The Level Initiative: A Social Value Forecast and Evaluation

LEVEL: Equity Buildings (LEVEL) has been awarded a grant to develop a pilot scheme that illustrates how low-income people can progress to owning their own homes. The pilot (located in McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh) will show how housing located in under-invested parts of urban areas can be rehabilitated and sold to low-income occupants for both their benefit and the benefit of the surrounding community. The dual driving forces behind the LEVEL programme are the improvement of people’s lives and the potential to bring impoverished and under-invested neighbourhoods back into productive health.

To measure the success of the programme, RealWorth has been employed to measure and report the social value that the Programme creates for homeowners and neighbourhoods. To achieve this, RealWorth has been tasked with producing a Social Value Framework and carrying out a predictive assessment of the social value that the project will create.

Manchester City Council: Forecasting the Social Value of St Michael's

St. Michael’s is a mixed-use development featuring a world-class hotel / residential tower and 180,000ft2 of sustainable workspace. The scheme creates a vibrant new public square comprising new bars and restaurants alongside the retained Sir Ralph Abercromby Pub.

RealWorth was appointed by Manchester City Council to identify the social value that is likely to be created by the development. We worked with the Developer, the Local Authority and the Design Team to describe and quantify the social impact that the scheme will have on the neighbourhood and the wider City Region.

The evidence provided in the report helped gain the support of the Manchester City Council for the scheme’s advancement.