at least three KPIs per contract above the relevant threshold. For contracts that include social value requirements — which is most contracts where the Social Value Model or a local authority equivalent is applied — social value commitments become at least some of those KPIs. Performance against every KPI is published on the Central Digital Platform quarterly. A VCSE that committed to creating eight apprenticeships, generating 600 volunteering hours, and achieving ISO 14001 environmental certification as part of its bid social value delivery plan now has those commitments tracked against it in a publicly visible record.

The Social Value Model, set out in PPN 002 (updated February 2025), provides the framework most contracting authorities use. It is structured around five themes: jobs — creating employment and skills opportunities locally; growth — supporting economic resilience and productivity; social wellbeing — improving health, community cohesion, and reducing inequality; environment — reducing carbon and protecting natural capital; and innovation — encouraging new approaches that deliver better outcomes. Each theme has specific policy outcomes, model award criteria, and suggested metrics. VCSEs need to understand which themes apply to their specific contract and configure data collection to evidence performance against the relevant metrics throughout delivery.

The Three Types of Social Value KPI VCSEs Need to Track

Social value KPIs under the Procurement Act fall into three categories that require different data collection approaches. Output KPIs are the most straightforward — they count things that happen: apprenticeships created, volunteering hours generated, people from underrepresented groups employed on the contract, local SMEs engaged in the supply chain. These can typically be tracked through HR records, supplier contracts, and volunteer management systems. They need to be recorded at the point they occur and aggregated for quarterly reporting.

Outcome KPIs go further — they measure the result of the output: the number of people who sustained employment for thirteen weeks after an apprenticeship; the wellbeing impact of volunteering participation; the economic value of local supply chain spend to the local economy. Outcome KPIs require longitudinal tracking and, in some cases, validated measurement tools. They are harder to evidence but more compelling as social value performance evidence.

Impact KPIs are the most sophisticated level — they measure the contribution to systemic change: reduction in the local unemployment rate attributable to contract activity, improvement in community wellbeing scores in the contract delivery area, carbon reduction achieved as a proportion of the local authority’s net zero target. Impact KPIs require population-level data and analytical comparison that most VCSEs cannot produce independently. Where combined authorities and local authorities make population data available through data partnerships, Quematics can build the analytical comparison that translates VCSE service data into impact-level evidence.

How to Structure Social Value KPI Data Collection for Procurement Act Compliance

The starting point for Procurement Act-compliant social value KPI data collection is extracting the exact KPI commitments from the contract schedule and creating a data collection map — specifying for each KPI: what data needs to be collected, at what level of granularity, at what frequency, from which data source, and in what format for reporting. This mapping exercise typically reveals gaps between the commitments made at bid stage and the data infrastructure available to evidence them — gaps that need to be closed before the first quarterly reporting deadline.

For most VCSEs, the data collection for employment and participant-level social value KPIs already flows through the case management system — Charitylog, Lamplight, or equivalent. The gap is typically in the reporting layer: the ability to extract the right data, in the right format, at the right time, without manual intervention. Quematics builds this reporting layer as a Power BI dashboard connected to the VCSE case management system, producing the quarterly social value KPI report automatically from live operational data.

For organisational-level social value KPIs — carbon footprint, supply chain diversity, workforce demographics — the data typically sits across HR systems, finance systems, and operational records. Quematics builds a consolidated social value data model that brings these sources together into a single quarterly reporting output.

Frequently Asked Questions

What social value KPIs must VCSEs report under the Procurement Act 2023?

The Act requires at least three KPIs per contract above threshold, including social value commitments. The specific KPIs depend on the contract and Social Value Model themes applied — typically covering employment, skills, wellbeing, environment, and community impact. VCSEs must agree KPIs at contract award and report performance throughout the contract lifecycle.

How often must VCSEs report social value KPIs under the Procurement Act?

Reporting frequency is set in the contract schedule, but contracting authorities must publish performance data quarterly on the Central Digital Platform. VCSEs should be able to provide verified KPI evidence at least quarterly throughout the contract term.

What is the Social Value Model and how does it relate to Procurement Act KPIs?

The Social Value Model (PPN 002, updated February 2025) provides the framework central government and many other authorities use to define social value requirements. It has five themes — jobs, growth, social wellbeing, environment, and innovation — each with specific metrics. VCSEs should understand which themes apply to their contract and configure data collection accordingly.

What happens to social value KPI data that is not delivered?

Failure to deliver against contractual social value KPIs can result in a Contract Performance Notice on the CDP — a public record of underperformance affecting future procurement eligibility. VCSEs need live KPI monitoring to identify and address underperformance before reporting deadlines.

How does Power BI help VCSEs track social value KPIs under the Procurement Act?

Power BI connects to VCSE operational data and produces live social value KPI dashboards showing performance against each contractual target in real time. Automated alerts flag approaching underperformance, and the dashboard generates formatted KPI reports for submission automatically.

To discuss how Quematics can build Procurement Act social value KPI reporting and VCSE commissioning analytics for your VCSE, visit our data analytics for charities page or contact us for a free 30-minute data review.