Social value is a key element in public procurement and is included in the UK’s Procurement Act. Despite its growing profile, there are still significant gaps in policy and practice. In this talk, Professor Jo Meehan shares the latest evidence from the University of Liverpool’s Centre for Sustainable Business, who have been researching social value in public procurement for over a decade. Jo uses the data to give unique insights into why social value does not always deliver optimal outcomes for communities, and crucially what we might do about it.