The Thames Valley Dual Impact Collaboration Model (DICM)
Thames Valley Police were instrumental in the design and piloting of the DICM as the way of harnessing supplier social value across the region, to realise the socioeconomic benefits of healthier, safer and more resilient Thames Valley communities.
Today, the Thames Valley DICM is a strategic approach by police buyers to collaborate with buyers across councils, NHS, fire & rescue and criminal justice to convert social value, into collaborations to support the local activities already recognised as delivering dual impact within Thames Valley communities.
Connecting Thames Valley suppliers and community providers...
In 2023, Thames Valley Police and Pluggin Ecosystem launched a model designed to encourage and recognise the formation of strategic collaborations between business suppliers and the charity & social enterprises for a dual impact within the Thames Valley region.
In 2024 this model was officially named the Dual Impact Collaboration Model (DICM) and extended to the East of England and West Midlands regions. As of January 2025, the DICM is a support for police, council, NHS, fire and criminal justice services within 45 UK territories.
Dual Impact...
Charity & social enterprise providers and business suppliers forge a dual impact collaboration within the Pluggin Ecosystem, which is formalised within a supply contract:
Primary Impact
Geographically connecting businesses into the programmes/services proven to be building healthier, safer and more resilient communities;
Secondary Impact
The primary impact leading-onto tangibly reducing the frontline costs of policing, healthcare, social services and criminal justice..
A long-term approach for the Thames Valley...
Piloted by Thames Valley Police over 18-months, the DICM is now a strategic approach for police, councils, NHS Trusts, fire & rescue and criminal justice, to harness social value from suppliers to support the building of healthier, safer and more resilient Thames Valley communities.
The model connects commissioning & procurement activities, also enabling business suppliers to establish and then position dual impact collaborations with Thames Valley charities/social enterprises who are providing programmes/services/projects which are recognised as delivering a dual impact.
The DICM aligns executive leadership across these same buying groups, through the Procurement Act, Serious Violence Duty and Police & Crime Plan - seamlessly connecting into existing partnerships and steering groups.
The Social Purchase Order (SPO)
Exclusive to Pluggin Ecosystem, the SPO is a purpose designed digital process which flows into the DICM within contracting.
The SPO is a formal commitment document submitted within bids, which outlines the specifics of proposed social value support for a charity /social enterprise and the dual impact activity they provide within the Thames Valley.
It specifically signposts buyers, within the ecosystem, to HOW & WHERE the social value will be contributing towards the dual impact objectives of the provider.
Target!
Community-facing colleagues connect-in the locally-led activities already delivering a dual impact
Spotlight!
Our ecosystem helps digitally position these activities (dual impact) for suppliers to find and engage with.
Score!
The SPO supports contracting helping to score social value within tenders, pinpointing HOW & WHERE.
Contract!
Buyers contractually lock-in the SPO and the specifics of social value, formalising this commitment.
Real-time!
Ecosystem technology helps category management teams evaluate an SPO progress in real-time.
Shape!
Ongoing metrics are fed-into each territory's DICM collaborators, supporting internal and external ESG reporting.
A SPO is only deliverable when a contract is awarded, and then becomes part of the post-contract review process within our ecosystem.
Community validation of dual impact...
Embedded into the Thames Valley DICM is the Thames Valley Together data sharing, research and reporting operation established by the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner as part of the Violence Reduction Partnership dating back to 2019.