The Cwm Taf Social Value Virtual Event took place on the 8 February 2022 and was supported by the three County Voluntary Councils, Bridgend Association of Voluntary Organisations (BAVO), Interlink RCT, Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil (VAMT), and the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Partnership Board (RPB). The Partnership Board exists to improve the health, social care and wellbeing of people living in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil.
The event was attended by over 100 participants from community and voluntary groups and public services from across the region. The main purpose of the event was to look at how we promote, develop and measure social value in the region, and to raise awareness about the development of the new regional plan as well as the Social Value and the Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund.
The Social Services and Well-being Act (Part 2, Section 16) places a duty on local authorities and local health boards to promote the development of not-for-profit organisations to provide care and support for carers, and preventative services, in their areas. They must also establish regional forums to support social value-based providers. The aim of the forum is to encourage a flourishing social value sector which is able and willing to fulfil service delivery opportunities. The purpose of the forum is to: maximise the positive outcomes and well-being of local people; influence local service provision; and add value and focus to what matters to people in a way that exceeds exclusively monetary value. In this event and report, ‘social value organisations’ is an inclusive term and includes not-for-profit, community and voluntary, third sector and service-user led organisations, social enterprises and cooperatives.
The event was very successful based on the number of attendees, the quality of the presentations and films, the workshop discussions, and the feedback. The event provided an opportunity to learn from ‘on the ground’ experiences of how groups deliver and measure ‘social value’ to improve wellbeing alongside promoting awareness of the plans of the RPB. This includes co-producing a population needs assessment, and addressing these identified needs through investing in a regional plan through a Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund.
The feedback from the event workshops will be evaluated as part of a piece of work being undertaken by Leon Quinn of the Social Effectiveness Research Centre and funded by the RPB. This work will provide recommendations on how partners can work together to promote social value in Cwm Taf Morgannwg.
“We are all like family basically…definitely enjoy coming to like a space where people know what I’m going through and I understand what they are going through to…” – Young carer, Barnardo’s Cymru Young Carers Service.
‘It’s important to be able to keep it simple so that it is achievable for organisations in the third sector to evidence social value without negatively impacting on the people that we are helping…’ – Workshop participant.
The full event report is available to read below.
