Mantell Gwynedd Awarded Level 2 Social Value - Implement
Recently, Mantell Gwynedd has increased its social value competence. It was awarded a Level 2 Certificate - Implementation, by Social Value International (SVI) - the international body responsible for maintaining social value standards across the world.
Mantell has held a Level 1 Certificate since 2019 and during the period from 2020 through the period of Covid restrictions, the organisation built on its frameworks and plans in order to put more thorough operating methods in place across all the company's activities. Following the submission of the application for Level 2 in October 2023, a detailed assessment was carried out by SVI, and Mantell was awarded a Level 2 Certificate on 11 December 2023.
Mantell's activities are varied and numerous including developing and supporting volunteering, representing the third sector and collaborating with partners, supporting organisations with their governance, financial and engagement arrangements, referring individuals to relevant services, a social prescription service in the Arfon area and giving guidance for organisations on how to measure their social value…… and much more!
Social value is a way for us to understand the change in people's lives as a result of our activities. By asking people what has changed in their lives, we can begin to understand the impact of our activities. If these changes are the result of our activities, then we are creating social value, and by measuring these we can understand how much of an impact we have had on people's lives, and how that impact can be increased for the better.
One of the main advantages of reaching Level 2 is that it enables us to manage, plan and adapt our activities and services more effectively and to improve them for the benefit of the users and our partners. The whole process takes place continuously following the eight international principles of SVI. The new structure that has been adopted and evaluated allows us to achieve this and includes the following main elements: Working Group, Social Value Policy, Action Plan, Engagement Plan, Surveys, Theories of Change and Measurement Tools (Toolkits). . Our aim in the coming years is to embed this exercise across all the organisation's activities.
One of the key management elements is the Engagement Plan which contains details about the organisation's main activities and timetables for receiving information and input from users, organizations, and partners regarding the impact of our activities on them. The Plan will be updated regularly and considered by the Social Value Working Group every three months. In this way, social value is core and runs together with the Company's other strategic plans such as financial reporting, governance, staffing and resources.
Mantell Gwynedd is the only County Voluntary Council that has gained Level 2, and is the only institution in Wales to have reached Level 2.
Trystan Pritchard, Chairman of Mantell said……
Ultimately, implementing Social Value at Level 2 enables Mantell to use the input of real people to influence and improve our activities for the benefit of users and partners.