Major capital builds carry a promise that public investment will leave something meaningful behind for the communities most affected, through local jobs, local supply chains, skills development, and a genuine contribution to the social fabric of local places. Yet too often that promise goes unfulfilled. Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 01/21 marked an important step in placing social value obligations on contractors and public bodies, but the QCAP Social Value Research and Evidence Forum has been established to go further, building the evidence, developing practical tools, and centring community voices so that social value frameworks are strengthened from the ground up.

Purpose and Objectives of the Forum

The Forum’s core purpose is to develop robust evidence informing policy improvement and reform in social value frameworks within procurement and capital development across Northern Ireland. Its objectives include building a comprehensive evidence base on social value outcomes, identifying barriers and enablers to translating commitments into tangible community benefits, facilitating cross-sectoral knowledge exchange, and developing practical guidance for practitioners. The Forum also has an explicit advocacy function, engaging the Strategic Investment Board and other policymakers to strengthen social value requirements. Community voices are a foundational principle, not an afterthought.

Who Attended

Attendees represented a genuinely cross-sectoral group spanning research, procurement, community development, and the social economy, including representatives from QCAP and Queen’s University Belfast, AtkinsRealis, NOW Group, DTNI, SIB Urban Villages, the Strategic Investment Board, Business in the Community, and the Larne and North West Community Wealth Building Partnerships, and the Market Development Association. A priority for the Forum is broadening membership further, with outreach agreed to further grassroots community groups, the Consumer Council, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and the Central Procurement Directorate.

First Task: Practice-Based Case Studies

Members agreed to develop a series of practice-based case studies drawing honestly on the experience of what is working and what remains challenging in delivering social value. Six themes were identified, with leads drawn from across the membership:

• Social Value and Large Scale Capital Projects
• Creating Social Value from Private and Social Sector Partnerships
• Social Value Frameworks in Practice
• Social Enterprises and Creating Social Value from Procurement
• Social Value and the Community
• Social Value and Pre-Market Engagement

What Comes Next

The QCAP Social Value Research and Evidence Forum will meet again in April 2026. Members are preparing case study drafts and will bring suggestions on embedding the Forum’s work within wider departmental and policy structures. QCAP looks forward to sharing further updates as the evidence base begins to take shape.