Social Value Commission: Thames Freeport
The Social Value Commission is a partnership between the RSA and Thames Freeport to ensure regeneration and investment in East London and South Essex.
Social Value Commission Thames Freeport
Turning investment into lasting impact for local people
The Social Value Commission is a partnership between the RSA and Thames Freeport to ensure regeneration and investment in East London and South Essex deliver real benefits for local communities.
Working across Barking & Dagenham, Havering, and Thurrock, the Commission supports the development of a long-term social value framework to guide investment decisions, helping ensure that new infrastructure, innovation, and industry translate into better jobs, stronger communities, and greater opportunities.
Social Value Commission: why it matters
The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy highlights Freeports as engines of growth, but without a deliberate focus on people, communities can be left behind.
The Social Value Commission helps answer a critical question:
“How can large-scale investment deliver inclusive growth?”
Its goal is to create a national model for ensuring that regeneration builds futures, not just infrastructure.
Delivering inclusive growth and better outcomes
The Social Value Commission plays an advisory and strategic role, helping Thames Freeport:
- Define clear social value goals
- Develop a framework to track and improve social impact
- Shape a research agenda to inform decision-making on investments entering the area
- Support community participation and local ownership
It works alongside Thames Freeport’s long-term Strategic Master Plan, ensuring growth is inclusive and delivers on outcomes beyond just the economic.
A new model for place-based growth
The Social Value Commission builds on learning from the RSA’s Prosperous Places programme. It champions a model of economic development that is locally led, focused on reducing inequality and built for long-term impact.
Operating independently within Thames Freeport’s governance structure, the Commission brings together local stakeholders and national experts to provide impartial, evidence-based guidance.
A chair and a full list of commissioners will be announced in 2025.
How social value helps places prosper
Explore our wider work on inclusive growth by visiting the Prosperous Places intervention hub.
Local strategies and plans
Prosperous Places
Every person deserves to live in a vibrant community, with opportunities to thrive in a flourishing natural environment.
Related Prosperous Places content from the RSA
Blog
Inclusive growth starts with local places
The UK is at a pivotal economic moment. Devolution could be key to unlocking more inclusive, place-specific growth.
Feature
The elusive goal of inclusive growth
The Mayor of the East Midlands describes how the RSA-led Inclusive Growth Commission is helping to craft long-term solutions to address the challenges facing the region.
