Social Value for Housing Associations

Creating more impact for people and communities

As a housing association, your role goes beyond just providing homes; you are at the heart of building communities and improving lives. But how do you measure and communicate the social value of your work effectively?

Developed by HACT in collaboration with leading global consultancy in social value, Simetrica Jacobs, and with organisations from across the sector and beyond, The UK Social Value Bank is the most widely used social value tool in the housing sector.

With our wellbeing measurement and online platform, HACT has continuously evolved and adapted to reflect the emerging needs and social priorities of the sector offering housing associations a robust, credible and trusted way to demonstrate, quantify, and maximise the social impact of your initiatives.

As the experts in social value for the housing sector, we understand the journey – that’s why we’re here to help.

Why HACT?

As the charity of the housing sector, we’ve been around nearly 65 years so you can understand why we’re passionate about supporting Housing Associations to lead the way in creating lasting social impact. Our wellbeing approach combined with years of expertise offers housing associations a trusted, collaborative and efficient way to measure, monitor and communicate the social impact of your work.

Trusted and Credible: Our UK Social Value Bank is the leading social value measurement tool in the sector and is widely recognised by funders and regulators for credible, comparable social value measurement.
Sector-Specific Expertise: We get it – our original approach to social value was specifically designed for, and with, the housing sector with tools and methodologies designed to capture the unique impacts of housing associations.
Benchmarking and Reporting With HACT’s tools, you can benchmark your performance against peers and create credible, transparent reports that meet regulatory requirements, helping you stay accountable and showcase the full extent of your contributions to society.
Tailored Support and Continuous Improvement Our experts work alongside you to refine your approach, helping you stay ahead of emerging trends and maximising the impact of your initiatives.
Data-Driven Insights: We use real-time data to guide strategic decision-making, ensuring your resources are allocated where they create the most value for communities.

Speak to our team

We understand how to demonstrate the Social Value you make

HACT are passionate about the housing sector and the critical role that housing associations have in transforming the lives of their residents.

We understand that with the growing emphasis on social impact across the sector, housing associations that effectively measure
and report their social value are better positioned to meet the needs of their communities, stakeholders and regulators.

Improve individual & community wellbeing

Housing associations are typically mission-driven organizations focused on enhancing the quality of life for residents. By measuring social value, they can assess how their projects (e.g., building affordable housing, community programs) contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of communities. This helps them ensure they are making a meaningful difference.

Support your decision making

Quantifying social value allows housing associations to make more informed decisions. They can identify which programs or initiatives are delivering the most impact and allocate resources more effectively, improving overall performance and ensuring their activities align with their mission.

Help to meet your regulatory requirements

Governments and regulators are placing greater emphasis on social impact. Housing associations are often required to report on the social value they deliver as part of funding agreements or compliance with public sector procurement rules, such as the UK’s Social Value Act. Measuring this helps housing associations meet these obligations.

Evidence for funding and investment

Many housing associations rely on government grants, loans, or private investments to fund their projects. Demonstrating social value provides tangible proof of the positive outcomes they create, making it easier to secure funding. Investors and stakeholders are increasingly focused on impact, and evidence of social value can help build trust and attract capital.

Drive accountability and enhance reputation

Clearly demonstrating the social value generated can enhance the reputation of housing associations within the community, with stakeholders, and the public. It builds credibility and trust, showing that the organisation is delivering on its social purpose.

Foster collaboration and improvement

Understanding the social value of different initiatives enables housing associations to innovate and adapt. They can explore new ways to enhance social outcomes, learn from what works, and continuously improve their services.

How we can help

Discovery

What does social value mean to your organisation?

Our discovery report service supports you in creating the right strategy and delivering an organisation-wide approach to social value by assessing your unique aspirations and drivers.

Bespoke Framework

How effectively are you using social value?

Our framework service provides a template from which to begin your social value journey. It ensures your organisation is pointing in the right direction and helps you evidence your impact and improve your services.

Gain Certification

Have you applied your social value metrics correctly?

Our certification service gives your Board the confidence that your social value figures add up. We check your data and recommend improvements to the way you measure social value moving forward.

Robust evidence report

Do you know your overall social impact?

By analysing the data you provide we produce social value reports that let you confidently demonstrate your social value to your Board and other stakeholders.

Process Health check

How healthy are your processes?

By reviewing your processes and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of your methods, we can provide a roadmap to improving your approach to social value.

Procurement support

Want to maximise the social impact of your procurement spend?

We turn the outcome you want into a procurement framework and provide independent assurance that your contractors are delivering the social value promised.

Social Value Insight

What if you could model, monitor and measure your impact – all in one place?

Our online platform, Social Value Insight does just that. Housing the UK Social Value Bank and built on machine learning, the tool provides you with the support, advice and insights you need whether you are evidencing your social value for an ESG fund, monitoring the social value created through procurement or looking to improve your community investment services, with the tool you can:

measure and manage your projects all the way through, planning in social value from the outset
set targets, budgets and programme or project details
view all your projects in one place and easily filter to find what you need
create meaningful reports on the measure and outputs you create and easily export to share with your stakeholders
use the learning journeys, bank of topic guidance and support tools to help you on your social value journey

Social Value
Audit and Certification

Giving you the evidence to confidently demonstrate and communicate the robustness of your Social Value approach to your stakeholders.

Demonstrating the impact you make, and committing to continuously improve the amount of value you are creating, can only happen if you understand and have the insight of the practices you are implementing.

HACT’s expertise in audit and certification of these practices will gives your stakeholders the confidence that your social value figures add up. We check your data and recommend improvements to the way you measure social value moving forward.

Take a look

Hear from other Housing Associations

Housing Association Peabody recognised the need for a best practice approach to procurement to maximise their social impact to continue its long-held aim of improving the physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of its tenants, which led to a new collaboration with HACT.

Take a look

Award winning Housing Association, Poplar HARCA, embarked on a £600 million regeneration project of Teviot Estate with a commitment to harnessing the power of this spend to ensure the 10+ year programme leverages the maximum social value possible for its residents and the local community. 

Find out more

In 2023, Orbit, one of the UK’s foremost housing groups commissioned HACT to help develop their Social Value Framework. Orbit manages a portfolio of quality, safe and affordable homes for over 100,000 customers and is a not-for-profit organisation committed to creating a better society, building affordable homes, and doing so in more socially responsible and sustainable ways.