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April Newsletter 2021
Welcome to the Social Value UK April Newsletter.
We hope you, your colleagues, friends and families are all healthy and well.
The Value Toolkit project is entering a new phase, and we’ll be keeping our eyes on the soft launch that is coming up now in April. As part of it, the Hub will be talking about the Value Toolkit in the IGPP Future of Construction Conference on the 27th April, but there will also be trade articles and updates to the website to share light on the new developments of the projects. Keep an eye on Twitter and #ValueToolkit for the latest!
We’d also like to take the opportunity to thank the 16 members of our network who have provided their time and expertise in the Relevant Authority’s work to defining Social Capital. Without your suggestions and positive challenge, this work stream would not have been as successful.
We are so pleased to announce our new members Conduent Transportation, It's What's Next IT & chapmanbdsp. Welcome to the Social Value community!
Interim CEO Catherine Manning was a guest speaker on The Infrastructure Intelligence Live series for an online conference looking at one of the hottest topics facing the construction sector - social value. Read more or watch here.
Our Private Sector Lead, Charlotte Österman shared her thoughts in an article penned by former The Times health editor Martin Barrow - Turning procurement into a force for good. Looking at government involvement in committing to social value in the built environment. The full report can be found here.
April marks Stress Awareness Month in the UK and with the year we've had it’s more important than ever to mark it - read our blog on stress management tips!
We were pleased to see so many of you at our EGGS Project Workshop Event - working to reduce food and packaging waste through game based entrepreneurial learning . If you missed out, the recording is live here.
We also hosted a brilliant session led by Wilma Smythe from Insight for Good - discussing Behavioural Sciences and how they offer Behavioural Change Techniques for the social good! Watch here.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on all things SVUK.
We would like to wish our congratulations to Sophia Robinson for her Report Assurance Achievement with Artists for mental health! Read more here
If you are also looking to review and assure you reports, our team are now accepting applications, until 23rd of April, so make sure you don't miss the deadline!
Will you be joining SVI's Registered Practitioners? Level 1 Associate Practitioner results will be released on the 19th April.
More here from Costain's L1 Associate Practitioner, Jeremy Galpin, on his experience with the Social Value Practitioner Status Pathway.
Our next Assurance Coffee Morning and Questions session is coming up, join us to learn more about our services and find out how to get involved!
This month's session will be looking at Level 2 Accredited Practitioner & Level 3 Advanced Practitioner Applications and takes place on Tuesday, May 4th, 11:30 am-12:30 pm. Register for free here.
- #BetterBusinessAct launched last week campaigning for businesses to take ownership of their social and environmental impact - we stand with them!
- Our friends at Pioneers Post and NatWest are once again seeking the brightest, boldest and most innovative social enterprises for the SE100 list and awards. The Social Value UK team will be judging on the panel as we did last year - apply here!
- The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has released proposals for disclosure of impacts of natural, social and human capital in financial statements. Read more.
- B corp updated the latest version of the B Impact Assessment tool, which encourages businesses to do better by screening suppliers for environmental and social practices - benefitting both people and planet. More from them here.
- David Hunter has given a fantastic insight from a legal professional's perspective on social value for Pioneers Post: 'The role of law: an emergency service for the 21st century?', read in full here.
- NCVO & the University of Kent are looking the effects of COVID-19 on volunteering and the support organisations are needing, to remobilise, as we move into the next phase of the pandemic. Have your say in their survey.
- This week The Big Issue highlighted some compelling data showing why we must do more to address LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. Download the full report here.
- In a Social Value International blog post, Oliver Kempton from Envoy Partnership, asks for social value practitioner insights into the use of Social Value in development and humanitarian assistance projects. Have your say here.
There are a final two online events for this year's Inspiring Impact Online Roadshow sessions. These are focused on VCSE sector organisations in the North East of England:
Session 2: How to gather data – Qualitative or Quantitative? on Thursday 22nd April
Session 3: Working practices and organisational culture on Thursday 20th May
- Social Value Matters 2021: Leading Our Transition To A Sustainable World Wednesday 20th - Thursday 21st October. Social Value invites you to their annual conference within their global network. The conference will take place both in person in Bangkok (for those who are able to travel) and virtually for the global audience
- Virtual Social Value UK Members Exchange 2021 Monday 14th -Thursday 17th June. This is a great opportunity for our members from across all sectors to come together, learn from each other, and share knowledge and experience
- Insight for Good Summit Tuesday 4th May 10:15AM - 15:30PM. Our friends at Insight for Good have announced their guest speakers for Day 1 of the#IfGSummit2021 - focusing on the topic of sustainability. The summit will continue every Tuesday in May with a different topic
- Measuring the Good - Impact measurement support for small charities Wednesday 12th May 11:00AM - 12:00PM. This is a volunteer-facilitated support programme with Coalition for Efficiency, designed especially for small charities to build their confidence & capacity to measure and manage the difference they make. Register here.
We appreciate this email is a LOT of detailed information all at once, so we would like to see you out of this months newsletter on a lighter, less serious note!
Here are interesting and positive news stories we've seen over the last few weeks that are worth sharing:
This week Greta Thunberg Tweeted back at climate change deniers with warnings that due to increased pollution, human penises are getting smaller.
In the same vein, nearly a third of the UK largest businesses have committed to net zero commissions by 2050. Maybe they had concerns about Greta's claims! On a serious note, though, it is a great step forward to see business giants commit to these goals!
Garden gnomes have invaded the UK's back gardens, with companies reporting an a 20% increase in sales this year, looks as though there is another pandemic at hand!
Seeing the end of the 3rd UK lockdown, al-fresco hospitality has now reopened, with bookings filling up in less than 24 hours. We wish them a safe and successful reopening week. Read more here.
Stay safe and well - Social Value UK
The Social Value UK office is currently closed whilst our staff work from home, if you need to reach any of us, please contact the member of staff you wish to speak to directly via e-mail, if you do not know who you need to speak to or wish to make a general enquiry, please e-mail info@socialvalueuk.org and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
As always, Social Value UK encourages you to take care of yourself both physically and mentally during this difficult time.
