Social Value Toolkit - Launched

Introducing the CT Social Value Toolkit 2.0 

The team over at ECT Charity has been hard at work on a completely revised version of their pioneering CT Social Value Toolkit – Version 2.0. Made possible through funding from the Motability Foundation, the toolkit is almost ready – so Community Transport Operators can register their interest.

What is Social Value and why should CTs measure it?

Every CT knows that their work makes a real difference in their community – tackling social isolation or poor access to services and improving people’s independence and wellbeing. Social Value is a way of measuring that impact and quantifying it in terms of its economic benefit to society – for example, in savings to long term health and social care costs. Measuring the Social Value that CTs create is important for three reasons:

• Showing your worth: Too often, the amazing work done by CTs goes unheralded. At a time of ongoing pressures on the public purse, it’s essential to demonstrate just how much Social Value you are creating – and what great value for money that is.
• Building new partnerships: As you work with new stakeholders and potential new funders, measuring Social Value helps to communicate your public benefit.
• Gaining new insights: The data you capture to measure your Social Value can inform your decisions as you develop your services.

The CT Social Value Toolkit 2.0

The original CT Social Value Toolkit has been helping CTs communicate the difference they make since its launch in 2018. ECT Charity, thanks to support from the Motability Foundation, has spent the past year updating and developing every aspect of the toolkit to capture the Social Value created by CTs more accurately and completely than ever, ensuring it will add even more strength to our arguments that CT is essential to UK transport. New features of Version 2.0 include:

• National data – all of the Social Value data gathered by CTs is aggregated. This means it can be used to inform national campaigns of the value that Community Transport brings
• Environmental impact – the toolkit now fully accounts for the positive difference of travelling together by CT rather than individual car/taxi use, and the impact of electric vehicles
• Updated methods and values - the calculations use the very latest methods and values based on recent research
• CTs and the economy – the toolkit now takes better account of the impact CTs have on their local economy, both as employers and affordable transport providers
• The power of volunteering – the toolkit now adds the benefits of wellbeing created by CT volunteering opportunities
• Urban-rural – the toolkit now accounts for the real differences between these two settings, increasing accuracy.

How much does it cost?

ECT Charity is charging a small fee for each toolkit licence, based on the turnover of the CT. The money is then used to keep the toolkit maintained and running.

Turnover band Annual licence fee for Toolkit

Getting started – or if you have questions?

If you’d like a licence for the toolkit – or just want to find out more – then contact ECT directly on socialvalue@ectcharity.co.uk. You can also find out more here.