Video Blog - Social Value and DE&I (Part 2)
- Jen Lemen
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Building a Better You
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What is this video blog about?
In this week's video blog, Property Elite's Abigail Blumzon hosts Katie Corbett for a bonus discussion about social value, using real world examples from the property & construction industry. Perfect CPD for RICS AssocRICS and APC candidates in relation to the Diversity, Inclusion and Teamworking mandatory competency.
You can read, watch and listen to Part 1 on our blog archive.
Katie is a Social Value & EDI Manager at Bray & Slaughter, as well as being the Women in Property South West DEI Champion and holding a MSc in Equality & Human Rights.
In her own words;
With experience on both the consultancy and contractor sides of the industry, and an MSc in Equality and Human Rights, I bring a practical and informed approach to social value and EDI delivery. In my current role, I lead strategies that embed impact and inclusion into projects – managing partnerships, planning, delivery, progress reporting throughout the lifecycle, and final project reporting. Alongside this, I serve as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion for the Women in Property South West Committee, where I advocate for industry-wide inclusion by organising events and initiatives across Bristol.
Many thanks also go to Ytzen van der Werf, Programme Leader MSc Real Estate Finance & Investment at UWE Bristol, who helped to set up this insightful discussion.
In the property & construction industries, success has become defined by social value, in addition to the traditional metrics of cost, time, and quality. In this video blog, we explore how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) intersect with social value and what you need to know as an RICS APC or AssocRICS candidate, or qualified Chartered Surveyor.
What do we cover in part 2 of the discussion?
Clarifying what social value means in property and surveying: social value is not just a buzz word - it should be a way of appraising and delivering value beyond just the financial metrics.
Examples from real life: workplaces and projects can generate social benefit through community engagement, inclusive design and environmental improvement. The video further explores how surveyors can analyse and report on social value in practice.
RICS APC links to the Diversity, Inclusion & Teamworking competency - it is important to reflect social value across your spread of competencies, but in particular the mandatory Diversity, Inclusion & Teamworking competency.
Challenges and practical hurdles: embedding social value can be difficult, with challenges including how to quantify social value, the potential conflict between traditional financial value and social outcomes, establishing stakeholder buy-in and the risk of 'check box' approaches.
Take-aways for surveyors: consider factoring in community and stakeholder outcomes in valuations, reviewing briefs with social value in mind, reporting clearly on social value findings and being aware of evolving standards and client expectations.
How Can I Reflect Further on Social Value?
Try out these ideas:
Reflect on a current or past project: identify where social value was or could have been embedded, and how you might have measured or reported it differently.
Review your standard valuation/survey brief and ask: Where does social value sit? How is it captured? Is it clearly reported?
Keep up to date with frameworks and standards that link social value with property and surveying.
Consider how you might articulate social value in your RICS APC submission or interview: What did you do? What was the outcome? What would you do differently next time?
How can we help?
Don't leave it too late to book your submission feedback and review, APC question pack, e-mock interview or 1-2-1 mentoring. We also provide revision quizzes, revision guides and a CPD Webinar Package.
We offer a range of short and long-term support packages in our eShop, including our popular Monthly Mentoring and Kick Start packages. These can include an RICS APC or AssocRICS Counsellor in certain circumstances.
Head to our blog archive to access even more free CPD and AssocRICS and RICS APC training and support.
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Stay tuned for our next blog post to help build a better you.
N.b. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, professional or financial advice.
