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, not from the central government Social Value Model).
- 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 the Social Value Model: they are separate frameworks. The central government model is a Cabinet Office instrument, published as a Procurement Policy Note and applying to central government procurement. 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 026, the minimum weighting is a share of the evaluation score and is not derived from a monetised TOMs total.
- Buyer discretion: buyers choose which TOMs measures to score. Under PPN 026 they cannot go below the minimum social value weighting, only above 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 edition of the Social Value Model the buyer names, which every draft records. It is not a full National TOMs implementation. When a contract profile is submitted, deterministic rules surface the eligible measures, and the arithmetic runs in code with every number traceable to its source.
Read more
Social value scoring guide → the weightings, TOMs measure selection, scoring methodology and worked examples.