UKCloud is the first tech firm to receive Social Value Quality Mark ® award in the UK

UKCloud has today announced that it has been awarded the Level 1 Social Value Quality Mark ® (SVQM) to recognise distinction in its values-led business that benefits customers, communities and the planet. SVQM is one of the most rigorously tested standards of its kind in the UK.

UKCloud, the multi-cloud experts dedicated to making transformation happen across UK public sector, has today announced it has been awarded the Social Value Quality Mark ® Level 1 by Social Value Business. It joins a growing number of organisations that are leading the way in creating social value as a result of how they choose to operate. UKCloud is already on the way to gaining the coveted Level 2 award.

As a mandatory requirement for central government contracts from Jan 2021, businesses seeking to win government work must set out how they will deliver on Government’s social value priorities and social value will be a key evaluation criterion (a minimum of 10% of the overall score) within the assessment of all contracts. The Social Value Quality Mark can be used by all public sector organisations to make it easier to evaluate a provider’s contribution to social value.

Richard Dickens, MD of Social Value Business and Founder of the Quality Mark, said: “This award recognises UKCloud’s outstanding commitment to independently measure and report the value they deliver for society. As the first tech firm to receive the award, they’ve taken steps to define what it means for them, their services and their culture. We are delighted to remain their social value partner as they move through up through the levels and set the standard for others to follow.”

UKCloud has long recognised the importance of Social Value, which is reflected in its  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Crown Commercial Services (CCS) as a strategic cloud provider to government. The company also recently achieved the MOD Silver Award for its commitment to building digital skills. 

To gain the Quality Mark, UKCloud had to evidence positive impact across a number of measures: reducing carbon footprint, supporting young people with development programmes, helping to grow the UK economy and the investing in the wellbeing of its staff. Other measures required the organisation to show ethical decision-making and supply chain practices. It also had to successfully complete a thorough and independently verified external audit.

UKCloud has further demonstrated its commitment to the importance of Social Value by creating a series of pledges:

·         Innovation - UKCloud transforms public services through impact driven technology solutions which positively benefit society and the economy whilst increasing the capability and capacity of the UK to be at the forefront of the global digital revolution.

·         Education and Skills – UKCloud will drive an inclusive agenda for digital skills through its early career programme and open community education to address the national skills deficit and aid the tech-led recovery post-COVID.

·         Economy - UKCloud will help to grow the national and local economies through responsible tax practices, its partner ecosystem and supply chains.

·         Environmental - UKCloud is acting now to protect our planet for future generations through its carbon negative program.

·         as well as other pledges on Social and Community, Health and Wellbeing, Leadership, and Crime and Justice.

‘At UKCloud, our passion is to do the right thing by citizens and taxpayers and we have always recognised the importance of Social Value to the UK economy. This Social Value Quality Mark provides clear and independent evidence of our commitment to be a leader in the UK tech industry. The Quality Mark makes it easier for public sector organisations to meet their obligation to evaluate Social Value of the services they consume which will support the technology-led recovery of the UK economy post-COVID and post-BREXIT.’ said UKCloud’s CEO Simon Hansford.

For more information, please visit the UKCloud Social Value Page 

To find out more about what Social Value is and how it can impact you and your organisation, please join our panel discussion on the 4th February where our panel will discuss the principles and outcomes that should be considered and encompassed by this term. With representatives from Social Value Business and a guest speaker from Crown Commercial Services (invited), our panel will cover the eight areas identified as part of Social Value – from the Economy and the Environment through to Health, COVID recovery, Education and Skills.

About UKCloud

UKCloud is the trusted multi-cloud provider to the UK public sector and provides true multi-cloud solutions that enable public sector organisations to achieve better outcomes.

·         Doing the right thing. By delivering better services to citizens and better value for taxpayers, by reducing the time, costs, and risks of digital transformation

·         Accelerating digitalisation with local multi-cloud experts. Our award-winning customer support is here to help our customers throughout their journey with us.

·         Harnessing multiple cloud services. To help organisations use multi-cloud to address existing and legacy IT as well as cloud native applications.

·         Uncompromising safety and integrity. As we believe the UKs public services are a national asset that needs protecting and nurturing.

Source: UKCloud press release - 26th January 2021