TL;DR
- What it is: the standard UK structure for scoring social value in bids.
- How it works: themes, then outcomes, then quantifiable measures.
- How you score: National TOMs 2023-24 proxy values turn measures into pounds.
The TOMs framework, Themes, Outcomes, Measures, is the most widely used structure for social value in UK public procurement.
It splits social value into three layers. Themes are high-level policy goals. Outcomes are the specific results sought. Measures are quantifiable deliverables.
Each measure is then turned into pounds of social value using proxy values from the National TOMs.
Structure
- Theme: policy area (e.g. tackling economic inequality, a theme name that comes from TOMs and from the previous PPN 06/20 model, not from PPN 002).
- Outcome: specific social change sought (e.g. more local employment).
- Measure: quantifiable deliverable scored using National TOMs proxy values (e.g. number of apprenticeships created, local spend, training hours).
Key facts
- Who publishes it: the Social Value Portal, with the Local Government Association and the National Social Value Taskforce. It is not a Cabinet Office instrument.
- Proxy values: National TOMs 2023-24 is a widely cited edition. Use the edition the buyer names.
- Relationship to PPN 002: they are separate frameworks. PPN 002 publishes its own five missions, eight policy outcomes and standard reporting metrics, and does not mention TOMs or use monetary proxy values. TOMs is required by many buyers outside central government, particularly local authorities, NHS bodies and housing associations.
- Evidence: each measure requires documented evidence (contracts, pay records, delivery reports) retained for audit.
- Scoring: measure quantity × National TOMs proxy → monetary social value. Where a buyer applies PPN 002, the 10% minimum is a weighting of the evaluation score and is not derived from a monetised TOMs total.
- Buyer discretion: buyers choose which TOMs measures to score. Under PPN 002 they cannot reduce the 10% weighting, only add to it.
How CrowAgent uses this term
CrowMark stores its social value measures in the database, never hardcoded. The catalogue is curated, 19 measures aligned to National TOMs conventions and mapped to the 2025 PPN 002 model of five missions and eight policy outcomes. It is not a full National TOMs implementation. When a contract profile is submitted, deterministic rules map the contract to relevant missions and surface eligible measures, and the arithmetic runs in code with every number traceable to its source.
Read more
PPN 002 social value guide → missions, TOMs measure selection, scoring methodology and worked examples.