The Pluggin Ecosystem's marketplace is a public procurement-based social value environment, not a reporting or match-making portal for businesses.

The core difference is, that businesses are operating within this social value marketplace as part of contracting, with pre-scored and approved social value contributions delivered into existing community activities delivering the impact meeting local needs - which is then played-out within a public-facing digital environment for all to see. 

The marketplace is not a reporting or match-making tool but a live and collaborative space running in tandem to public procurement across authorities in areas.

The Pluggin Marketplace is embedded into public procurement through TOMs (#3 Social:- Building Healthier, safer and more Resilient Communities).

Where it differs, is that this theme is also aligned specifically to published police and crime plan and community safety partnership objectives (supported by councils, police, NHS and criminal justice services), and other key local needs. The objectives is then to deliver a dual impact (support community-led activities delivering impact, and for this impact to underpin the core community safety and resilience objectives - reducing the costs of emergency services, NHS and criminal justice services).

Social value is a contribution towards meeting strategic objectives a business makes within a contract, to support the ongoing activities and impact being achieved by local charities and social enterprises buyers recognise as strategically important.

• Money is an option - with both business and charity/social enterprise agreeing what the money will be shared and how it will be used within the activities.
• Equipment is an option - again agreed between both parties, this could be valuable equipment used for operational activities or perhaps in support of the organisation's back-office needs.
• Volunteering is an option - again agreed between both parties, volunteering can be knowledge exchange where the business shares in-house expertise in activities (workshops/webinars) or supports activities with staff time, or maybe even shares in-house expertise through coaching and mentoring the organisation's teams. 

By connecting public buying across a county/region, through the Pluggin Marketplace, social value is being targeted uniformly into strategic objectives and activities which deliver impact in support of these - a more tangible and sustainable way to transform health, safety and resilience within communities.

The process is:

• For bids, businesses establish a dialogue and agree (subject to contract award) the collaboration and level of money, equipment or/and volunteering to support the objectives and impact being managed by the organisation - this is submitted into a bid.
• During contracts, the collaboration proposal is converted into the deliverable tri-collaboration agreement - locked into the contract and monitored within the marketplace.
• Social value is then tracked and measured, over time and across a county/region, to determine impact.

Yes.

Public buyers want to see real social value, we're lifting it off spreadsheets and static presentations and out into the public domain.

Buyers want to build-upon impact which already exists, with community providers who are proven and credible. Community providers are those charities and social enterprises who have already established their reputation and are aligned to local strategic objectives. 

A business can continue to support an existing charity/social enterprise within our marketplace. However, Pluggin's specialists will need to work with the organisation and put them through a due diligence process with our public buyer partners in that area. 

There is no cost or limitation by operating bids and contracts within the Pluggin Marketplace, whilst also using a legacy system like Social Value Portal, Whatimpact or similar. However, as the Pluggin Ecosystem continues to strategically evolve and grow, it makes sense for all businesses with a regional sales focus, to get in early and establish a presence.

The Social Purchase Order (SPO) is a digitally embedded process within the Pluggin Marketplace, which enables a business to pre-specify social value contributions to known and approved providers and impact activities.

A digital, uniquely referenced collaboration proposal which is SMART scored by buyers and converts to an Agreement upon point of contract award. It becomes the defacto auditable social value commitment within the lifetime of a contract; pinpointing What, Where, When and How a business will support impact against local/national objectives.

During the life of an SPO, all linked data and measurement is tied to the contract reference and is digitally visible to buyers and executive agencies (and end-to-end view of social value and impact at contract level).

Social value is now a business differentiator thanks to the Pluggin Marketplace, where graphs and PDFs are replaced with real-time and contract specific visibility. A business delivers support into community activities already making impact buyers want, and business marketing showcases this continually through the Pluggin Marketplace's news channel (into areas, regions and holistically).

Yes. The marketplace is designed to support a cross-authority buying activity all year round. Suppliers to an area are recognised by all buyers as contributing social value into providers and activities making impact communities need.

Pluggin Ecosystem Limited is a social enterprise, with a very clear and transparent business model which enables us to commercially trade, self-fund and sustain the ecosystem as it grows.

The Pluggin Marketplace is a fast evolving strategic solution where public buying (and the need for businesses to stand-out) enables a traditional brand sponsorship model to 100% sustain the whole ecosystem and make it free for use for buyers, community organisations and business suppliers.