Posted 19th January 2026 by Rob Whalley

Delivering Social and Economic Value Through CAFM & CMMS

What Public-Sector Buyers Expect — and How Providers Can Respond

Social and economic value has become a central pillar of public-sector procurement. Across frameworks and tenders, Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) and Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) providers are increasingly asked to demonstrate how their solutions contribute beyond core functionality — particularly in sectors such as the National Health Service, local government, education, and other publicly funded bodies.

This blog explores what social and economic value means in practice for CAFM/CMMS providers, why it matters in tenders, and how software vendors can evidence meaningful impact.

Why Social Value Matters in CAFM & CMMS Tenders

Public-sector organisations are under growing pressure to ensure that every contract delivers wider benefits to communities, the economy, and the environment — not just value for money.

As a result, tender questions now regularly ask suppliers to demonstrate how they will:

• Support local employment and skills development
• Improve operational efficiency and productivity
• Contribute to environmental sustainability
• Enhance community wellbeing and resilience
• Encourage fair, ethical, and inclusive business practices

For CAFM and CMMS providers, this is an opportunity — not a burden — to show how technology, data, and long-term partnerships can drive real-world outcomes.

1. Supporting Local Economies and Employment

CAFM and CMMS platforms underpin the day-to-day operation of public buildings and estates. Providers can deliver economic value by:

• Employment: Employing UK-based development, support, and implementation teams. Offering permanent roles, apprenticeships, graduate roles, and work placements.
• Suppliers: Using local contractors and supply chains where possible, including asset data collection specialists, on-site surveyors, local project managers, training consultants, and UK-based suppliers of barcode labels, scanners, mobile devices, and supporting hardware.
• Upskilling: Providing structured, role-based training and ongoing upskilling for facilities and estates teams, enabling users at all levels to confidently manage assets, maintenance, and compliance in-house. This supports digital inclusion, reduces reliance on external support, and delivers long-term value through improved capability and productivity.

By investing in people and local capability, providers help strengthen regional economies while ensuring customers receive responsive, knowledgeable support.

2. Improving Productivity and Reducing Waste

One of the most tangible social benefits of CAFM/CMMS software is efficiency.

Well-implemented systems enable public bodies to:

• Efficiently manage and monitor compliance activities across the estate
• Reduce reactive maintenance and avoid costly failures
• Extend asset life expectancy and provide financial replacement forecasting
• Minimise duplication, paperwork, and manual processes
• Improve first-time fix rates through better asset history, fault diagnostics, and job information
• Reduce unplanned downtime for critical assets and services
• Enable data-driven prioritisation based on asset criticality, risk, and condition
• Improve visibility of maintenance backlogs, enabling better resource and budget planning
• Standardise maintenance workflows across sites, improving consistency and compliance
• Reduce contractor management overhead through clearer scopes, instructions, and audit trails
• Support mobile working, allowing engineers to complete tasks, capture data, and close jobs on site
• Improve reporting and forecasting, supporting evidence-based decision making and business cases
• Reduce administrative burden on frontline staff, allowing more time for value-adding activities

These improvements free up public funds that can be redirected to frontline services — whether patient care, education, or community programmes.

3. Enabling Sustainability and Net-Zero Objectives

Sustainability and carbon reduction are now central requirements in public-sector estates management. CAFM and CMMS systems play a practical role in supporting these objectives by providing the data, visibility, and controls needed to make informed, environmentally responsible decisions.

Through effective use of CAFM and CMMS platforms, public-sector organisations can:

• Reduce reliance on paper-based processes by digitising work orders, inspections, permits, checklists, and compliance records, supporting paper reduction and improved auditability
• Optimise planned maintenance to improve asset efficiency, reduce energy waste, and prevent premature asset failure
• Extend asset life cycles, deferring capital replacement and reducing the environmental impact associated with manufacturing and disposal
• Reduce unnecessary travel and site visits through improved planning, mobile working, and remote access to asset information
• Support energy and carbon management initiatives by capturing asset performance data and maintenance history to inform sustainability strategies
• Enable data-driven investment decisions, ensuring limited capital budgets are directed towards assets with the greatest operational and environmental impact
• Support the use of local contractors/workers through intelligent work allocation, assigning jobs based on location, availability, and skill set to reduce travel distances, lower carbon emissions, and retain spend within local economies

By embedding sustainability into day-to-day maintenance and asset management processes, CAFM and CMMS systems help estates teams align operational delivery with wider net-zero, carbon reduction, and environmental governance commitments.

This approach ensures that sustainability is not treated as a standalone initiative, but as an integral part of how public buildings are operated, maintained, and improved over time.

4. Enhancing Health, Safety, and Wellbeing

Social value is also about people’s safety and quality of life.

CAFM and CMMS platforms support this by:

• Managing statutory inspections and compliance
• Ensuring critical assets are maintained and safe
• Providing clear audit trails for accountability
• Supporting incident reporting and corrective actions
• Managing training certification
• Providing access to safety information

In environments such as healthcare, education, and housing, this translates directly into safer buildings and better outcomes for staff, service users, and the public.

5. Promoting Digital Inclusion and Knowledge Sharing

CAFM and CMMS providers can also deliver social value by improving digital capability across the public sector:

• User-friendly systems that cater to varying skill levels
• Role-based access that empowers frontline teams
• Clear reporting and dashboards that support informed decisions
• Collaborative working between clients and suppliers to shape future development

Long-term partnerships — rather than short-term software sales — help public organisations mature digitally and maximise return on investment.

Conclusion

For public-sector buyers, CAFM and CMMS systems are more than maintenance tools — they are enablers of safer buildings, better services, and stronger communities.

For providers, the challenge is to clearly articulate how their technology, people, and approach contribute to long-term social and economic value. Those that can do so credibly and transparently will be better placed to succeed in modern public-sector procurement — and to build lasting, trusted partnerships.