It sounds like “social value” may simply be a method and language for creating a set of objectives that justify the spending of more tax payers money (it seems very public sector orientated rather than, for example, putting a “social value” on helping businesses be successful)? Surely everything has social value in the end, and not just the public sector? And who decides what is good social value? Isn’t this where the market should come in? Date: 08.11.21 The Public Sector has been slow to understand and adopt the concept of Social Value and generally would not see it as a factor for increased service cost.A starting-point in public service commissioning was procurement assessments literally being based on lowest price. Obviously quality is a balancing factor. Social Value is another, conventionally less obvious, balancing factor.In the 2014/15 procurement reforms the European Commission was explicitly importing social policy determinants into the basic competition law framework.That was particularly appropriate in relation to public service “markets” which do not in reality function as pure competitive markets. For example, because social care needs are not met by market operation.In macro-economics this relates to the developing post, or modern, capitalist focus on social welfare not being best measured by monetary value (GDP, price), but by the more complex and less-easily computable actual social benefits, or public value, delivered.This is Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s thesis for a new, or adapted, approach to economics in “The Value of Everything”. Economic planning, by reference to collective human welfare, should be led by primary socail objectives – addressing the climate change and social care crises.The universal state education example is hers: we have a measure of the per pupil and total financial cost. We do not have a measure for the total public value benefit. Though we know it and could start to devise ways in which we could quantify it.Alongside this she cites the false equation of value with price by suggesting the President of Goldman Sachs was not correct to say GD executives are the most productive people in the world. They are, rather, the best paid people in the world.Social Value is also what charities and social enterprises and other purpose-driven organisations are inherently dedicated to and can serve as a model for a wider sense that social pupose, social outcomes and social impact are primarily desirable socio-economic objectives.In public services purpose-driven collaboration and long-term partnership planning is (at least) a credible alternative model to the pre-dominant theory of profit-driven, competitive markets.For businesses, certainly in public services, meeting social value need means delivering what is required .In general terms the same may be true. There are good business prospects in meeting actual social need well. There is business efficiency in treating employees well and offering them productive participation. Environmenatl responsibility is a necessary concern for all business.I agree, every business has a purpose and a social value, but prevailing economic norms do not focus on those factors, at least directly. In 2008 the Bank’s overreached in financial markets and failed in their purpose and social value of maintaining stable financial ecosystem.Good social value is complex, requiring stakeholder consultation, a willingness to challenge assumptions and serious analysis and judgement.Monetisation is too easy a proxy for that value. I agree in perfectly functioning markets demand would be defined by true need and market dynamics would respond to that.And that perhaps, is the main point. Social Value is part of a perception change which observes the impersonal market dynamic as an imperfect servant of real public value need.Outside public services this may be more of a matter for political debate. Although this debate does seem to be shifting. For example, a few years ago an American President saying “tickle-down economics does not work”, as Biden did recently, would have been unthinkable.Within public services, I would say, there is no doubt that purpose-driven providers, value-based assessments and collaboration are necessary correctives to the prevailing market-based processes.
It sounds like “social value” may simply be a method and language for creating a set of objectives that justify the spending of more tax payers money (it seems very public sector orientated rather than, for example, putting a “social value” on helping businesses be successful)? Surely everything has social value in the end, and not just the public sector? And who decides what is good social value? Isn’t this where the market should come in? Date: 08.11.21 The Public Sector has been slow to understand and adopt the concept of Social Value and generally would not see it as a factor for increased service cost.A starting-point in public service commissioning was procurement assessments literally being based on lowest price. Obviously quality is a balancing factor. Social Value is another, conventionally less obvious, balancing factor.In the 2014/15 procurement reforms the European Commission was explicitly importing social policy determinants into the basic competition law framework.That was particularly appropriate in relation to public service “markets” which do not in reality function as pure competitive markets. For example, because social care needs are not met by market operation.In macro-economics this relates to the developing post, or modern, capitalist focus on social welfare not being best measured by monetary value (GDP, price), but by the more complex and less-easily computable actual social benefits, or public value, delivered.This is Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s thesis for a new, or adapted, approach to economics in “The Value of Everything”. Economic planning, by reference to collective human welfare, should be led by primary socail objectives – addressing the climate change and social care crises.The universal state education example is hers: we have a measure of the per pupil and total financial cost. We do not have a measure for the total public value benefit. Though we know it and could start to devise ways in which we could quantify it.Alongside this she cites the false equation of value with price by suggesting the President of Goldman Sachs was not correct to say GD executives are the most productive people in the world. They are, rather, the best paid people in the world.Social Value is also what charities and social enterprises and other purpose-driven organisations are inherently dedicated to and can serve as a model for a wider sense that social pupose, social outcomes and social impact are primarily desirable socio-economic objectives.In public services purpose-driven collaboration and long-term partnership planning is (at least) a credible alternative model to the pre-dominant theory of profit-driven, competitive markets.For businesses, certainly in public services, meeting social value need means delivering what is required .In general terms the same may be true. There are good business prospects in meeting actual social need well. There is business efficiency in treating employees well and offering them productive participation. Environmenatl responsibility is a necessary concern for all business.I agree, every business has a purpose and a social value, but prevailing economic norms do not focus on those factors, at least directly. In 2008 the Bank’s overreached in financial markets and failed in their purpose and social value of maintaining stable financial ecosystem.Good social value is complex, requiring stakeholder consultation, a willingness to challenge assumptions and serious analysis and judgement.Monetisation is too easy a proxy for that value. I agree in perfectly functioning markets demand would be defined by true need and market dynamics would respond to that.And that perhaps, is the main point. Social Value is part of a perception change which observes the impersonal market dynamic as an imperfect servant of real public value need.Outside public services this may be more of a matter for political debate. Although this debate does seem to be shifting. For example, a few years ago an American President saying “tickle-down economics does not work”, as Biden did recently, would have been unthinkable.Within public services, I would say, there is no doubt that purpose-driven providers, value-based assessments and collaboration are necessary correctives to the prevailing market-based processes.