Social Value Policy

1. Purpose

HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd is committed to creating positive social, economic and environmental value through the way we work, the organisations we support and the decisions we make. We recognise that our impact goes beyond the services we are commissioned to deliver. We seek, where relevant and proportionate, to create additional benefit for individuals, organisations, communities and the wider environment through our work.

As a small specialist consultancy, we focus on our social value contribution where we can make a meaningful difference. This includes building leadership and organisational capability, transferring skills and knowledge, supporting charities and community organisations, contributing to inclusive and healthy workplaces, supporting local and smaller suppliers, and reducing the environmental impact of our work.

We aim to make commitments that are relevant, realistic, proportionate and capable of being delivered.

2. Our Social Value Commitments

Our approach is organised around four areas.

People, skills and fair work

We seek to:

  • Promote fair, ethical and responsible working practices.
  • Treat people with dignity, respect and fairness.
  • Promote equality, diversity and inclusion through the way we design and deliver our work.
  • Create inclusive and accessible opportunities for people to participate.
  • Support wellbeing, learning, leadership development and personal growth.
  • Share knowledge, approaches and resources so that learning remains within organisations.
  • Create opportunities for coaching, mentoring, development and knowledge transfer where appropriate.
  • Work fairly and responsibly with our network of associates and professional partners.

Communities and local economies

We seek to:

  • Use local businesses, independent suppliers and venues where appropriate and practical.
  • Support charities, community organisations, voluntary organisations and social enterprises through professional time, expertise, pro bono or reduced-fee work and other appropriate contributions.
  • Consider opportunities to retain economic and social value within the places in which we are working.
  • Use our professional networks to connect organisations with skills and expertise that they might otherwise struggle to access.
  • Consider the needs and circumstances of the communities affected by the systems and organisations with which we work.

Environmental responsibility

We seek to minimise the environmental impact of our work through:

  • reducing unnecessary travel;
  • using online and hybrid working where this is appropriate to the purpose of the work;
  • using public transport where practical;
  • choosing local venues and suppliers where appropriate;
  • minimising printing, materials and waste;
  • making responsible purchasing decisions; and
  • considering environmental impact when selecting suppliers and partners.

We recognise that environmental responsibility needs to be balanced with the effectiveness, accessibility and human value of our work. We will therefore make considered decisions rather than assuming that one form of delivery is always preferable.

Responsible partnerships and supply chains

We seek to work with associates, suppliers and partners whose practices are consistent with our values. We aim to contract fairly, pay associates and small suppliers promptly, and consider social and environmental factors alongside quality and value when making purchasing and partnership decisions.

3. Building Capability and Leaving a Legacy

As a leadership, coaching and organisational development consultancy, one of the most significant ways we can create social value is by building capability that remains after our commissioned work has ended.

Our practice is therefore based on working with organisations rather than acting simply as external experts. Wherever appropriate, we design our work to transfer knowledge, skills and approaches to internal leaders, teams and practitioners, enabling them to continue the work themselves and reducing unnecessary dependency on external consultancy.

This can include coaching internal leaders and practitioners, developing facilitation and reflective practice skills, sharing tools and methodologies, involving internal teams in the design and delivery of programmes, and creating resources that can continue to be used after a commission ends.

We believe that strengthening an organisation’s own capacity to understand and respond to complex challenges creates longer-term value than providing expert solutions that disappear when the consultancy contract ends.

4. Supporting the Public and Voluntary Sectors

HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd has a longstanding commitment to work that contributes to public and social benefit. We operate a policy of offering discounted rates for appropriate public-sector, charitable and voluntary-sector work. The level and nature of any discount will depend on the scale, circumstances and requirements of the commission so that commitments remain financially sustainable.

We also seek opportunities to contribute professional expertise beyond paid consultancy contracts through pro bono work, reduced-fee support, mentoring, coaching and the mobilisation of our wider network of associates.

5. Our Contribution in Practice

Our approach to social value reflects established practice within HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd rather than commitments made solely for procurement purposes.

Electric Umbrella

HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd has supported Electric Umbrella, a social enterprise creating opportunities, inclusion and connection for people with learning disabilities, for around ten years. The relationship has developed in response to the changing needs of the organisation as it has grown and moved through different phases of development. Support has included:

  • contributing to the development of a five-year organisational strategy;
  • coaching senior team members;
  • facilitating Board development workshops;
  • supporting events and organisational development;
  • responding to emerging organisational and leadership needs; and
  • bringing together associates with different specialist skills as those needs have changed.

This has included responding to staff wellbeing needs by mobilising a group of psychotherapists associates to provide additional support. Our intention throughout has been to offer the skills that are useful at a particular stage rather than impose a predetermined consultancy model.

Shelter

HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd has an ongoing relationship with Shelter, providing organisational coaching and development support at a discounted rate.

The work draws on a network of associates to provide support at organisational scale and has included specialist work with both the OD and EDI teams. This enables us to combine different areas of professional expertise while keeping the work responsive to the organisation’s changing needs.

These relationships illustrate our wider approach: building longer-term partnerships where appropriate, responding to what organisations actually need, bringing different professional capabilities together and helping organisations strengthen their own capacity rather than creating dependency on external consultants.

6. Delivering Social Value Through Our Contracts

For significant public-sector commissions, we will consider social value as part of mobilisation and identify opportunities that are relevant and proportionate to the contract, organisation and place.
Where appropriate, we will agree specific social value commitments with the commissioner. These may include:

  • using local independent suppliers, venues and professional partners;
  • providing additional coaching, mentoring or development opportunities;
  • transferring knowledge, methodologies and capability to internal teams;
  • supporting relevant voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations;
  • sharing useful learning, tools or resources more widely;
  • creating opportunities for participation by people or communities whose perspectives may otherwise be less well represented;
  • supporting workforce wellbeing, inclusion or development; and
  • reducing the environmental impact associated with delivery.

We will distinguish between the core service we have been commissioned to provide and additional social value created through the way the contract is delivered.

Where specific commitments are made, we will identify appropriate measures at the outset and review delivery with the commissioner. The nature of measurement will be proportionate to the size and scope of the commission and may include quantitative measures alongside feedback, outcomes, learning and evidence of capability transfer.

7. Responsibility, Measurement and Review

The Director has overall responsibility for the implementation of this policy and for ensuring that its principles are reflected in the way HJ Wheeler Associates Ltd operates.

Social value commitments associated with individual contracts will be recorded and reviewed where appropriate, with evidence of delivery retained where relevant. We will use learning from our commissions and feedback from clients, associates, partners and community organisations to identify opportunities to strengthen our contribution over time. We will not make social value commitments simply to strengthen a tender response. Commitments will be realistic, proportionate and capable of being delivered.

This policy will be reviewed annually and updated to reflect learning from our work, changes in our practice and relevant developments in public-sector procurement.

Policy reviewed: 24.08.2026
Next review date: 24.08.2027