Rail Social Value Tool FAQs
Questions have been categorised under the following key topics:
Definitions
Tool setup
Indicators
LM3 (Local Multiplier 3)
Dashboard
Support
Definitions
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What is the difference between social value and social return on investment?Social Value is the sum total of the monetised values across operational, environmental and economic impact indicators. Social return on investment is the sum total of the monetised values across operational and environmental impact indicators only.
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What is 'attribution'?
This is the level of change an organisation has contributed to the delivery of a KPI through an activity. It’s explained in more detail in ‘RSVT Methodology and Calculations Guidance’. The RSVT is set to a default attribution of 15%. It’s recommended that reporting organisations don’t change this, to manage risk of over-claiming.
Tool set up
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What project value do I enter for operational activities rather than capex projects?
The project value field is mandatory when adding a project to enable the social value ratio and social return on investment to be calculated. When adding in an activity (project) that isn't a Capex project, you will need to calculate a project value for the activity or project.
For example, when wanting to calculate the social value of volunteering activities (such as through inputting workforce volunteer hours), you could calculate the project value from the day rate or pro-rated rate of each volunteer plus any project and travel costs associated.
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What are the levels of access and what can people with those access levels do?See ‘Access’ table in tab ‘Access levels’.
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What project details can I change after a project has been set up?
You can change the following at any time:
Project Name, Project Description, Region, Sub-Region and Local Authority, Station.
Regarding Project Start Dates, Project End Dates and Project Values see table on next tab in the RSVT.
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Where's the list of regions, sub-regions and local authorities come from?
Office for National Statistics
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Where can I see a map to local authorities, to help me find the right one for my project?
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One individual needs to be the Divisional Admin for more than one Division. But the RSVT doesn’t seem to work properly for that individual when I do that (e.g. they can't view some saved projects).
We are aware that current coding is resulting in this problem. We suggest this person is set up as an Organisational Admin.
You will need to ask RSSB to do this for you. Details of how to do this are provided in the Support section at the end of the page.
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How can I add a new Organisational Admin?
At present, Organisational Admins can only be set up by RSSB.
Details of how to do this are provided in in the Support section at the end of the page. You will need to state your organisation, the person’s name and their email address.
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Do I need to have a Project Value when setting up a new project?Yes, Project Value is a mandatory field and will allow the social return on investment to be calculated.
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What is the difference between £0 showing up in the tool and N/A?N/A represents non-monetized, £0 represents zero value.
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Can the same email address be the Divisional Admin for multiple divisions?
No. An email address can only be the Divisional Admin for just one Division. There are two workarounds to address this:
(1) if one email address needs to be a Divisional Admin for multiple Divisions in the same organisation (e.g. Network Rail) then make that email address an Organisational Admin.
(2) if this applies to an email address across more than one organisation (e.g. a prime contractor or consultant to Network Rail) make that email address just a supply chain user to Network Rail, and the email address can be a Divisional or Organisational Admin for their own company.
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Does the tool align with TAG (Transport Appraisal Guide) and STAG (Scottish Transport Analysis Guide)?Alignment from TAG can currently be managed manually by not using indicators or monetised values that are also in TAG. Updates to alignment with TAG will be made in version 1.2 of the tool (date TBC).
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What's the character limit for Project Title and Project Description?
150 characters for the Project Title.
1,000 characters for the Project Description.
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Is it possible to delete a Supply Chain User from the "Manage Users" list?
It's not possible to delete Supply Chain User accounts from the full "Manage Users" list. It's only possible to delete them from individual projects. To do this, you need to enter 'edit' mode of the specific project they are registered to. Scroll down to "Add supply chain user" at the bottom. Find the person you want to delete. Click on the bin icon to delete them.
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A Network Rail Supply Chain User is seeing multiple projects and divisions that they aren't connected to. How can this be fixed?
Find out if the Supply Chain User has been registered as an Organisational or as a Divisional Admin for a different organisation. If so, offer to delete them as a Supply Chain User from Network Rail's RSVT.
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Can a Supply Chain User be allocated to more than one project?
Yes, a single email address can be used as a "Supply Chain User" for multiple projects across the RSVT. But that same email address cannot be used as another type of User or Admin in elsewhere in the RSVT.
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A colleague has been assigned with a new role in the RSVT, but they can't see the information they should see when logged in.
Ask an Organisational Admin to look at their "Manage User" list. This is caused when a colleague appears on the list more than once, to anything other than a Supply Chain User. Delete extra role(s) so that they have just one.
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Why can’t Supply Chain User see the Indicators that I have set up in a project?
No, they won't be able to. They need to set up the indicators themself, so they can report against them.
Indicators
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How is the biodiversity net gain defined?
The definition of a biodiversity unit is taken from ‘Natural England (2020) Biodiversity credits scheme pilot.'
A publicly accessible version of the biodiversity unit metric definition can be found here:
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Project Monitoring: what value do I need to input when monitoring Full Time Equivalent indictors versus other indicators?
When entering data in the monitoring stage any indicator that is measured in Full Time equivalents (new employees etc) will need to follow the same process of entering the live or active full time equivalents in each reporting period.
For all other indicators data will need to be entered relating to that month. For example how many tonnes of waste were diverted to Landfill that month, quarter etc.
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How can I enter data for a part-time employment, as I can only see full-time indicators?Enter the appropriate proportion for a full-time employee. For example 0.5 for a part-time employee of 17 to 20 hours per week.
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How is GVA (Gross Value Add) calculated within the RSVT?The average GVA per worker per NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) region (Office for National Statistics data) is applied to the user-entered data for the average number of full-time employees across the duration of the project.
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Where can I see the specific monetised values associated with each indicator in the Library?Those values aren't shared because there is intellectual property ownership associated with them.
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What algorithms are applied to monetise the 'Operational Impact' and 'Environmental Impact' data entered?As appropriate to the indicator and project details, the RSVT applies a monetised value, deadweight, attribution, displacement, discounting and drop-off. Full details aren't shared to protect intellectual property.
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There are lots of valuations of trees. Which one does the RSVT use?Yes, there currently five sources of valuations for a tree. RSVT applies a monetised value derived from a source that Loop has identified as the most robust and comprehensive.
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Where can I read the definition of each indicator?
These aren't, at present, available in the RSVT. They are available in the Library and can be downloaded from Spark Rail.
https://www.sparkrail.org/Lists/Records/DispForm.aspx?ID=27514
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We use social indicators that aren't in the RSVT (and therefore its Library). Can we add them in?We'll be reviewing the Library of indicators every six months and updating the RSVT accordingly. Please contact RSSB via the customer portal with your requests. We will include your request in our review, though we cannot guarantee that your indicator(s) will be included.
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What is ‘Attribution’ and why is it set at 0.15 as default?
The attribution impact is the level of involvement your organisation has with a particular indicator. So this is set at 15% as a conservative assumption across the board to make sure there is no overclaiming of values. Attribution can vary from indicator to indicator, so the conservative assumption is set at 15% to take into other factors and prevent over-claiming of values.
The RSVT Methodology and Calculations Guidance document defines attribution more specifically and explains why it is set at 0.15.
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I am an experienced social value practitioner, and I can see that the monetised values being calculated are either too high or too low given the data and information I am entering, what should I do?Please draft a short explanation of the indicator you are using, the data you have entered and the project this applies to and contact Loop or RSSB using the instructions provided in the Support section at the end of the page.
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I've used the HACT Calculator previously, and I‘m aware of the risk of double counting benefits and how this should be managed, for example by not recording training hours for a beneficiary who is also recorded as an apprentice. I don’t see any guidance around this type of double counting, have I missed something?No. You haven't missed anything. Because of the way monetised values are calculated, there is no need to avoid using certain indicators when others are used.
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Can I mandate indicators in the tool?No at present no indicators can be mandated in the tool.
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Are LM3 and GVA included in the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) and 4 Capitals Dashboards?No, LM3 and GVA are not included in the SDG or 4 Capitals dashboard as they do not form part of the social return on investment calculation.
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I want to see the sum total against each indicator for my division or organisation, how can I do that?You can view the roll up of indicators via the SDG or 4 Capitals Dashboard.
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What's the difference between ‘Employees volunteering’ and ‘Workforce Volunteers’?‘Employees Volunteering’ is specific to employees of the reporting organisation, and during working hours. We appreciate the distinction may be confusing and so they are being merged into a single indicator. No data will be lost in doing this.
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How can I record use of e-learning, such as Supply Chain School e-learning modules?The monetised indicator ‘Number of workforce training hours of completed’ can be used for e-learning, on-line and in-person training.
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As a supply chain user, I cannot see the indicators within a project.
As a supply chain user you can only see indicators that you have set up. If you wish to be able to see all projects and data for the organisation or division, you will need to be set up as a social value user.
Calculations
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How is LM3 calculated within the RSVT? I know how to do the calculation manually and I can’t see how the RSVT collects enough data to be able to do it‘Round 1’ and 'Round 2' figures are derived from the value or turnover or spend figures entered. 'Round 3' is calculated as a % of 'Round 2'. That % is perceived as a conservative estimate based on several LM3 examples (which are not shared to protect intellectual property) and is not adjustable within the RSVT.
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How do I accurately update LM3 data in the project monitoring stage?In the project monitoring stage please enter the % total spend on local supply chain for that reporting period, do not input data cumulatively.
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Property numbers aren't being monetised, why is this?
This is a problem and Loop are currently working to fix it. In the meantime, they will do calculations off-line for us. Please contact SustainableDevelopment@Networkrail.co.uk.
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I'm getting extremely high social value calculations. Why?
Check your 'attribution'. Have you increased it from the default 15%? If so, reduce it back to that.
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I've previously calculated social value manually using HACT. When I compare RSVT calculations, they are either a little lower or a little higher than those manual calculations. Why?
Loop's economists believe that some adjustments are made to certain HACT values to more accurately account for, for example, displacement, fiscal and economic value. Some calculations are, therefore, different from those that might be expected from manual calculations using HACT figures.
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Why does changing targets in the monitoring phase result in all of the reporting data being deleted?
LM3 is strictly based on what you set in the forecast and can’t be changed in monitoring phase. But you can add another one and stop recording progress for the one set in forecast if it is no longer relevant. To remedy this, add another LM3 with 45% project spend in the monitoring phase and record progress in there thereafter. This solution ensures that you do not lose any data and that you get the accurate social value from economic impacts.
Dashboards
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How can I see performance against specific individual indicators?Click on 'tiles' within the UN SDG, 4 Capitals and (from Match 2022) PPN06/20 dashboards, to see the lists of the indicators that feed into those 'tiles' and levels of performance.
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How can an Organisational Admin review the dashboards or performance of a single Division or a group of Divisions (including all projects feeding in)?
At present there isn't functionality that makes this easy. Two suggestions:
(1) Set up a person to be Divisional Admin for the single division(s) you want to see dashboard(s) for, and no others.
(2) Look at the list of saved projects for each division you are interested in. Download an excel report for each. Add project data together.
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The term 'Regions' do not seem to be Network Rail regions. What are they?
In the RSVT, ‘Regions’ refers to the nine highest tier of sub-national divisions in England, plus Scotland and Wales. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports data against these regions. They are different to Network Rail’s five Regions.
Support
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How can I log a RSVT request or issue?
- If you don’t already have an RSSB account, you can register for one on our website registration page.
- Go to our customer self-service portal
- Click ‘create case’. You’ll be asked to log in.
- Complete the ‘Open a New Case’ form. Choose the relevant ‘Rail Social Value Tool’ case category.
- Press ‘submit’ (bottom right).
- You’ll see a ‘My Cases’ dashboard (below).
- You will receive an acknowledgment email for the submission.
- An RSSB specialist will respond via email.
