CT Social Value Toolkit 2.0

The CT Social Value Toolkit 2.0 is a way for Community Transport organisations (CTs) to capture, measure and communicate the social value that they create through their services.

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. Made possible through funding from the Motability Foundation, ECT Charity 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.

Detailed reporting

After using the Toolkit to measure your social value, CTs receive a full report breaking down the different elements that go to make up the final number. This provides a powerful source of evidence when communicating your worth to funders and other stakeholders. You can download a sample report here.

Ongoing support

Measuring social value can seem a little daunting at first. We aim to be with you every step of the way. This works at three levels:

Along with the Social Value Calculator, all users receive a step-by-step guide to working with the Toolkit and the data required
For those who want to understand why the Toolkit asks for what it does – and how the numbers are calculated, all users receive a resource that sets out the methodology
For anyone needing a bit of extra support – or if you get stuck on anything – we have a helpdesk service available to answer your questions.

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.