No images? Click here November Newsletter 2020 Welcome to the Social Value UK November Newsletter. We hope you, your colleagues, friends and families are all healthy and well. Social Value UK will be offering a range of distance learning options, please click the button below for more information: Important Updates from Social Value UK
Welcoming two new members to our team! We're excited to announce Charlotte Österman has joined us as our Private Sector Lead. As a social value expert from the UK built environment and an Associated Practitioner who has long been an active member of our networks, Charlotte recently moved over to the employee side of our organisation to manage Social Value UK’s role as Relevant Authority in the government-funded Value Toolkit that is being developed for the built environment industry. As this project comes to an end, her role will be growing into a private sector lead, to offer technical expertise and guidance to organisational members on their social value journey. “Working with our private sector members to help integrate the Principles of Social Value into decision-making – and, bit by bit, be part of changing the way the world accounts for value!” We're excited to announce Nicola Lynch has joined us as our Civil Society Lead. Like Charlotte, Nicola has been a very active member of our networks for a long time, and has now crossed over to join us as an employee to help boost our work with our Civil Society members and within this sector as a whole. “I’m delighted to take up the role of Civil Society Lead at Social Value UK. I look forward to working alongside the team and wider network to further our collective vision of changing the way the world accounts for value. Our civil society organisations have always exemplified resilience and community responsiveness but the last year has shown us all just how much we rely on the impact and value they generate. I will be working alongside my SVUK colleagues to support these amazing organisations, voice their needs and share the wealth of knowledge they possess in addressing inequalities across our society.” We look forward to working with you both! Looking Forward As we approach the end of a year for the history books, we want to look forward for a moment. A lot of this year has felt uncertain and unknown, and whilst the future is still just that, we now have a clearer vision of what the months to come may hold. A New Presidency 'If Boris wants to get Biden on side, he needs to step up on climate change' Pens former co-leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas. With plans from President-elect Biden to reverse President Trump's impact on climate, it's an opportune time for the UK to boost its effort in this space. After all, Biden is utilising the Build Back Better campaign and website, something we at Social Value UK have been supportive of throughout this year. Now is the time for us all to continue to push with our climate and environment focused agenda - we may be heard more than ever in the coming months. Brexit Looming Despite the best efforts of campaigners, the UK is barreling full speed towards a no-deal Brexit amidst economic disruption from COVID-19. What this means, exactly, is still uncertain to us. One thing is clear, for better or worse, massive change and upheaval is coming. Earlier this week the Independent stated '“Significant differences” remain in negotiations on a UK/EU trade deal after talks today between Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leye'. And if we've seen anything from this year, it's that we can create and push for further change within disruption and chaos. We can organise and demand what we need from the Government. If we are able to reach a point where our elected officials' time isn't consumed by Brexit, we need to be ready to act and propose needed changes to increase the wellbeing and protection of all people. The COVID Winter Ahead Many challenges face us in the months to come. We face an unprecedented situation facing those homeless in the UK this winter, with cries from political parties to revive the housing plan which provided shelter to many in the first lockdown. It's clear from the points above that we live in a divided time, further sparked by the inequalities of COVID, Government research acknowledges that the risk of dying from COVID is 'higher in those in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups than in White ethnic groups.' This week The Guardian discusses the findings of The Northern Health Science Alliance, which show that COVID has killed proportionately more people in the North than in the rest of England. The use of food bank continues to rise, and campaigns to feed children started by Marcus Rashford brought huge public support, but, originally, little from Government. The things that divide us are aggravated by COVID and the subsequent fallout. It has fallen to us to call for change, investigation, repair and progress. This section isn't to instil fear or spark anger, but to encourage our network that we at Social Value UK see the challenges that lie ahead of us- and we're ready to tackle them head-on and increase wellbeing for all. Join us on December 3rd as we reflect on the year and look forward to the months to come. Assurance and Accreditation News
Method and Technical Updates Take part in the below consultations and webinars over the next few weeks: SVI Response to SDG Impact Practice Standard for Enterprises Date: Tuesday 24th November Time: 10-11am GMT Join us and be a part of Social Value International’s response to the SDG Impact Practice Standard for Enterprise Consultation. Ben Carpenter, CEO of Social Value International and Jeremy Nicholls, Non-Exec Director and co-founder of Social Value International will be discussing the importance of this consultation, its role in standardising SDG reporting for enterprises, and the feedback Social Value International will give in response to the current consultation. Help us shape SVI’s response to the consultation issued by the IFRS on the creation of a sustainability standards board We invite you to be part of Social Value International’s responses to the IFRS and their consultation on sustainability reporting and on possible Foundation role . Please add comments or contact Ben Carpenter via email at ben.carpenter@socialvalueint.org The deadline for comments is 25.11.2020. Find the Google Doc here. Inspiring Impact Updates The below graphics showcase our Q4 + start of Q1 Inspiring Impact events, still to come are: North West - Section 3: Working practices and impact culture - organisational and sectoral on Tuesday 1st December Midlands - Section 3: Working practices and impact culture - organisational and sectoral on Wednesday 20th January. Find out more here. Wellbeing Updates As a new addition, we'd like to share some articles on mental health and wellbeing during this troubling time. How to look after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak - Mental Health Foundation6 ways to look after your mental health in second lockdown - The Independent Nearly one in five Covid patients later diagnosed with mental illness – study - The Guardian Coronavirus: How pets are supporting people through the loneliness of lockdown - The Independent Would you like to host a webinar or Ideas Exchange session? Then get in touch with Rebecca Harvey. If you have any feedback or would like to make a contribution to a future newsletter, please email David. 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. Social Value UK encourages you to take care of yourself physically and mentally during this difficult time. |